Gay Theatre
400 S. First Street,
San Jose,
CA
95113
400 S. First Street,
San Jose,
CA
95113
4 people
favorited this theater
Opened in June 1948 in a building which was once a garage, this theater was named after the daughter of the promoter who conceived it. The Gay Theatre was the southernmost anchor of downtown San Jose’s South First Street theater district.
In the 1970’s, the Gay Theatre became the Pussycat Theatre, joining that chain of adult theaters, and in 1989, with the ongoing revitalization of downtown, it became the F/X nightclub, and the marquee was restored.
Unfortunately, with the more recent incarnation as The Usual, another club, the marquee was severely altered and stripped of neon, making the building appear more…well, usual. Later occupied by the club Spy, today the building is the nightclub, Angels Ultra Lounge & Cabaret.
Contributed by
GaryParks
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
Cool, that’s an urban legend shot put to rest – I’d heard that one for years…..
Vince Miranda was my God father.He was NOT married to Rosemary Clooney!! However, he was very good friends with Rosemarie (The Dick Van Dyke Show).She was a great family friend. It was printed in some gossip rags like Rona Barrett’s that they were dating. That too is untrue.Although…they both went on the Mike Douglas show and stated otherwise.
He was a great guy , and I miss him very much.I have been putting together a collection of pussycat memorbilia…if any of you out there have any photos, letters , or even storys..Please let mr know.
Tim David
Yet another incarnation for the Gay Theatre: It is now called Angels. There is pink neon on the marquee for the first time since the Pussycat days, as well as a pair of stylized angel wings made of thousands of silvery sequin-like disks, which move and shimmer in the breeze. Not a bad design at all, though the original marquee look is sorely missed.
Here is a photo of Angels (the former Pussycat/Gay Theatre) taken in October 2006.
Interesting article on PUSSYCAT….
View link
New book-length Pussycat Theatre history from the San Diego Reader:
View link
1970 Photo
This is from a few years ago. The related website has also gone kaput, so I think it’s curtains for the nightclub.
http://tinyurl.com/ycwsl9q
Big for lease sign on the marquee, no mistaking though that it was a theatre.
The Gay Theatre was opened a year earlier than the intro currently says. Boxoffice of May 1, 1948, said that Bert Kennerson’s new Gay Theatre at San Jose would be ready to open about June 1. Boxoffice of July 10 said the house had opened, that the $55,000 house seated 600, and that its opening had brought the total number of theaters operating in San Jose to twelve.