Eureka Theater

To ken mc: I’d love to get in touch with you regarding the comment you left about having staff rosters for the Rialto Theater listed in the Humboldt Standard. I am looking for a cameraman that is supposed to be associated with the theatre in the 1910s. I made a listing for the Rialto here: /theaters/33928/
If you get this message could you please let me know via the Rialto page? Thanks SO much for your help!

The Eureka Theater sign and marquee are, were, wrapped in neon. The large letters were sequential at one time, but due to neglect and expense, they were eventualy changed over to a continuous mode. A shame, the sequential mode looked great. There were also two neon strings wrapping the awning around the outside, and “Vegas” style rotating lights in the cieling of the italian blue tiled entrance. In it’s day, it was a real show piece. George Mann spared very little when he built a new theater. And this was one of his nicer ones.

Not exactly one of the new owners better ideas. Renting video tapes would not have been tolerated if Mr. Rickard was still in charge. Buzz was as old school as it got. And a nicer employer one might never find in a lifetime.

If anyone at the Eureka Theater is curious about that gray wire hanging down inside the box office cabinet, just inside the right side front door, it is a wire to an alarm for the back doors of the downstairs theater. It runs up inside the marquee, across the ceiling and down the wall behind and to the right of the right side exit, in what used to be the carpenters room. The homemade ladder goes up to the attic. Just follow the wire up the ladder, across the attic, and down inside the marquee to the box office. Watch the wiring, it’s pretty old. A long single piece of wire. Just thought someone might be interested. It was quite the climb.

Couple February 2009 photos of the Eureka Theatre courtesy Jasperdo

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Here are some 1986 photos:

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RedwoodResearcher:
Thanks for the newspaper citation (every little bit helps) and your response to my inquiry of a year ago. As you can see above, I had other responses at the time, and also did more research. And as it happens, I am acquainted with the author of the Davis Historical Society PDF file that you cite above, which incorporates my research in the year since my Feb 2007 inquiry here.

Here is a 1958 ad from the Eureka Humboldt Standard:
http://tinyurl.com/3659z5

Here is a 1950s photo of the Eureka Theater.

Thanks, LM….. I still have family in Eureka, but don’t make it up there as often as I’d like to. It’s nice to see that the Theatre is starting to come around. I spent a LOT of afternoons and evenings at that place growing up.

For the person that said that the theater is not an Art Deco style, I disagree. In 1993, the Eureka Theater received an ADSC (Art Deco Society of California) Preservation Award.

In April 2003, Bob Rickard received an ADSC Certificate of Appreciation for leading the effort to restore and preserve the Eureka Theater.

The ADSC’s Preservation Awards honor those who have helped preserve and restore buildings and memorabilia from the Art Deco era, which flourished from the 1920’s through the early 1940’s.

There was a full page ad in the 6-28-52 edition of the Humboldt Standard celebrating George Mann week for his 35 years in Eureka. Full staff lists are given for the Eureka, State, Rialto, Midway Drive-In, Fortuna and Arcata. I won’t copy all the names here, but if someone is looking for an usher or candy girl around that time, let me know and I will look it up.

Here is another photo of the Eureka Theater.