California Theatre
1122 4th Avenue,
San Diego,
CA
92101
1122 4th Avenue,
San Diego,
CA
92101
26 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Fox West Coast Theatres, Mann Theatres
Architects: John Paxton Perrine
Firms: Edwards Wildey & Dixon
Styles: Spanish Colonial
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News About This Theater
- Oct 24, 2008 — Remembering Cinerama (Part VIII)
This Spanish Colonial Revival style theatre was opened on April 22, 1927 with Constance Talmadge in “Venus of Venice” & a Fanchon and Marco Revue “Book Ideas” on the stage plus Al Lyons and His Band. It seated over 2,200 patrons. It was built by and operated by West Coast Theatres and was equipped with a Wurlitzer organ. It presented vaudeville & movies until 1937 when it became a first run movie theatre. Mann Theatres were the last operators and they closed the California Theatre as a movie theatre in 1976. In 1978/1979 it was used by the Old Globe Theatre after its Balboa Park theatre building was damaged by arson.
The California Theatre was renovated in 1988, and was used as a concert venue, but two years later on June 20, 1990, it was closed after a concert by the Cowboy Junkies and a final concert on the Wurlitzer organ was held on 24th June 1990. The building was scheduled for demolition. The Wurlitzer organ was removed from the theatre soon after closing and was installed in the Trinity Presbyterian Church in Spring Valley, CA, but it was destroyed in an arson fire in 1996.
In 2001, in addition to restorations, plans called for a wide redevelopment of the entire area, which should bring the theatre back into the spotlight and out from the shadows of time.
In early-2011, plans were progressing to renovate the building and eventually reopen as Davenports Supper Club on April 22, 2013. In 2015 the owner of the building applied for a demolition permit. Demolition permits were granted in April 2017 and demolition was set for 2021. The vacant building still stands in 2023.
Contributed by
Ross Melnick
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Recent comments (view all 158 comments)
HISTORIC CALIFORNIA THEATER AND YOUTH ORCHESTRA GROUP a pending, tax deductible, charitable corporation Phone: 619-281-2200 Email Site http://californiatheater.awardspace.us
This is just a fraud on the good people who want the HCT to survive. We all suspected this all along, but agreed to let it play out — now you see what we got — NOTHING BUT HOT AIR.
Prof Bill Neill.
It is intact as of August 13, 2017. The marquee is gone (probably a long time) and there is some chain link on the sidewalk side. Nothing seems imminent.
Overture San Diego, the mixed use project slated to replace the California Theatre, has been waiting on official approval of its construction plans to begin demolition. The old office building on the corner of 4th and C, which once held the theater’s entrance, will be incorporated into the new project, but the auditorium is to be demolished and replaced by a new building with shops on the lower floors and several levels of parking both above and below, with the new residential tower rising atop that structure.
To me it seems almost adding insult to injury that the vertical “California” sign is to be duplicated on the old office building, and that the grill concealing the above-ground parking area will be decorated with a mural depicting the theater in its heyday.
You can see the plans for the project here. I’m sure the completed project will be an asset to downtown San Diego, but it’s unfortunate that the historic California Theatre will have been sacrificed to build it.
I am impressed that the office building will be be saved. A few decades ago a similar project would have just torn down the whole thing. This is a case of history vs economics. Unless a wealthy philanthropist were involved, realistically no one would save a historic live theatre if they can tear it down and replace it with something significantly more profitable. Hopefully what can be salvaged from it will be.
sounds like it is going to go by the wayside for the theatre part anyway…I was the very last manager of the whole building…and locked it up in 1990…too bad because we had a very viable building at the time….I knew that place inside and out very well….practically lived there, I spent so much time there day or night…even ran the projectors on certain occasions after it pretty much went to live shows…..still am involved with cinema theatre in Iowa…(digital projector nowadays) Dave at
NOTE: also the premiere of the Japanese cartoon film “AKIRA” was run there…I was the projectionist for AKIRA as a sideline to bldg. manager and engineer.
This building should be saved and restored and heritaged listed!!
UPDATE!!
A court has halted the demolition of the theatre.
https://www.10news.com/news/court-knocks-down-proposed-demolition-of-historic-california-theatre?utm_content=bufferb1a9c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
The San Diego City Attorney’s Office is seeking to declare the California Theatre a public nuisance and levy fines against Caydon Property Group for alleged violations of the municipal code, according to an April 27, 2023 report by the City News Service. Australia-based Caydon bought the property in 2019.
In recent years, the 96-year-old abandoned building has been breached by trespassers, some of whom have set fires inside the structure. According to the City Attorney’s Office, police have been called to the building 68 times since 2019 for various crimes and the building itself is a hazard. City staff declared last year was too dangerous for people to enter.
The City Attorney’s Office seeks a court order allowing the city to abate the property and would seek civil penalties of $2,500 a day per violation of the San Diego Municipal Code.
I worked there between 1974 and 1977. I left my wallet upstairs in the restroom. I wonder if they’ll let me go look for it.