Enean Theater Saved
posted by
eneantheater
on
October 21, 2004 at 1:31 pm
PITTSBURG, CA — The City of Pittsburg is purchasing the Enean Theater to help restore the landmark theater (see previous story).
The owner Jaime Penuela and Paul Warshauer (of Grande Venues) have joined forces to reopen the Enean.
The outlook is very good now.
Comments (4)
Was the Enean run by the Enea family, who owned several other theatres in the Bay Area?
Yes, the Enean was part of the Enea family’s chain. I was also told some time ago by theatre organ authority Dick Taylor that the Enean was the last theatre in the Bay Area to be equipped with an organ before that practice stopped after the silent era had clearly ended.
Another Enean still stands, in Concord, and is a church. On the site of their drive-in in Dublin (CA) is a shopping center which bears the Enea name. Its sign can be seen from the 580 and 680 freeways adjacent.
The Enean was operated by an earlier generation of the Enea family. Sylvester Enea opened this theatre, and also owned and operated another Pittsburg theatre, the Pittsburg Auto Movies, which closed in 1959 to make way for a housing development.
The Enean is located in a not-so-safe neighborhood. I hope that local
groups really get behind this project as it could turn the entire
area around – which it needs desperately.