Soper-Reese Theatre
275 S. Main Street,
Lakeport,
CA
95453
275 S. Main Street,
Lakeport,
CA
95453
No one has favorited this theater yet
The Lakeport Theatre opened in 1949, and was designed by San Francisco theater architect Vincent G. Raney for owner Leo Reese, who had operated Lakeport’s Orpheum Theatre for twenty years.
When construction on the Lakeport had recently begun, the building was described in an article in the October 2, 1948, issue of Boxoffice magazine as being built of Bakelite blocks with a rough stucco finish on the exterior. Raney designed the house with a section of stadium seating, to maximize capacity on the fairly small building site. The completed house had about 600 seats.
The Lakeport Theatre operated as a movie house for nearly half a century, closing in the 1990’s. In 1997, the building was purchased by the Lake County Arts Council, with a donation by Jim and Florence Soper, and renovations were begun to convert the space into a community performing arts center. The theater was designated a Lakeport Historic Building by the city in 2000.
The theater has operated intermittently as a live performance venue while undergoing renovations. The first phase of renovation was completed in 2008, and the house is now in use for live performances and for theatre classes of Mendocino College. Funds are being raised for further renovations.
Despite considerable alteration, some period features remain in the house, including the entrance doors with their Art Moderne floral pattern etched glass.
Contributed by
Joe Vogel
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 2 comments)
The Lakeport Theatre opened with about 600 seats, according to Boxoffice Magazine, but the number has been reduced. Some part of the orchestra seating was removed to make room for the stage. I’ve been unable to discover the current seating capacity, or what it will be when remodeling is complete, but I doubt it will end up much more than half the original 600.
I’ve also found several references in issues of Boxoffice from the 1950s which say that Robert Reese was the operator of the Lakeport. He was most likely Leo Reese’s son, but I’ve got no confirmation of that. There are a couple of more recent references on the Internet to a Margaret Reese being the operator of the Lakeport Auto Movies and the twin (later five-screen) adjacent to it, so the Reese family probably ran all the theaters in Lakeport from the 1920s until recently.
There are still many Reeses in Lake County, so maybe one of them will find this page and fill in the details for us. I’d especially like to know more about Leo Reese’s Orpheum Theatre, and about the Rio Theatre in Merced, which one issue of Boxoffice mentions him operating.
Here is a 1986 photo. Lakeport Cinemas can be another aka name.