Studio Theatre

This theater did show porn in 1973-1974, then was showing second-run product prior to being a Spanish language theater.

A little update: The Studio now houses a nightclub called "glo." The signage on the former reader boards has changed, but otherwise the exterior remains in its original condition, with marquee and vertical sign neon still lighting up every night the club is running, just as you see in my 1990 photo above. During the recent interior renovation I peeked into the auditorium, and though the murals are long gone, the cast plaster ornament on the ceilings and on either side of the proscenuium is intact, though repainted.

The address for the Studio Theatre is 396 South First Street, San Jose, Ca. 95113.

I respect Mr. Parks' inside knowledge around the various downtown theatres but must disagree with his statement that the exterior of the Studio remains in its original condition. This is not true. The chiffon yellow tile cladding at street level has been replaced with a less refined modern tile in a deep green color. Part of this refacing process also resulted in the elimination of the small shop space on the corner of the building, or at least street access to it. When Tom McEnery was mayor and the Studio was showing Spanish language films, he proposed that the city buy the building and use it as a performance venue for some of the local theatre companies. It would have been a bargain. A very small but vocal group from the Hispanic community complained loudly that they were being trampled on, even though this theatre was not receiving the support from their community that was required to stay viable and in business. Fearing the racial backlash that this group sincerely promised, McEnery backed off and the result is that the theatre subsequently went vacant due to lack of patronage. Now it's been subjected to the same treatment as the old Gay/Pussycat theatre across the street, going through various dance club incarnations that will continue to eat away at its original features. The city needs to again pursue the purchase of this theatre to prevent further destruction and to provide yet another much needed venue for live and film presentations. I don't think you'll get anybody complaining about losing "their" theatre this time around.

A comment in response to rp2813. Actually in an earlier posting I did complain about the removal of the original tilework around the entrance, followed by a description of the acidic green tile (albeit high end) which has replaced it. This was around the time that this website was going through some remodeling, and my posting about the tile vanished into the ether. Indeed, some members of the Preservation Action Council of San Jose, to which I belong, wrote letters of protest about the impending removal of the original tile--to no avail.

Regarding the whole hailstorm of criticism from the Hispanic community in the early 90s when the Studio was to have been "taken away from them" for use as a performing arts facility...I remember it well. A lot of this was part of a keen sensitivity which had developed locally in that community following the creation of a statue of Thomas Fallon, first American Mayor of San Jose--a man not particularly regarded fondly in Hispanic circles--which was to have been erected Downtown. That statue languishes in storage, and later, instead perhaps, we got "graced" by the infamous coiled serpentine Quetzalcoatl statue, whose resemblance to a familiar substance is very evident upon viewing. It's not only sad aesthetically, but a violation of separation of Church and State, as city funds went into it, and Quetzalcoatl is still considered a "viable" deity in some admittedly small circles. Government should be in the business of Representation, not Appeasement.

Anyway, in getting back to things theatrical, I agree with the above poster that successive nightclub uses do seem to gradually erode the features of converted theatres.

I can't resist the urge to comment on Mr. Parks' mention of Quetzalcoatl. He is correct about a small and noisy group similar to the one protesting the sale of the Studio also protesting the Fallon Statue. Of course, this group's complaints were baseless but the San Jose City Council was comprised of too many patronizing wimps who not only didn't put the Fallon Statue where it truly belonged, but took things a step further and dropped a nice big pile of you-know-what there instead to appease this group. Maybe the council thought it would be an exellent way of having the complaining come back to bite this group by replacing the supposedly repulsive Captain Fallon with something even more repulsive, as if to say, "OK, are you happy now?" Mr. Parks, if you have any leverage at all, can you drop the hint to the powers that be that this pile that has been dropped in downtown San Jose needs to be re-located to the Mexican Heritage Plaza where it would supposedly be more appreciated? It turns my stomach every time I drive up Market Street and see this pile so prominently displayed in the park. For a city that has a serious complex about its image, this is hardly the kind of public "art" to display in such a prominent location.

I saw HOW THE WEST WAS WON at the Studio Theatre on my 10th Birthday! What a wonderful experience on the big screen with its beautiful curtains. A few years later - when downtown San Jose fell to hell - the studio became pornographic - Adult X Rated Movies competing with the GAY across the street. The FOX had already closed its doors and the UNITED ARTIST was 100% Mexican Movies.
Later on - in 1975 - Paul Catalana (previous owner of the MAYFAIR
EL RANCHO DRIVE IN and TROPICAIRE TWIN VUE DRIVE IN all in San Jose)
took over the lease on THE STUDIO. He ran 3 Features and changed
weekly. Admission was only $1.00 or less and the place tried
to compete with the other very successful JOSE THEATRE around the corner on 2nd Street which was very very successful with a grind policy @ 50 Cents Before 6pm and $1 After 6pm. With poor management,
the STUDIO became a haven for drug dealers and gang activities. In fact, someone set seats on fire in the balcony on a Friday night
causing the house to shut down early that night.

This website has some photos of the Studio Theater in San Jose.

This is a 2006 photo of the Studio theater.

Not sure about other names for the Studio in Sacramento, but I do know that its facade is preserved, along with the facade of the Esquire to its left, as the front of the big IMAX theatre which replaced the Esquire (which had previously spent some years with a remodeled interior as an office building.

Here is a 2007 photo of the Studio theater.

Here is a 1986 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cfnqqb

The Studio, looking for a buyer in 1997:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34152329@N06/3474612826/in/set-72157617054310351/

1984 Photo

1986 Night photo of the Studio Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=Theatre+Interiors&catpagesize=25&ProductID=24916

Sorry about the double post, didn't mean to do that.

Additional photos can be seen here.

The Studio Theater became Club Wet around January 2009 - the latest in a string of nightclub businesses to inhabit the theater since the late 1990's. Club Wet has had its business license revoked on September 23rd 2009 after a long series of incidents of violence and public drunkenness over the course of the summer. No word as to when or if the club will reopen.