Golden State Theatre

The present triangular marquee is what is left of the original rectangular marquee. I remember the original marquee—by then painted a dull white—and it was much more attractive and fitting to the building. The chopped up marquee was done in 1967 when UA took over the State from United California Theatres.

A blade sign has no purpose on the facade of the State Theatre as it would take away from the orante detail that is above the entrance. Once/if the facade is restored, it will all make sense. The State has had some really dumb signs over the years. That 4 story monster
was the first. That sign was reduced by a story or two and remained the longest. Once that was removed, two clunky small angular signs were protruded into the upper portion of the facade on each side, near the urn.

Further, if you look at the facade, you will see that the upper 10' or so does not match what is below it. The reason for this is simple.

The original facade was “raised” for the vertical signs via a clunky sheet metal cap that remains to this day, not slowly enough rusting back to nature.

Blade signs are fine in the right circumstances. In Monterey, it was not original to the facade and each time some pile of sheet metal was added to the facade, it took away from the original elegant design.

Sorry for the semi-double posting. The website is acting nuts tonight. My first post was sent and a reply claimed “page not found”; but, obviously it did. With all the hits, Cinema Treasures is “desperate with success.”

Patsy;

Unfortunately for the GST, Mat (Matt) is no longer at the theatre as manager, hence the rosy-looking ad that appeared on the front page of the Cinema Treasures for today.

Matt was a superb person to work with who did his job superbly under circumstances that I will only discuss under private e-mail! Any theatre that gets Matt as a manager will have a real PLUS for their staff.

There are 14 photos at this link:
http://www.cinematour.com/tour/us/2192.html

Exciting times yesterday and today. Progress is being made again on opening the stenciling on the vaulted ceiling of the mezzanine. Truly amazing patterns, and surprisingly well-preserved under the layer of blah white paint.

Just as exciting is the installation of new atmospheric lighting in the auditorium! Using LED light bars, the original lighting patterns can be generated once again, at a tiny percentage of the power usage it took when the theatre originally opened. My favorite pattern so far is a “sunset” behind the proscenium arch, an effect we know is original to the theatre by the placement of the colored bulbs behind the false front.

By the way, Tom DeLay played the Wurlitzer for my 50th birthday party. He may not be comfortable with playing in public, but he sure is good at it!

Tom, were you on the Wurlitzer? Yes, it was a great night and I am so glad there was such a great turn out. When I got there at 6, there was a line all the way down the block. However, promptly at 6 the doors opened and the line went quickly. I actually ran across the street to get coffee. By the time my coffee was ready, the line was gone. Thanks to everyone that made this possible and I look forward to many more performances and movies. Can you tell me if there will be assigned seating for Grease?

David

Thank YOU for the kind comments, David! We’re all very excited about GWTW this weekend. Tickets have been selling at a healthy clip for both shows.

The big news today is the installation of the new loge seating…very cushy and plush. Next on the seating agenda: refurbishment of the upper balcony seats, which came from the long-ago Carmel Theatre in Carmel-by-the-Sea. New seat buckets and reupholstered backs are on the docket. When the upper balcony rows are filled in, seating capacity of the theatre will be just shy of 1,000.

Fun thing: many moons ago, the indirect niche lighting in the auditorium was softened by milk glass panels in each of the small window openings. Guess what? In most cases, the milk glass was still there, but so filthy that no light was shining through. A couple of members of the restoration gang have removed, SCRUBBED and replaced all those they could reach, and the effect is breathtaking. It really highlights the openings without the extra light being offensive.

Another fun thing: the large urns above each of the balcony exits have been backed by plywood since time immemorial. Tom discovered that these, too, were originally backed by milk glass sheets measuring about two feet by three feet! This would illuminate the urns in silhouette. While none of us want to handle glass sheets that large, the plywood will be replaced by white lucite, giving the same effect without the weight or the danger. Can’t wait!

The pipe organ artistry, and composition and conducting skills, of Mr. Robert Israel were well-evident this last Friday as he and the all-female Golden State Theatre Orchestra performed for the screening of Harold Lloyd’s “Grandma’s Boy” at GST. An enthusiastic crowd of 600 attended this latest “work in progress” as restoration continues. A definitive calendar of events will be forthcoming on goldenstatetheatre.com, so remember to check there for details. Better yet, sign up online for email updates!

The next major step…loge seating. The floor in this portion of the balcony has been reclad and carpeted…truly stunning.

More minutia dept. Yes, since 1926, the baseboard colors appear to have been the original light terra cotta, then the forest green (probably the 1934 redecoration), rust red, yellow, ivory, neon green, green, and now back to the likely 1934 forest green.

It was also discovered that several rough plaster ceiling surfaces were applied with an Ebersonian sponged-on maze of light blue, rust, brown, gold, and Lord knows what else.

All of the original stencils and painted surfaces were done by the Fagioni Studios of San Francisco. As of this point, it is not known what company did the original, spectacular, lobby celing painting.

Evergreene Studios of New York is to be commended for the wonderful work they did to bring this space back to “life”. Thanks Jackie and Walter!

Pardon me while I gloat. For all practical purposes, the lobby is DONE! Carpet is in, plaster baseboards are repainted in the original forest green, all ornament is clean, and velvet drapes have been hung in the storage space opening behind the late-but-not-lamented 1970s concession stand. This wall will eventually be restored to its original appearance, but that will require a permit, which is a ways down the road.

(Baseboards note: These baseboards have been four different colors…white, red (!), pale green and forest green. I think I also saw yellow (!!) but I won’t swear to it.)

With the ticket counter and the aforementioned concession counter gone, the lobby is huge, and the original three spaces are now very evident…vestibule, grand lobby and inner lobby. The new carpet pattern, much like the 1934 version, increases the perception of space. The new reproduction furniture looks right at home.

And I vacuumed that space today. I’ll never gripe about vacuuming my own home again!

EverGreene Studios completed the restoration/preservation of the Golden State’s lobby beams and ceiling today! Exciting note: those of us who have volunteered at the theatre for the past umpteen years could see ghosts of stenciling on the flat panels between the beams. EverGreene opened one of these, and they were stunning. So the theatre’s new owner, Warren Dewey, contracted with the studio to reproduce all seven of these giants as an add-on to the project, and they’re probably being applied even as I write this! Whatta guy!

Two of our volunteers have opened the original design in the four balcony “window” niches. They are paintings of highly detailed roman shades, raised about 1/3 of the way up from the “sill” of the niche. One is completed; three to go.

The new carpet has FINALLY arrived, and installation begins Monday.

Next show: Robert Israel on the Mighty Wurlitzer for Harold Lloyd’s “Safety Last” on March 12.

Mr. Bell;

The Regency (ex Strand/Rio) Theatre directly across from the State is around +300 seats and is managed from the State team. The theatre is vastly better under the new management than it was under the earlier chain-owned situation.

The MIIS is a nice concert/lecture hall environemnt, but I have never heard of any films being shown there.

Tom DeLay

New Year’s Eve was HUGE. More than 4,000 people looked through the building and/or stayed for classic cartoons, the mighty WurlitZer, and live stage entertainment. The new seats were very well received, as was the restoration to date.

Sweet story: the new owner was conversing with a local woman, and he introduced me as one of the painting volunteers. She turned to me, and on the verge of tears said, “I can’t thank you enough. I remember leaning back in my seat when I was a little girl and pretending I was in a castle.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, made the last 10 years of work well worth while!

Next on the to-do list: carpet replacement (on the looms as I write this); loge seat replacement (after the new carpet is installed) and restoration of the atmospheric cove lighting (already in progress.)