Colfax Theater

Joe Vogel on February 9, 2011 at 2:49 am

The Colfax Theatre is no longer operating as a movie theater. This article in the Roseville Press Tribune, dated November 20, 2008, says that the Colfax had been closed, but would soon reopen as a venue for community events. I’ve been unable to find any events at the Colfax listed anywhere on the Internet.

The theater’s its My Space page is still up, with a few nice photos of the auditorium in its slide show, but the blog section hasn’t been updated since June 23, 2008. The main page apparently hasn’t been updated either, as it still gives admission prices.

The opening paragraph of the current Cinema Treasures description of the theater contains an error (and as the house is no longer an operating movie theater, pretty much the whole description is obsolete.) The Colfax Theatre opened in 1939, acording to both the My Space page and a 1990 article in Boxoffice (the 2008 Roseville newspaper article I linked to says 1940.) The earlier Colfax Theatre it replaced had been located on Depot Street, and had been destroyed by fire. Local businessman Oswald Marson built the entirely new Colfax Theatre on a lot he owned on Main Street. As far as I can discover, the Colfax Theatre has never had any other name. Since the 1980s renovation, it has had 250 seats.

The October, 1990, Boxoffice article tells about the renovation of the house by Wendell Jacob, and has a couple of small photos. Boxoffice says the style is Art Deco, but the numerous photos available show a much simpler style, so I’d say it would be better described as Streamline Modern. Most of the fixtures in the theater are vintage pieces that have been restored.

I’ve been unable to discover the original architect of the Colfax, but Boxoffice says that the 1988-89 renovation, which involved almost completely stripping the interior of the building, was designed by Sacramento architect Jay Hyde. Hyde’s LinkedIn profile reveals that from 1982 until 1994 he was Director of Design at SH2A Architects (now Rhetta Associates,) the Sacramento firm that also renovated the Crest Theatre in that city (1997) and the Varsity Theatre in Davis (1993.)

The Colfax Theatre is apparently still owned by Wendell Jacob’s granddaughter, Emma Mae Jacob, who has dropped her middle name and, having relocated to Nashville, has embarked on a career as a country music singer.

lostmemory on April 18, 2009 at 12:26 pm

Must have had a facelift at some point in time.

lostmemory on October 4, 2006 at 4:39 am

Here is a recent photo of the Colfax Theater.