Parkway Theater
1834 Park Boulevard,
Oakland,
CA
94606
1834 Park Boulevard,
Oakland,
CA
94606
12 people
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Probably Oakland’s funkiest theatre, and certainly one of its most fun! The Parkway is a very cozy neighborhood theatre with a great vibe. Thursday night “Thrillville” is a really fun experience, when exotic, and obscure films are presented on their main screen. Watching a 60s B-movie horror with an appreciative audience, while eating pizza and beer (in a loveseat) is truly something unique. Not to be missed!
Us kids in the 50’s could see the Saturday Matinee free, with 3 7-UP bottle caps. Only problem was, try'n to find those caps, as it was not quite the “choice of drink”, between us kids. Searched a lot of gutters, etc.!
The Parkway was very briefly called the Lake Merritt Theater (though the “Parkway” signage remained intact) during about late 1980’s).
The Parkway Theatre seated 1062 people when it was a single screen movie theatre.
The second theatre in the Parkway was the old stadium lodge area.I beleive the theate was twinned in the mid 70’s.brucec
The address (at least currently) is 1834 Park Boulevard.
The Parkway was originally a single-screen theater; a second theater was added about 1974 (apparently by converting a storage space upstairs, as a newspaper article claims the theater never had a balcony). Hopefully someone who visited the theater before its second screen was added can clear this up.
The architect was Mark T. Jorgensen.
This theatre has one of the most unusual original proscenium arches of any surviving 1920s Bay Area theatre. The style is Egyptian. The arch shape is semicircular, and outlined with a lotus and sundisk motif. Lighting glows from behind these features. Atop the arch, a larger winged sundisk flanked by uraei (cobras) predominates. Over this is an organ grille, shaped like a sunburst, very similar to a larger example on the ceiling of the Egyptian in Hollywood.
At the base of the proscenium, flanking the stage, are pharaonic pseudo-sphinxes, with the hindparts of what appear to be coiled serpents. Lights hidden between the paws illuminate the faces.
Continuing from the arch a little way down the sidewalls, the surfaces are scribed to look like blocks of stone, with a cornice of cobra-headed vultures with wings outstretched placed end-to-end.
Little remains of the original decor in the rest of the theatre, save for later moderne fixtures in the lobby, and a likewise moderne terrazzo floor in the entry.
the parkaway is now a speakeasy theatre. customers can order beer and pizza and can sit on couches. they also have a special night for babies called “baby brigade”