Enean Theatre
325 E. 10th Street,
Pittsburg,
CA
94565
325 E. 10th Street,
Pittsburg,
CA
94565
No one has favorited this theater yet
Once a beautiful attraction in what was once the center of Contra Costa’s fishing and steel industry, now sits a former movie house that was up until recently a foreign auto repair shop. Let’s hope the citizen’s of Pittsburg/Antioch will support another renovation/restoration of a once grand theatre!
Contributed by
Ralph Soliz
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
Point of fact, the organ from the Cal Theatre Pittsburg has been purchased by a determined organ preservationist. This person has a proven track record for quality restoration work. It would be great if the original Morton organ could go back to the Cal someday—but that is a long way off.
This is a 2/16/2007 article about the Enean Theater.
Interesting article as I always enjoy reading about neglected theatres and seeing what they looked like in their heyday and what they should still look like rather than the way they become due to so many reasons. It sounds like the City of Pittsburg is ‘stepping up to the plate’ to help which is wonderful. Keep us posted on this one. Thanks.
Patsy, I was the owner of what your are calling an “unauthorized foreign car body repair shop” . Let me clear your confusion . I bought the theater as an existing auto repair facility back in 1990 ,when it was a Volkswagen wrecking yard. I cleaned and restore many parts of it installed new roof . Some of the pictures are posted by me , in fact that old boat is mine , the City of Pittsburg used Eminent Domain Power to purchase the building from me. The remarkable part about it is that I saved the place from being demolished and turned in to a new office building site.
I spent 15 years of my life working to preserve this palace and my “unauthorized repair shop” helped pay for it. The Eminent Domain story is long an painful but is the past.
Best Regards
Jaime F. Penuela
Jamie: Thanks for your post and explanation.
Additional information about the renovation can be found here.
Plans for the Enean Theatre, by architect F. Frederic Amandes, were announced in the March, 1936, issue of Architect & Engineer magazine.
That same year, Amandes was the architect for remodelings of the Strand Theatre in Alameda, the Egyptian Theatre on San Francisco’s Market Street (listed at CT as the Guild Theatre), and the former T&D Theatre in Richmond, which became the Fox Theatre and then the United Artists Theatre.
It looks like Pittsburg wants to allocate 15 million of its stimulus money to renovate the Enean:
http://tinyurl.com/bbhrb5
This is from the Modesto Bee, 11/23/40:
PITTSBURG, Nov. 23-Fire of undetermined origin swept through the new Enean Theater yesterday, causing damage estimated at more than $25,000. The flames damaged the theater balcony and ceiling and melted sound transcription records. The playhouse was constructed five years ago at a cost of $150,000.
2008 photo of the Enean Theatre courtesy of Tom Spaulding.
View link