Studio Theatre
396 S. First Street,
San Jose,
CA
95113
396 S. First Street,
San Jose,
CA
95113
4 people
favorited this theater
The Studio Theatre was the last movie theatre in the classic tradition to be built in downtown San Jose, opening in 1950. It maintained its status as a well-kept first run theatre into the 1970’s, when it switched to showing adult movies in 1973-1974. This was followed by a period screening Spanish language films.
When the market for such product dried up in the early-1990’s, the policy became standard Hollywood product double features at bargain prices. All this time, the Studio Theatre retained its original interior murals of ballet dancers, and its gold-swagged curtains and original box office and magenta-and-white neon.
In about 1999, the theater was converted to a nightclub called Dance Plex, containing a Seventies retro club, Polly Esther’s, and a 1980’s retro club, Culture Club. It was last used as Club Wet, which was closed in September 2009.
The interior has been altered, although the lobby has only been repainted. The exterior, which is landmarked, has been completely preserved, including the sign. The auditorium was stripped back to bare brick in August 2011, and will reopen as rock climbing venue.
Contributed by
Gary Parks
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Recent comments (view all 21 comments)
The Studio, looking for a buyer in 1997:
View link
1984 Photo
Additional photos can be seen here.
The Studio Theater became Club Wet around January 2009 – the latest in a string of nightclub businesses to inhabit the theater since the late 1990’s. Club Wet has had its business license revoked on September 23rd 2009 after a long series of incidents of violence and public drunkenness over the course of the summer. No word as to when or if the club will reopen.
Very nice vertical.
Club WET must have cleaned up its act considerably. Their advertising budget certainly has expanded. In addition to lots of print advertising, they now have a photographic billboard ad atop a building in San Francisco (!), fully visible as you approach the Bay Bridge, going Eastbound. Meanwhile, another alteration has occurred to the historic Studio facade. The marquee has been painted completely black, and the magenta neon has been removed and replaced with blue neon.
To see this theatre lately in local news due to WET would make my uncle roll !.
My uncle was Lawrence Borg. He built this theatre around 1950. The theatre was run by The Borg Family Trust until approximatly 1990, when the family decided to sell it, for fear of Earthquake damage/retrofit/lawsuit.
I almost was able to lease the theatre from the trust in 1988 when I was interested in opening a nightclub, but decided not to, but I wish I would have just reopened as an art theatre.
I am glad that this forum on Cinema Treasures has kept the spirit and soul of my uncle alive. He was a vibrant person, who loved His family, the movies, traveling, animals, and life…..
Thanks so much
Andrew
Word reached me today via someone who owns a business nearby that Club WET is finis. Apparently an indoor rock climbing facility is taking the space. Supposedly the building has been rezoned so that it cannot be a nightclub again.
On site observation by me this morning: I was allowed to briefly step into the former auditorium. I can confirm firsthand that the auditorium has been completely gutted to the bare concrete and open beam steel ceiling joists. An extensive new steel armature for the rock climbing wall structure now twists and turns throughout the space, and is admittedly quite impressive. At present, the original wall surfaces and ceiling coves of the lobby and the passages leading to the former auditorium are intact. Original ornamental plaster leaves still are extant in the passages, but once in the auditorium, all trace of theatrical use is completely gone. The exterior at present remains completely unchanged from its days as WET, save for the removal of the club’s name from the former reader-board spaces on the marquee.
Just went into the Studio theatre a few days ago and they have torn out the old lobby walls. Will they wreck the nice front glass boxoffice also and front neon sign? What will the new name be ‘Studio Rocks Downtown’. In the old days people went outside to climb rocks for free, now you have to go indside and pay.