Foothill Theater

3440 Foothill Boulevard,
Oakland, CA 94601

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MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on October 9, 2021 at 10:39 am

Motion Picture Herald, Jan. 12, 1952: “Robert Lippert sold the 687-seat Foothill in Oakland to the Golden State Circuit.”

rivest266
rivest266 on August 4, 2018 at 10:20 am

Listings as Foothill started on July 11th, 1935. No grand opening ad found.

wrightofway_2
wrightofway_2 on September 1, 2015 at 5:25 pm

The reason the seats decreased is because for a period time the theater was used for stage shows and a huge stage was built.

bago1
bago1 on April 17, 2009 at 11:03 am

i grew up in the fruitvale district in the 80s and 90s and i remember this theater being open for a short time in the mid 80s. i never went in it but i do remember it being open once in a great while during most of the 90s it sat vacant till the buddhist church took it over in early 2000 tobad i never got to see a movie here …..

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on February 6, 2008 at 9:26 pm

There is a small photo on this site. I think some remodeling has been done:
http://tinyurl.com/3cylx6

jvbrennan
jvbrennan on February 6, 2008 at 8:40 pm

The venerable Foothill Theater holds a multitude of memories that I share with my brothers and sisters. Going to “the show” meant plunking down twenty-five cents and never being disappointed. Never in life afterwards would I ever get my moneys worth like I did when I was a kid sitting in the Foothill for a Saturday matinee of entertainment. Prizes raffled off during intermission included a wooden rocking horse and box of assorted concession goodies plus complimentary movie tickets. Irish luck would have it that these enviable items would be won by my two sisters whose matching ticket stubs were plucked from a tumbling mixing bin on stage, and forever become part of our family story.

jvbrennan
jvbrennan on July 11, 2006 at 4:40 pm

According to the Oakland Tribune theater listing for July 4, 1960 it was re-named the NEW FOOTHILL.

gsmurph
gsmurph on July 19, 2005 at 1:23 am

…but as the Foothill it seated 687.

gsmurph
gsmurph on April 19, 2005 at 12:54 pm

At least when it was the Studio 1, the Foothill seated 367 people.

robertcampbell
robertcampbell on April 15, 2005 at 12:08 am

Wow, I was actually in the Foothill theatre once when I was about 8 years old (1963)! It was a single floor theatre, and when you walked in, the candy counter was to your right. What I remember was that they had hardly anything to buy at the counter! When my mom and I went in to the auditorium we were the only ones there, and I don’t remember what was playing. Just a couple of black and whites. It had a small lobby and a pretty good sized auditorium with a nice sized screen. I don’t recall any drawings or anything. There was a curtain but it wasn’t used. When the movie ended, the next one started up right afterwards, no intermission. It was closed most of the time back then.

MADDRICK
MADDRICK on April 14, 2005 at 11:35 am

I’d always known it as Dean’s Foothill Theatre
Went there from the mid 30’s to late 40’s.

gsmurph
gsmurph on November 29, 2004 at 6:44 am

ARRRRRGGGHHH!!! I meant to say “Studio 1 Theatre” (yesterday AND on 11/2/03)!!!

gsmurph
gsmurph on November 28, 2004 at 10:03 am

Among the “Also Known as” names should be “Cinema 1 Theatre.”

gsmurph
gsmurph on June 27, 2004 at 11:10 am

See above (just above).

gsmurph
gsmurph on June 25, 2004 at 1:49 am

The Foothill was a single-screen theater—-its status should also be “Closed” rather than “Open.”

AndyT
AndyT on February 16, 2004 at 4:29 am

This nice little neighborhood theater has worn lots of hats —– it also housed a community theater company for a number of years in the 60s, possibly into the 70s.

gsmurph
gsmurph on November 2, 2003 at 10:16 am

The theater, after a long idle period, was remodeled about 1981 and renamed Cinema 1 Theatre; it operated for a few years before closing and became a church; after the church closed, it sat vacant yet again before being converted into its current function.