CHICO — Sitting in the Sunday morning sun at the Bidwell Bowl, Dave Nopel, Michael Magliari and myself all marveled at the renovated creek-side amphitheater.

“It’s a kind of a great, positive story to contrast with the tragedy across the creek with the loss of the mansion,” Magliari, the Chico State history professor emeritus, said. “… We’ve got this real revitalization of a really terrific historic site that hopefully is going to be coming right back into the life of the community.”

The Bidwell Bowl is the outdoor amphitheater that straddles Big Chico Creek just behind Children’s Park and the new Chico State Behavioral and Social Sciences Building. With its distinctive design, the amphitheater’s wooden seats descend along the south side of the creek, facing a simple cement stage on the

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