Fox Senator Theatre
912 K Street,
Sacramento,
CA
95814
912 K Street,
Sacramento,
CA
95814
3 people
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Built around 1925, the Fox Senator Theatre was created from two earlier theatres, a large one on L Street and a smaller theatre on K Street. It was demolished in the 1970’s.
Contributed by
John Chappell
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Recent comments (view all 20 comments)
Here is a photo of a Senator Theater in 1925.
This was the Fox Senator in 1953.
They look like two different buildings.
Responding to your previous comment about the Sacramento Fox Senator looking like two different buildings in the photos –
They actually were two different buildings. The photo from 1925 is of the back wall of the auditorium, on the North side of L Street between 9th and 10th Streets. The 1953 photo is of the main entrance on K Street. The 1st floor had a long narrrow entry lobby leading to stairs which were in a connection over the alley, leading to the auditorium on the other side. From inside, it appeared seamless. The Trianon Ball Room was located on the 2nd floor of the K Street building. It is all that is left today, converted to office space, after being a Burger King in the 80’s! Very sad.
Thanks for the information. I thought that the library had mislabeled the photo.
1979 Photo
Does anyone know the name of the theatre at 818 K Street. That building was clearly a theatre, but it doesn’t seem to be listed on this site.
If you are referring the building at this website, it was not a theater. It used to be a Kress 5 & 10 on its lower levels and had offices above:
View link
There was s Kress 5&10 on fifth Ave.North Nashville,Tennessee that looked almost like the Kress in the above postingsame logo and everything they are High Dollar apartments now.
Leonard F. Starks was involved in the project that eventually became the Fox Senator Theatre at least three years before the house opened. When the project was announced in the June 29, 1921, issue of the trade publication Engineering and Contracting, it was to be called the Paramount Theatre, and Starks was already the lead architect. Though a native of California, Starks had been working for some time in New York City in the office of theater architect Thomas Lamb.
This thumbnail biography of Leonard Starks from the Historic Fresno web site doesn’t mention the Paramount specifically, but tells of the intention of the Famous Players corporation to build a chain of theaters on the west coast. The proposed Paramount was undoubtedly one of these. Famous Players had contracted with Lamb’s office for architectural services, and Starks was to return to California to oversee design and construction. When the plans for the chain fell through, Starks resigned from Lamb’s firm and set up his own practice in Sacramento.
Starks' partnership with E. C. Hemmings was formed in 1923, and Hemmings died the following year. The Senator Theatre might have been their only major project together.
During the time I lived in Sacramento 1962-1965 the Fox (Senator) was my favorite theatre. I even liked it better than the Alhambra. It was in beautiful shape and film presentation was superb.
The last time I was in the Fox it was doing a brief stint as a discount house with all seats 49 cents! That must have been in 1970 because I remember one of the features I saw that day was “Adam at 6:00 A.M.”, a 1970 release.
Personally I think it would have been much more practical to save the Fox than the Alhambra just because of it’s much better downtown location for a mixed use venue. Of course both theatres, our only real Sacramento movie palaces, were ultimately demolished and that’s doubly sad!
I am wondering if anyone knows or has pictures of the ballroom above the fox theater. It was called Palm Grove Ballroom. Please let me know you you have or know where to see pictures. thanks Loved the fox used to go there