Balboa Theatre

This imitation palacio was designed to honor the Spanish heritage of San Diego and came complete with Balboa in tile on the front sidewalk. Inside, a tapestry effect was used for the plaster side bays of the auditorium. In the 1920s the usherettes were dressed as bullfighters. The Balboa's beautiful tile dome, is set four stories above the entry. Architect was William Wheeler.

what is the address of this theater

The Balboa Theatre is located at 854 4th Ave.

The opening date of the Balboa Theatre was 28th March 1924 and cost $1.5m to build. Architect William Wheeler designed a Spanish Baroque styled movie theatre that had working waterfalls on either side of the proscenium and a theatre pipe organ to accompany silent films. The seating capacity was for 1,800.

The Balboa Theatre closed on 6th April 1986.

There are ornamental "niches" on either side of the screen area that feature waterfall mountain scenes. I understand these actually worked with real water when the theater was first built.

It might be of interest to some that the architect of this theatre, William H. Wheeler, was also the architect of the very theatrical 5500 seat Angelus Temple, built in 1923 in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, for the notorious radio Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. There were few who understood show business as well as did Sister Aimee. She chose her architect well.

Hello from Colorado!
My God Father owned Walnut properties and The Pussycat Chain.He owned and loved this building at one time. I am putting together a collection of ANY memorabilia befor all is lost. If you have any information..please let me know.

Thanks!
Tim David
tbdavid@msn.com
970.309.3991

Unfortunately the Balboa is still closed (for any kind of theatrical or projection business) as of this posting. No $16M renovation nor 2003 reopening ever took place. But the UNION-TRIBUNE article below projects its reopening in 2007.

While the Balboa Theatre Foundation website, http://thebalboa.org/, seems to be offline today, apparently the Foundation will conduct a tour by appointment:

http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/profile/92874
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20050128-9999-7m28balboa.html

A downtown icon awaits a multimillion-dollar restoration
By Jonathan Heller
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

January 28, 2005


SCOTT LINNETT / Union-Tribune

The Balboa Theatre is in surprisingly good shape, considering it is 81 years old and has been shuttered for 20 years, said an architect helping the city of San Diego restore it.

The city's downtown redevelopment agency is getting ready to start major reconstruction of the former vaudeville theater and movie house.

"This theater was lucky enough to be built in San Diego, rather than in an area with more temperature and humidity extremes," said Paul Westlake, a Phoenix-based architect specializing in historic restorations.

Westlake and redevelopment officials did a walk-through yesterday in preparation for starting construction.

Westlake is helping the Centre City Development Corp. begin the $15.9 million project, which is expected to be finished in 2007.

The agency acquired the once-opulent theater next to Horton Plaza through eminent domain in 1985 and considered several private proposals to turn it into a museum, a cabaret, a huge bookstore and even a Jimmy Buffet-themed concert hall, but none of the ideas penciled out economically, said Eli Sanchez, a project manager with the agency.

In October 2002, the Centre City Development Corp. decided to renovate the theater itself and let nonprofit community groups host shows there.

"We've gone through a discovery phase with the building," said Gary Bosse, senior project manager for the development corporation.

Westlake has renovated a small section of wall over the balcony with the original colors – brilliant reds, lavenders, greens and golds, among other shades.

The bulk of the job will be tearing out the building's innards – electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems – and installing modern replacements. The building will need earthquake-retrofitting and modifications to accommodate the disabled.

"The guts of the whole thing will be new," Westlake said. "What's surviving is the historic shell and ornamental finishes."

The 1,500 original seats will be replaced with 1,300 larger and wider ones, Westlake said. People are generally taller, and in many cases heavier, than was typical when the theater was built in 1924, he said.

The special fountains on either side of the stage will be returned to working order, and the original chandeliers will be restored, Bosse said.

The hall has superior acoustics thanks to its cube shape and perforated ceilings, meaning it can be used for non-amplified and amplified music, said Don Telford, chief operating officer for San Diego Theatres, which will manage the Balboa once it opens.

The theater's heyday was in the mid-1920s through the 1930s. It fell into decline during World War II and at one point was used as a place for sailors to sleep temporarily. It mostly showed movies and offered few live performances when it closed in 1985, before Horton Plaza opened.

At 1,300 seats, the Balboa will occupy its own niche among downtown's theaters, which include the 700-seat Lyceum Theatre, 2,200-seat Symphony Hall and 3,000-seat Civic Theatre.

The grand old lady can be restored to its original usage is admired by cinema reseacher like me in Hong Kong.Hong Kong don't have any old theatre remains nowadays.
What a good news!
Congratulation!
Raymond Lo/29th May,2005

Latest news! The long-planned restoration officially began today with a completion date now set at 2007.


http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050725/news_1c25balboa.html

STAGING A COMEBACK

Today marks a new beginning for a decades-old downtown theater

By Preston Turegano
ARTS WRITER

July 25, 2005



EARNIE GRAFTON /Union-Tribune


Fences and trash bins attest to preparations for the long-awaited renovation
of the Balboa Theatre, which officially begins today.

About 20 years ago, Steve Karo bought a ticket to get inside the Balboa Theatre – then a downtown San Diego movie house – and see the place up close.

At the time, Karo, a percussionist and admirer of old theaters, was reeling from the demolition of the 70-year-old, 400-seat Lyceum Theatre on F Street between Third and Fourth avenues.

"I loved that theater," said Karo, who had performed in the Lyceum's orchestra pit. "It still sickens me that we lost it, and we weren't about to lose another if I could help it."

Relegated to the role of X-rated movie theater, the old Lyceum was demolished to make way for the Horton Plaza parking garage. On the Fourth Avenue side of the 1985 retail project (at E Street) was the Balboa Theatre. Some advocates of progress wanted it torn down, too.

"What was being said in an effort to destroy the Balboa wasn't accurate, so I got my flashlight, went to the Balboa and nosed around," Karo said. "I was amazed at what I saw."

Karo's observations resulted in his organization of Save Our Balboa. Later, Karo and others formed the nonprofit Balboa Theatre Foundation, which handles funds associated with Balboa preservation efforts. In 1996, Karo and his wife, Mary, also helped steer the nomination of the Balboa to the National Register of Historic Places.

Today – after years of talks and unsuccessful bids to bring new life to the now 81-year-old theater – city officials will finally break ground for restoration of the former vaudeville venue.

"The Balboa Theatre is truly a jewel of downtown and Centre City Development Corp. is excited about overseeing its restoration," said CCDC president Peter Hall. "When complete, San Diego will have preserved an important piece of local history and created a beautiful new theater."

Once the $18.9-million rebuild is done in 2007, the city will have a new midsize – 1,300-seat – performance space available to arts groups and other organizations.

The San Diego Chamber Orchestra, California Ballet, Classic for Kids, La Jolla Music Society, San Diego Master Chorale, Christian Community Theater, Young Audiences of San Diego, and Art Productions have expressed interest in using the Balboa, according to Don Telford, president and chief operating officer of San Diego Theatres Inc. (the nonprofit corporation that manages the San Diego Civic Theatre and which will provide similar services for the Balboa).

Several smaller theater organizations are also potential users.

"There are a number of 'homeless' theater companies that are always searching for venues, and downtown is popular," said Stephanie Casenza, executive director of the San Diego Performing Arts League.

Joe Kobryner, general manager of Broadway/San Diego, said Broadway/San Diego and its parent company, the Nederlander Producing Company of America, also might present shows at the new venue.

"Recently there has been an increase in the number of shows from Broadway and Off-Broadway that may tour and utilize smaller theaters, so we are exploring these opportunities," Kobryner said.

Equally enthusiastic about the restoration is John Santuccio, executive director of the San Diego Chamber Orchestra. The ensemble has been using three small venues – St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Sherwood Auditorium and the Fairbanks Ranch Country Club – for its six-concert seasons. The Balboa will be the organization's downtown site. The country club and Sherwood in La Jolla will still be used, Santuccio said.

"It's the acoustics at the Balboa that I'm excited about," Santuccio said. "That makes all the difference for an orchestra. I just hope we can afford the rental rates."

As a result of meetings with officials of San Diego Theatres Inc., Santuccio said daily rent for the Balboa may be about $3,000 (by comparison, Copley Symphony Hall rents for approximately $2,500, or 10 percent of gross ticket sales, whichever is greater).

Kay Porter, president of the Balboa Theatre Foundation, said the foundation wants to establish an endowment fund – an amount to be determined – that would spin off enough interest to cover the cost of some Balboa Theatre rental nights for certain nonprofit groups.

CCDC acquired the Balboa through eminent domain in 1985. Over the years, several private proposals to turn the theater into a museum, a cabaret, a bookstore and a Jimmy Buffett-themed concert hall were considered, but none of the ideas were economically sound. In October 2002, CCDC decided to renovate the theater itself.

During its lifetime, the Balboa has been used for live performances (vaudeville and plays), as a place for military personnel to sleep during World War II, and as a movie theater.

Originally scaled to 1,534-seats, the renovated Balboa will have fewer seats, but larger and wider than those installed in 1924. Much of the renovation will consist of tearing out electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems, and installing new replacements. Earthquake-retrofitting and modifications to accommodate the disabled also will be added.

"It's going to be wondrously beautiful," said Karo.



-----------------------------------------------------------------
Preston Turegano: (619) 293-1357; preston.turegano@uniontrib.com

I am really glad to hear the Balboa is going to be restored. I was stationed in San Diego from 1957-59 and went there many times..A great place to watch a film, but the movie I remember most was South Pacific. Great picture, sound ....very enjoyable experience. I hope to ba able to make a visit back there one day
Doug Bruton Denison, Texas

From the UCLA Digital Archive:

http://www.oac.cdlib.org/affiliates/images/csdhi/kt0290182t/hi-res/7045.jpg

Here is another photo of the Balboa Theater. Caption with photo reads:

"The Balboa, a splendid Spanish Colonial style movie theater in downtown San Diego, designed by architect William Wheeler, opened in 1924. It has about 1400 seats, 904 on the main level and almost 500 in the balcony. Although it was remodeled in 1964 at a cost of $125,000, it is badly in need of further restoration. The theater went dark in 1985 when the city condemned it and took it over. It now stands empty, but at least it is still there".

I wonder if they found the cedar room in the basement?

My name is Dan Whitehead and I'm the guy who used to let Steve Karo into the Balboa to look around. I remember one time he and his wife brought in a chamber orchestra and a little group of people. The chamber orchestra played Bach on the stage and every single note of the music could be heard all the way to the top row of the balcony. The acoustics of this house are nothing less than perfect. I never could understand why the old Fox Theatre was used for Symphony Hall as the acoustics of the Fox were notoriously awful and it took lots of money to correct them. The acoustics of the Balboa were, as I say, perfect.

Does anyone out there remember the downtown San Diego theatres of the 1970s?

I have a few corrections and comments about the Balboa Theatre.

1-The theatre was acquired by the City of San Diego in 1986 not to restore it but to gut it. It was a prolonged battle to keep that from happening.

2-The original construction cost was $800,000 (not $1.5 mil).

3-The original seating capacity was 1534.

Comments:
Yes, I remember the cedar lined room in the basement which was a remnant from a furrier or cleaner, I believe. It is gone along with everything else in the building, as the restoration continues.

To Dan Whitehead:

You will always be one of the unsung heros of the Balboa. You allowed me to do my dog and pony show in the theatre many times, against the wishes of your employer (Walnut Properties) and the City of San Diego. Best regards to you, always!

The construction bids for the final phase of the Balboa's restoration have just been opened and with a little luck the theatre will reopen in the fall of 2007. The major portion of demolition and seismic retrofit is now complete. Excellent management is already in place to operate the theatre. It's happening and will be spectacular when completed.

Steve Karo

Thank you for those kind words Steve. The Balboa will always have a very special place in my heart.

By the way Steve, what you did was not a dog-and-pony show. It was very important. You obviously won the battle and I'm very glad you did.

any chance that an occasional film will screen in there?

how many cinema subwoofers will it have?

Restoration work appears exceedingly slow, at least on the exterior. I pass by almost weekly, only to see broken windows, peeling paint, bas relief figures in disrepair or vandalized. Date given for re-opening is 2008.

Restoration continues at a snail's pace, although it's difficult to tell how far along workers are in the interior. The outside wooden barricade that has been erected around the base of the Balboa now announces a re-opening date of 2007. (Frankly, I doubt it.) The Gaslamp down the block is the plush theater of choice in the meantime, but do avoid the closer one in Horton Plaza (with its garish MTV architecture). The sound system is bottom of the barrel.

Made my last trip downtown (for now) during the week and observed that the Balboa's exterior looks worse than ever, plus more broken windows. Other windows have been left wide open and are now used by cooping pigeons.

There's a large hanging banner naming Westlake, Reed & Leskowsky as the architects and engineers. I'm really hoping WR&L can pull the rabbit out of the magic hat on this one by 2007.

For those wishing to keep informed of the Balboa's progress, you can now go to the "horse's mouth".
The following is the Centre City Development Corp.'s own web page devoted to the progress of the Balboa. Pidgeons, broken windows, open windows are irrelevant. Barricades have been up and restoration has been obvious and ongoing for some time. Re-opening is slated for Dec. 2007.
Weslake, Reed & Leskowsky are nationally known and tops in the field of historic restoration. The Balboa's restoration is fully funded, planning, demolition and seismic retrofit are already completed. Restoration is in it's final phase as you can see by the CCDC photos. Check it out for yourself:
http://www.ccdc.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/projects.balboatheatre

Steve Karo

THU07SEP06, 2:45P CST
That is just fantastic!! It's about time too.

THU07SEP06, 3:50P CST
I sure hope they don't ruin the acoustics of the auditorium. If the acoustics of the Balboa auditorium aren't perfect then they're very close to it.

I worked in the movie theatre industry "in the booth" from November of 1972 to December of 2000; first as a regular, rank-and-file projectionist and then as a travelling technician. San Diego was my home base and I travelled as far South as Calexico and as far North as Sacramento and everywhere in between. I have been associated with many, many theatres but the Balboa has always been my most beloved. She's a grand old gal and I'm just delighted to see she's being restored. San Diego owes a debt of gratitude to Steve Karo as he's the one largely responsible for saving her in the very beginning.

Dan Whitehead
Irving, Tx.

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996

Balboa Theatre (added 1996 - Building - #96001177)
Also known as El Teatro Balboa;City Historical Site No. 77
868 4th Ave., San Diego
Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Wurster Construction Co. et al., Wheeler, William H.
Architectural Style: Mission/Spanish Revival
Area of Significance: Performing Arts, Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation
Period of Significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949
Owner: Local Gov't
Historic Function: Commerce/Trade, Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Business, Theater
Current Function: Vacant/Not In Use

To Steve Karo, Dan Whitehead and others: Thanks for helping to save the Balboa Theater in downtown San Diego! I have created a virtual Balboa Theater at my virtual San Diego site (Diegoland) on the Second Life Website:

http://www.secondlife.com

I hope you enjoy it!
Robert Hippen
hippenro@mac.com

There used to be a really old sign back stage that said to "Be Quiet" due to radio broadcasting. I wonder which one of the San Diego radio stations it was. I was never able to find out.

Just for the record, the waterfalls in the auditorium had nothing whatsoever to do with the air handling system. There were two huge, monster squirrel-cage type fans that handled the air in the building. One was in the basement and it also heated the building with steam generated by the city. The other was in the dome on the roof. Neither one of them was connected to either one of the waterfalls in any way, shape or form. The swithc that turned them on and off was in the projection booth and I hooked it up to the automation system. The waterfalls would turn on when the title curtain closed at the end of the show and turn off when the show started. Some time in the early '80s the water supply to them was cut. After that, I used to take a tall A-frame ladded and fill them with a hose about once a week (twice in the summer). And just for the record, the theatre did not have refrigerated air conditioning. The fan in the basement had an air wash chamber but that was it. This is just a little Balboa trivia from someone who knows. I explored every inch of that buidling from the roof all the way down to the basements and EVERYTHING in between, including the old hotel.

Balboa update:
All phases of the Balboa are coming together very rapidly, now. The scaffolding is down and decorative finishes are being completed. The exterior was "bubble wrapped" and blasted to restore the exterior finishes. The original marque will be replicated, the domed entry restored, etched glass doors copied. Even the beautiful murals in the lounge will be copied. It is going to be spectacular.

The man on the scene that is making this all happen is Gary Bosse, Senior Project Manager for Centre City Development Corp. He's the man and will probably, never get the recognition that he deserves. This is my little tribute and thank you.
Steve Karo

There's a cover article in today's San Diego Reader, detailing the histories of all the downtown theaters once run by Vince Miranda, at one time co-owner of California's Pussycat Theatre chain. The final days of the Balboa, including details on how the city stole the building, are well covered, right up to the day the keys were turned over to city reps, who then left the building to rot for 20 years. The article is built from a series of email interviews with Cinema Treasures contribs Dan Whitehead and Tim David (David is Miranda's godson). Unfortunately, the online version doesn't have any of the great photos and graphics seen in the printed version - I wrote the piece and will probably put scans of the graphics on my own webpage before much longer, after the next issue comes out. Here's a link to the article on the Reader site:

http://www.sdreader.com/php/cover.php?mode=article&showpg=1&id=20070621

This is our second major feature on southern CA theaters in about a year (the other, "Field Of Screens," is just on San Diego drive-ins and can be found on the Reader site with the search bar). If anyone here likes the article(s) and would like to encourage the publisher to greenlight more, feel free to leave your thoughts about the piece in the comment section after article. The paper really pays attention to reader comments!
http://www.sdreader.com/ed/cover/

This is from the LA Times dated 3/24/27:

NEW THEATER WILL OPEN IN SAN DIEGO

The new Balboa Theater, located on one of the most important corners in San Diego, will open its doors to the public tomorrow evening. Officials of West Coast Theaters, under whose banner the theater will be operated, will attend the opening in a body. Arrangements have been made to escort the players in "Lillies of the Field" to San Diego also. This picture will be the initial photoplay to be flashed on the theater's screen.

Here are two recent photos:
http://tinyurl.com/33umko
http://tinyurl.com/2r6nvd

I went on a tour of the Balboa about five months ago, the restoration had been going on for only a couple of months so there was dust everywhere. Thus ruining my photos, all you can see is dust. There are two which are ok, one of an upstairs lobby and one detail.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y44/psychobillybitch/PB070074.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y44/psychobillybitch/PB070073.jpg

I'd just like to remind everyone that this grand old house would have been toast a long time ago if it hadn't been for the efforts of Steve Karo.

Here's a photo I took last weekend of the Balboa with its new paint job. I wonder if some type of marquee will be replaced.

http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1443349124&size=o

A Robert-Morton theater organ size 4/31 was installed in the Balboa Theater in 1923. Note: Moved in 1929 to Fox Theatre in San Diego.

That's correct. Now that organ is coming home after all these years. Good. I was sad that it had fallen into disuse at the old Fox (now Copley Symphony Hall). The ATOS (American Theatre Organ Society) used to put on concerts at the Fox back in the early '70s and I attended many of them. Dennis and Heidi James were my favorites. I'm very glad the instrument will be heard again.

To DanW, Thanks for the kind comments.

The organ being installed into the Balboa Theatre is not the original one. That one remains at Symphony Hall (Fox). The one being installed at the Balboa is a rare Wonder Morton Organ, one of only five and comes from Loew's Valencia Theatre in Jamaica, Queens, New York. The Balboa Theatre Foundation has purchased it, is restoring it and installing it into the Balboa Theatre. They still desperately need donations to complete the project so if you are so inclined please make a tax deductable donation to the Balboa Theatre Foundation's organ fund.

I had a tour of the theatre on Friday and it is really going to be outstanding thanks to the sympathetic shepharding of architects, engineers and overseen by the Centre City Development Corporation.

Steve Karo

Oops!! I sure was wrong and apologize to all for pontificating. So much for assumptions and jumping to conclusions. Perhaps some day they'll make that instrument at Symphony Hall speak again; it's a 4 manual 32 rank Robert Morton and sounded very nice.

A question for Steve Karo please: Is the projection booth going to be re-equipped?

Hi Dan,

I doubt if there will be any projection equipment in the booth (don't know, for sure); mostly digital equipment, follow spots, etc. for live performance. Other than that, the booth is fully restored, even the toilet. The managers office will be directly across from it on the 4th St. side with a door and walk directly to the booth. The organ echo chambers are gone.

That's too bad. Those chambers were very interesting. The one on the 4th Ave. side had been reduced to housing the rectifiers for the lamphouses; the one on the other side had collected old junk. I wonder if they ever had any pipes in them? I looked, but could never find, any wind trunks going to them. There were square holes in the floor of both which led into these curving wooden shafts that ended at, and opened onto, the ornamental grilles that were in the ceiling of the upstairs lobby (I climbed through one of those shafts just to see where it went). The main pipe chambers were above the stage; in fact, the grille work above the proscenium was where their sound would have come from. There was a large wind trunk that went from the basement all the way up to those chambers. I wonder if those are still there?

Does anyone know who I would contact to volunteer at the Balboa? I recently relocated back to San Diego after being away for a couple of years.
Please email me @ mjstewart88@yahoo.com

An old friend in San Diego just called me and said that channel 39 had just done a piece on the Balboa and that I should go to their website and look at the pictures. I did and they are just wonderful. It looks as though they are doing a beautiful job. I am so happy to see it! Steve, it looks like those two rooms on either side of the projection booth that we think were antiphonal chambers for the organ are still there but the grille work that used to be on the walls to either side of the doors is gone; it does look as if the rooms themselves are still there though. Folks, go to the channel 39 website, search for Balboa Theatre and look at the 46 picture slide show they have. It's really great.

I must make a correction. I just watched the channel 39 slideshow again. It looks to me like both of the rooms we always thought were the antiphonal chambers for the organ are not only still there but their grille work is still there as well. They are very visible on either side of the projection booth.

Here is a link to a video news story about the restoration. I don't know if it is just my computer, but the video is very choppy and the sound is messed up but there are some good shots of the interior.

http://video.nbcsandiego.com/player/?id=189798

I had the same problems you just described too. Some nice shots.

I stand corrected. Yes, the facades for the organ echo chambers are still there. The air chutes are gone, therefore no organ pipes, and the one on the right side is merely a passage from the booth to the manager's office. My mistake.

For the person who wanted to volunteer at the Balboa, a good way might be to join the:

Balboa Theatre Foundation.
PO Box 371461
San Diego, CA 92137
(619) 233-1333

Steve

I'm still very confused at to the purpose of those wooden shafts that led from the floor of both those chambers to the ornamental grille work in the ceiling of the upstairs lobby. I know that's where they went as I climbed through one. I just don't understand what they were for. They couldn't possible have supplied wind to pipe ranks. The only thing they could have done is channel sound from the theatre auditorium to the upstairs lobby. I wonder what they're labled as in the original blueprints?

Dan,

It is my understanding that there were organ pipes in those rooms. I always thought that the wooden chutes brought air to them but perhaps they just distributed the sound from them to the upstairs lobby. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. I think you were the one that showed me the remains of the original blueprints that someone decided to just rip off the wall.

Here is a link to a great Union/Tribune article:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20071202/news_lz1a02balboa.html

Hmm, I don't remember that. Oh well, I'm getting old. I have a friend in Oceanside who worked many years as an organ builder. I think I'll ask him what he thinks about those two rooms. I'm am so happy that this wonderful house is alive again.

Hi Steve Karo
Did you go to opening night at the Balboa? Are the acoustics still perfect? I sure wish I could have been there.

The theatre hasn't opened yet. I probably won't be attending any of the events. My job is done. Here is the latest:

The first free public previews of the theatre will be on Jan. 11, 12, and 13th. These will be “ticketed” events, but the tickets will be free. The exact method of distributing the tickets is still being discussed. The stage performances on those days are still being finalized.

The Gala on January 31st will also be a ticketed event with ticket prices possibly in the vicinity of $250. Tickets are not yet available. The intent is that the proceeds from the event (the amount over and above the cost of the event) will be put in an endowment fund with the San Diego Foundation. The endowment will be used to provide grants to local non-profit users of the Balboa to assist them with the rental fee of the theatre.

Happy Holidays to all.

Oops; I wasn't paying attention. I thought the Hal Holbrook thing had already happened. I see now that it's January 19th. Steve, I'm really surprised you won't be there. They really should let you in free of charge. It's mainly because of you that this thing is going to happen.

To Steve Karo

Now I do remember that partial blueprint that was on the wall in one of those rooms we think were antiphonal chambers for the organ, but I sure don't remember what was on it. This getting old is for the birds.

It just thrills my soul that people are finally discovering what I've known for many, many years: that the Balboa acoustics are very nearly perfect (see the article at the link below).

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20080106-9999-1a06balboa.html

Here is a recent photo of the Balboa Theater. It looks like its ready for business.

Good. I'm looking forward to seeing the inside.

The restored Fox Theater (formerly Balboa Theater) organ had its debut last Friday and Saturday night when it was played during intermission of a presentation of the silent version of "Robin Hood". It is staying at the Fox (now Copley Symphony Hall).

Great news!!! That's a beautiful instrument and I'm happy to know that it speaks once again.

The San Diego Reader has compiled all its articles about former Balboa operators Walnut Properties onto one webpage, along with around 100 graphics and photos that never appeared in ANY of the published versions. Also included is a Pussycat Theatre mini-history, updates on various Walnut-related lawsuits, etc, as well as a bunch of vintage Balboa newspaper ads.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/mar/23/before-it-was-the-gaslamp-illustrated-sequel

Here is a photo taken shortly before the opening in 1924. On the right, you can see a few of the letters for the eventual marquee:
http://tinyurl.com/2z63gz

Here is the Balboa 55 years later:
http://tinyurl.com/yrr95q

Thats 1979 for people that are math challenged.

The Balboa Theater can be seen in this July 2008 photo.

I went to the Balboa Theater for the first time last Saturday night. They were showing a colorized (yes, you read that right) version of Plan Nine From Outer Space on the big screen with members of the cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000 live on the stage commenting on the movie. It was a hoot with some of the people from Comicon showing up in costume as part of the audience.

The interior of the theater is gorgeous, not overdone or ostenacious. It probably looks much like it originally did. They oddest features are the faux waterfall scenes set into alcoves on each side of the stage. The lobby area is minimalist to say the least, but the 1300 plus seat interior is worth a look see. Of course, since it is a live venue now, you won't get in for the cost of a movie ticket. You'll have to pay a minimum of $25 to see anything there -- even Plan Nine from Outer Space (colorized no less).

Here is an August 2008 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/6xy49z

I was just watching some clips from San Diego On-Line. Some folks are still insisting that the waterfalls are part of the air conditioning system. You know what? I defy anyone to demonstrate just exactly how those waterfalls are in any way connected to either one of the two huge fans that are in the building. There's one in the basement that pushes air into the auditorium and there's another in the dome that pulls it out. Neither one is connected to either waterfall in any way. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I also notice that Steve Karo, who started the Save Our Balboa in the first place is never mentioned once.

1981 Photo

1983 Photo

1983 Photo

LM, it is so nice to see older pictures when the theatre wasn't encompassed by Horton Plaza.

Here is a photo of the Balboa I took earlier this month:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/achangeinscenery/3568488008/

Here is a January 1974 newspaper ad:
http://tinyurl.com/lopl7n

Closed from 1985, the Balboa Theatre, a movie palace built in 1924 in
downtown San Diego, reopened in January 2008 after a $26.5 million dollar
restoration. See the difference in the "before" photo (from
November/December Preservation magazine of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation) http://www.flickr.com/photos/28011786@N03/
and the photo "after" restoration by Evergreene Architectural Arts of the original paint scheme:
http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2009/november-december/show-time-nt.html

Since reopening, the Balboa has welcomed more than 131, 000 patrons, servingagain as a economic engine and cultural oasis of downtown.