After the Main Street Fire, Where Did Old Town Newhall's Stages Go This Fall?
"When I say they were devastated, when I say they were impacted, they don't exist anymore. They're gone." Councilmember Bill Miranda said it at the Santa Clarita City Council meeting on August 25, one day after fire took out most of a block in Old Town Newhall. At the same meeting, Miranda told performers who had lost The MAIN that the city would help them find somewhere else to perform.
Six weeks later, much of that help has come from a building that sits on the same block. The Canyon Theatre Guild playhouse came through the fire largely untouched. This October it is running its own season and has also hosted a show that was forced out of The MAIN. With no street events on the city's Main Street calendar until late November, curtain times at 24242 Main Street are now the most dependable scheduled reason to spend an evening on Main.
The fire started around 3 a.m. on Monday, August 24, and crews fought it until well into the afternoon. The buildings shared an attic, so the fire moved north through the block. Between the fire and the demolition that followed, everything from 24254 to 24274 Main Street was reduced to rubble, along with 24274 Railroad Avenue behind it. Six businesses were lost: Newhall Refinery, Care Tucker Style House, The MAIN, Source Inc., El Trocadero Mesquite Grill and Cantina, and Gary's Auto Collision Center.
The buildings were close to 100 years old. El Trocadero's building opened in 1935 as the Newhall 5-10-25 Cent Store at 644 Spruce Street. When Los Angeles County renamed Spruce Street as San Fernando Road, the address became 24274 San Fernando Road. In 2007 the city renamed the road Main Street, and it became 24274 Main Street.
Only two buildings on the block are still standing. One is the Canyon Theatre Guild's Western Victorian-style playhouse, built in 2000. The other is the old Newhall Sheriff's Substation No. 6, built in 1926 and now CTG's business office. So the newest building on the block and one of its oldest are what the town's arts district has left on that stretch.
Main Street reopened the morning after the fire, once fencing was up around the site. Photos from mid-September still show debris behind that fencing. City Manager Ken Striplin has called the recovery a long road and said the city will stay a committed partner, without giving a construction timetable.
The clearest example is Big Sandwich Theater Company's "Change the Station." The comedy premiered at The MAIN in 2016 and was booked to open there again in September for its 10th anniversary. The fire canceled that. According to the company's announcement, TimBen Boydston and the Canyon Theatre board contacted them right away and offered the CTG stage.
The show ran at CTG last weekend, October 2 through 4. A quarter of all ticket sales went to Santa Clarita Shakespeare Company to replace equipment it lost in the fire. One troupe that lost its venue performed next to the ruins and sent part of its box office to another troupe that lost gear in the same fire.
CTG kept its own season running through all of this. The guild's 2026–27 lineup has two shows running now:
"The Outsider" was confirmed onstage as of October 1. "It's a Wonderful Life" follows in November and December, and "Man of La Mancha" is listed for January and February 2027. The box office number is (661) 799-2702.
CTG had room for one of The MAIN's displaced productions. The others found space elsewhere or were put on hold.
Hope Theatre Arts had scheduled "The Velocity of Autumn" by Eric Coble at The MAIN. It moved the show to The Olive Branch, on the Patios at Valencia Town Center, and kept the original dates of October 9 through 18. The play is about an aging artist who refuses to give up her independence, and her estranged son, who comes home after 20 years to talk her into it. "We were devastated to lose our venue, but we knew we had to find a way forward," director Susan Fletcher said in the company's release.
Dig Deep Theatre lost more. Its production of "You Got Older" was in the middle of its run at The MAIN, and five performances were left when the fire ended it. On September 5 the company held a one-night benefit reading at CalArts' A404 Black & White Studio, raising money to replace the costumes, props and equipment it lost. A September follow-up in The Signal reported that the company hopes to stage the full play again, "ideally in January." It has not chosen a venue or dates.
Put together, The MAIN's fall lineup ended up spread across three cities' worth of stages: one show next door at CTG, one in Valencia, one reading at CalArts, and one remount still waiting for a home.
The city's Main Street events calendar lists no street events from October 5 through November 4. The SENSES block party season ended on September 17. Here is the fall schedule for Old Town and its displaced companies, in order:
For roughly six weeks, from the end of SENSES to Light Up Main Street, CTG's two productions are the only regular evening programming on the block itself.
Some of the businesses that burned kept going in September through pop-ups and benefits.
Care Tucker Style House held a one-day pop-up on September 13 at Tribute Beauty Lounge, 24423 Walnut Street. On September 17, Hart & Main owner Rob Younkin hosted Love on Main, a benefit held during the final SENSES night. Event planner Tricia Maldonado said about 230 tickets sold at $100 each, and all proceeds went to employees of the affected businesses. Newhall Refinery ran the kitchen and bar food that night, and Care Tucker sold clothing and accessories from its boutique.
Christine Muñoz, who owns Newhall Refinery, described where the restaurant stood that night:
"We want to stay in Newhall, but we don't know what that means or looks like yet. Once we know, we'll start announcing and putting it out, especially to our customers."
Jonny Tucker said he and Care hope to be back "soon." Neither named a new site or opening date at that event. The Old Town Newhall online business directory still lists The MAIN and Newhall Refinery, so the businesses' own channels are the better source for current information.
Much of what made a Main Street evening is still open. Old Town Junction served drinks at the September 17 street event, and its website lists regular restaurant hours and weekend brunch. Hart & Main says it is taking event bookings through 2027. Artist Jane Mick, whose work was showing at The Mosaic before the fire, told The Signal that people stopped by during the weeks afterward to see her pieces and buy them. Check business hours directly before you go, since some may have changed since September.
The city also offers a way to support these businesses on ordinary nights. It has expanded its free Open Rewards program to Old Town Newhall. The app gives 5% cash back on eligible purchases at participating businesses, either through a linked card or uploaded receipts. Details are at ThinkSantaClarita.com/Open-Rewards. The city's recovery page at OldTownNewhall.com/support lists verified fundraisers for the affected businesses and notes that the city's Economic Development team can help connect them with resources.
So an October night on Main Street might be dinner at Old Town Junction, then an 8 p.m. curtain at CTG next to the fenced lot where The MAIN used to be. For "The Velocity of Autumn," plan on a short drive to Valencia Town Center.
Newhall's stages and storefronts are what make this part of Santa Clarita feel like home, and we're following their recovery closely. If you have questions about Old Town Newhall, including what the rebuilding could mean for properties near Main Street, Kramer Cruz Group is happy to talk it through over coffee in Newhall. Schedule a consultation with us anytime.
Whether you're in the research phase at the beginning of your real estate search or you know exactly what you're looking for, you'll benefit from having a real estate professional by your side. She'd be honored to put her real estate experience to work for you.