I saw the exterior and was allowed inside the State in the early 1990s. At the time, there was very little to look at, the twin auditoriums being draped in pleated fabric. I remember guessing that perhaps the balcony had been converted to other uses. Apparently I guessed correctly. I photographed a mural in the outer lobby area—which appeared to be an original decorative feature—which depicted a birds-eye view of Auburn, flanked by clusters of agricultural bounty. It’s nice to hear that this much-altered theatre is on a comeback trail.
Resounding kudos to the Paradise restoration! Definitely a destination next time we’re in New York. My sincerest appreciation to fellow Theatre Historical Society member Orlando Lopes for his dedication. Just from the above photo, I can tell it’s a first class job. Now…to visit its website!
Resounding kudos to the Paradise restoration! Definitely a destination next time we’re in New York. My sincerest appreciation to fellow Theatre Historical Society member Orlando Lopes for his dedication. Just from the above photo, I can tell it’s a first class job. Now…to visit its website!
Finally, a nod to the Skouras style theatres, which, up until about age ten, completely defined the moviegoing experience for me. At that time, I considered that look to be nothing else but Movie Theatre Style. Nice to see it revered in front of contemporary audiences. If only a handful get the significance—so be it. The few who do will make the effort worthwhile.
The main floor of the auditorium of the State in Ann Arbor is an Urban Outfitters. The balcony houses two (or possibly three) theatres. The facade and marquee are intact and well maintained.
I’ve never been in Dallas myself, but THEATRE ORGAN magazine had a feature article a couple of years ago on the theatres of downtown Dallas and their organs with some fine photos, a number in color. I specifically remember that the Majestic and Palace were covered, as well as several others. This magazine is the journal of the American Theatre Organ Society. www.atos.org should enable you to contact them and see about getting a back issue.
You may be interested to know that the organ from the Dallas Palace is now in use in the recently restored California Theatre in San Jose, where I have heard it.
This theatre has a 20s exterior, but the interior is definitely a moderne remodel. It is worth going inside. The stage flytower once had painted and neon letters simply reading “THEATRE” on all sides, which were visible from the nearby freeway. the sign on the rear wall of the stagehouse also featured remnants of a mural, perhaps a forest (it was badly weathered). The signs were repainted to read “BILLIARDS” several years ago.
The Tower was formerly called the Majestic, and dates to the Teens. As a Spanish language movie house, it was the last of the old Mission Street theatre district houses to close.
This theatre was indeed called the California after it was called the DeLuxe. However, as soon as the “new” California was built in 1927 (the one that is now restored and is featured in the Shomler photos mentioned in the above comment), this theatre became the Mission, and remained so until its 1953 closure and subsequent demolition.
The photo displayed via the comment immediately above shows the vertical sign dating from 1957,as well as the marquee installed then as well. The vertical was removed in 1988 by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, who also paid for the restoration of the 1957 marquee, which was used to promote Downtown events (and occasional limited-use events in the theatre itself such as tours and lobby receptions) until its removal during the theatre’s restoration beginning in 2001. In the photo, the vertical is stained with soot from the 1970s fire which destroyed the Mission Hotel next door.
I have seen a photo of the facade of this theatre, not long after it closed, with the marquee’s message inviting patrons to attend what was then the brand new Serra Theatre nearby. The Serra itself lasted until the early 1990s.
The little town of Guadalupe is located in a wide expanse of agricultural land midway between the larger city of Santa Maria and the Pacific Ocean. Between Guadalupe and the ocean lie the majestic Nipomo Dunes, a stretch of pristine desertlike sand formations and shoreline—now protected as parkland—which are best known perhaps as having been the location of the City of Pharaoh/Exodus set from Cecil B. DeMille’s first (1923) cinematic account of the Ten Commandments story. Guadalupe’s sleepy, picturesque downtown features a collection of largely 19th and early 20th Century buildings. The Royal Theatre is one of the first prominant commercial structures one sees when entering the downtown from the road leading from Santa Maria.
I know that the Royal screened Spanish language product in the 1970s and 1980s. At this time, the theatre was operated by Hank Garcia, who also operated one of the (now vanished) old theatres in Santa Maria. The Garcia family still owns the Fox Theatre and Green Valley Cinema in Watsonville, although the Fox closed earlier this year.
When I first saw the Royal in the mid-1990s, it appeared to have been closed for a period, and was looking a bit worn.
A few years later, I was surprised to see that the Royal had been beautifully refurbished with much new neon on the marquee, and a fine paint job inside as well as out, from what I could see through the doors.
The marquee was advertising some sort of local “POLITICAL FORUM,” and I assumed (correctly, it turned out) that the theatre was being used as a facility for town meetings and assorted special functions.
That same day, I drove out to the Nipomo Dunes to see if I could spot any of the scattered remains of DeMille’s buried set. The Dunes were fenced-off to protect the remains—fragments of which I could see littering the sand in the distance—but I did get to talk to the ranger at the Park entrance, who turned out to be a lifelong resident of Guadalupe. He told me that recently the Royal had been restored and reopened as a firstrun movie theatre by an individual who had been operating the Fox Theatre in Taft. He had secured good relationships with several distributors, but this venture at the Royal failed, and the theatre closed as a movie house after several weeks, and was subsequently being used for local gatherings and functions. In the years since, I have driven by the Royal a couple of times, and it would appear to still be functioning in this capacity.
FOOTNOTE: The ranger I talked to at the Nipomo Dunes told me that, when he was a boy, two of the wood and plaster sphinxes from DeMille’s movie set were relocated to flank the driveway of a private residence in town. They stood there for many years. Just a few months ago, I came across a postcard at an antique show (an item too expensive for my budget that day) dating from the 1920s or 30s, showing that very pair of sphinxes. It was captioned as picturing a scene in Guadalupe, and the sphinxes as being from The Ten Commandments set.
I just returned from three weeks in Egypt and at the end of our trip, after spending most of the day viewing Pharaonic treasures in the Egyptian Museum, I arranged for our guide to take my wife and I for an exterior viewing and photoshoot of the nearby Metro. Our guide, Sam, about 30 years old, was well familiar with the Metro, as he went on dates there when courting his wife.
Though I did not see the interior, I am happy to say that the exterior, though coated in dust like nearly all Cairo buildings from lack of rain, is almost completely in original condition. The only significant change apparent is a modern wedge-shaped marquee in place of the original rectangular canopy. The facade’s ornamental scheme is intact. The vertical sign is intact. Underneath the marquee is a wood-veneered streamlined box office with an art deco brass grille in the window.
The Metro still sits amid what is clearly an old movie theatre district. Some houses still operate, while others are closed.
Thomas Lamb also designed the deco styled Metro in Cairo, Egypt. Apparently it’s not far from the Cairo Museum. I am going to try to find and photograph it when in Egypt this Fall. According to theatre organ specialist Tom DeLay, it even had an organ, which may still be in the theatre, as far as he knows.
I visited this theatre last month with the Theatre Historical Society of America Conclave attendees. The church that occupies the building keeps it clean and the interior is freshly painted. Along with the obligatory white walls and ceiling, the Skouras swirl and scroll ornaments are all gold, as is the original 1920s proscenium, which is visible within the later Skouras-era one. The ceiling coves all light up, though all in white. Doubtless they were once multicolored. The original Arts and Crafts stained glass windows on the Mezzanine are clean and bright.
Just got a call not yet an hour ago from my friend who is both a theatre buff and in the antiques and architectural salvage business. He called me on his cell from the exterior of the Palm, as he had just come down from having been up on a rented boom in order to remove the neon and metal channel letters from the South side of the theatre’s sign tower. The letters came off successfully, though it was a hair-raising operation. The letters on the North side had earlier been removed by someone from Ohmega Salvage via a ladder placed on top of the entrance canopy. This person apparently thought it too risky to remove the letter “M,” which was unreachable, so there it sits. The successfully-removed complete name from the South side of the sign tower will be carefully restored—my friend is a perfectionist—and likely sold. He also salvaged the box office etched window. The etched palm branch mirror panels which framed the exterior poster cases were removed by the owner for donation to the local history museum. My friend has also rescued door signs from the restrooms and the lobby phone booth, as well as two display cases which had been stored behind the screen.
My friend has been told that the wrecking claw will begin its work on Monday the 11th.
Well, my wife and I saw “Cinderella Man” last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Also, we made sure to see it at one of the locally owned and operated art movie ‘plexes in our area. Since our area only has two small historic theatres showing contemporary movies on a regular basis, we do the next best thing whenever possible and that’s to patronize modern theatres which are locally owned.
The organ from the Fox State later spent many years—the 1960s through the 1990s and a little bit into the new millenium—in Ye Olde Pizza Joynt in San Lorenzo, California. For many years, organist Bill Langford held fourth here, and was suceeded by Jerry Nagano and others. At the Pizza Joynt, the Fox State organ was played with the console from the Warfield Theatre, San Francisco. Sadly, a fire a couple of years ago closed the restaurant and destroyed the organ console. The pipes were largely spared, from what I’ve heard. I do not know what has become of the organ since then.
Clarification: The CALIFORNIA vertical sign was one of a number of identical or near-identical signs made for many theatres under the T&D banner which were named “California.” The example in Dunsmuir is identical in design to that of the 1927 California Theatre in San Jose, a sign which was originally applied to the 1912 T&D Theatre DeLuxe when it was renamed California, and then later moved over to the new 1927 namesake. The DeLuxe/California of 1912 date was then renamed the Mission, and was torn down in 1953.
The Dunsmuir California vertical was indeed studied in detail in recent years, so that a replica could be made by Wagner Electric Sign Co. for the restored California in San Jose.
Okay, I guess I have an undue advantage here because I’m a visual artist by training and profession, but a glance at the rendering of the new complex clearly reveals that it is NOT taller than the original Alameda Theatre facade. What people are seeing is the result of two-point perspective. The facade of the new complex is at the same level as the two side bays of the historic theatre facade (the sections which have the circular mandala-like elements on them). According to the illustration, the central third of Pflueger’s original facade, as well as the vertical sign, will be the tallest part of the whole completed complex.
I saw the exterior and was allowed inside the State in the early 1990s. At the time, there was very little to look at, the twin auditoriums being draped in pleated fabric. I remember guessing that perhaps the balcony had been converted to other uses. Apparently I guessed correctly. I photographed a mural in the outer lobby area—which appeared to be an original decorative feature—which depicted a birds-eye view of Auburn, flanked by clusters of agricultural bounty. It’s nice to hear that this much-altered theatre is on a comeback trail.
Resounding kudos to the Paradise restoration! Definitely a destination next time we’re in New York. My sincerest appreciation to fellow Theatre Historical Society member Orlando Lopes for his dedication. Just from the above photo, I can tell it’s a first class job. Now…to visit its website!
Resounding kudos to the Paradise restoration! Definitely a destination next time we’re in New York. My sincerest appreciation to fellow Theatre Historical Society member Orlando Lopes for his dedication. Just from the above photo, I can tell it’s a first class job. Now…to visit its website!
Interesting! Weeks also designed numerous theatres which were components of the many public schools he designed.
Finally, a nod to the Skouras style theatres, which, up until about age ten, completely defined the moviegoing experience for me. At that time, I considered that look to be nothing else but Movie Theatre Style. Nice to see it revered in front of contemporary audiences. If only a handful get the significance—so be it. The few who do will make the effort worthwhile.
I searched for this theatre a number of years ago while in Ft. Bragg, and clearly, it had been long demolished.
The main floor of the auditorium of the State in Ann Arbor is an Urban Outfitters. The balcony houses two (or possibly three) theatres. The facade and marquee are intact and well maintained.
Yes, that most definitely is the Warner in Erie.
I’ve never been in Dallas myself, but THEATRE ORGAN magazine had a feature article a couple of years ago on the theatres of downtown Dallas and their organs with some fine photos, a number in color. I specifically remember that the Majestic and Palace were covered, as well as several others. This magazine is the journal of the American Theatre Organ Society. www.atos.org should enable you to contact them and see about getting a back issue.
You may be interested to know that the organ from the Dallas Palace is now in use in the recently restored California Theatre in San Jose, where I have heard it.
This theatre has a 20s exterior, but the interior is definitely a moderne remodel. It is worth going inside. The stage flytower once had painted and neon letters simply reading “THEATRE” on all sides, which were visible from the nearby freeway. the sign on the rear wall of the stagehouse also featured remnants of a mural, perhaps a forest (it was badly weathered). The signs were repainted to read “BILLIARDS” several years ago.
My cousin, Gary Lord, was projectionist at the Sierra circa late 60s/early 70s.
The Tower was formerly called the Majestic, and dates to the Teens. As a Spanish language movie house, it was the last of the old Mission Street theatre district houses to close.
This theatre was indeed called the California after it was called the DeLuxe. However, as soon as the “new” California was built in 1927 (the one that is now restored and is featured in the Shomler photos mentioned in the above comment), this theatre became the Mission, and remained so until its 1953 closure and subsequent demolition.
The photo displayed via the comment immediately above shows the vertical sign dating from 1957,as well as the marquee installed then as well. The vertical was removed in 1988 by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, who also paid for the restoration of the 1957 marquee, which was used to promote Downtown events (and occasional limited-use events in the theatre itself such as tours and lobby receptions) until its removal during the theatre’s restoration beginning in 2001. In the photo, the vertical is stained with soot from the 1970s fire which destroyed the Mission Hotel next door.
“Karim” in Arabic means, “Generous.” Oftentimes this is also given as a man’s name.
I have seen a photo of the facade of this theatre, not long after it closed, with the marquee’s message inviting patrons to attend what was then the brand new Serra Theatre nearby. The Serra itself lasted until the early 1990s.
The little town of Guadalupe is located in a wide expanse of agricultural land midway between the larger city of Santa Maria and the Pacific Ocean. Between Guadalupe and the ocean lie the majestic Nipomo Dunes, a stretch of pristine desertlike sand formations and shoreline—now protected as parkland—which are best known perhaps as having been the location of the City of Pharaoh/Exodus set from Cecil B. DeMille’s first (1923) cinematic account of the Ten Commandments story. Guadalupe’s sleepy, picturesque downtown features a collection of largely 19th and early 20th Century buildings. The Royal Theatre is one of the first prominant commercial structures one sees when entering the downtown from the road leading from Santa Maria.
I know that the Royal screened Spanish language product in the 1970s and 1980s. At this time, the theatre was operated by Hank Garcia, who also operated one of the (now vanished) old theatres in Santa Maria. The Garcia family still owns the Fox Theatre and Green Valley Cinema in Watsonville, although the Fox closed earlier this year.
When I first saw the Royal in the mid-1990s, it appeared to have been closed for a period, and was looking a bit worn.
A few years later, I was surprised to see that the Royal had been beautifully refurbished with much new neon on the marquee, and a fine paint job inside as well as out, from what I could see through the doors.
The marquee was advertising some sort of local “POLITICAL FORUM,” and I assumed (correctly, it turned out) that the theatre was being used as a facility for town meetings and assorted special functions.
That same day, I drove out to the Nipomo Dunes to see if I could spot any of the scattered remains of DeMille’s buried set. The Dunes were fenced-off to protect the remains—fragments of which I could see littering the sand in the distance—but I did get to talk to the ranger at the Park entrance, who turned out to be a lifelong resident of Guadalupe. He told me that recently the Royal had been restored and reopened as a firstrun movie theatre by an individual who had been operating the Fox Theatre in Taft. He had secured good relationships with several distributors, but this venture at the Royal failed, and the theatre closed as a movie house after several weeks, and was subsequently being used for local gatherings and functions. In the years since, I have driven by the Royal a couple of times, and it would appear to still be functioning in this capacity.
FOOTNOTE: The ranger I talked to at the Nipomo Dunes told me that, when he was a boy, two of the wood and plaster sphinxes from DeMille’s movie set were relocated to flank the driveway of a private residence in town. They stood there for many years. Just a few months ago, I came across a postcard at an antique show (an item too expensive for my budget that day) dating from the 1920s or 30s, showing that very pair of sphinxes. It was captioned as picturing a scene in Guadalupe, and the sphinxes as being from The Ten Commandments set.
I just returned from three weeks in Egypt and at the end of our trip, after spending most of the day viewing Pharaonic treasures in the Egyptian Museum, I arranged for our guide to take my wife and I for an exterior viewing and photoshoot of the nearby Metro. Our guide, Sam, about 30 years old, was well familiar with the Metro, as he went on dates there when courting his wife.
Though I did not see the interior, I am happy to say that the exterior, though coated in dust like nearly all Cairo buildings from lack of rain, is almost completely in original condition. The only significant change apparent is a modern wedge-shaped marquee in place of the original rectangular canopy. The facade’s ornamental scheme is intact. The vertical sign is intact. Underneath the marquee is a wood-veneered streamlined box office with an art deco brass grille in the window.
The Metro still sits amid what is clearly an old movie theatre district. Some houses still operate, while others are closed.
Thomas Lamb also designed the deco styled Metro in Cairo, Egypt. Apparently it’s not far from the Cairo Museum. I am going to try to find and photograph it when in Egypt this Fall. According to theatre organ specialist Tom DeLay, it even had an organ, which may still be in the theatre, as far as he knows.
I visited this theatre last month with the Theatre Historical Society of America Conclave attendees. The church that occupies the building keeps it clean and the interior is freshly painted. Along with the obligatory white walls and ceiling, the Skouras swirl and scroll ornaments are all gold, as is the original 1920s proscenium, which is visible within the later Skouras-era one. The ceiling coves all light up, though all in white. Doubtless they were once multicolored. The original Arts and Crafts stained glass windows on the Mezzanine are clean and bright.
Just got a call not yet an hour ago from my friend who is both a theatre buff and in the antiques and architectural salvage business. He called me on his cell from the exterior of the Palm, as he had just come down from having been up on a rented boom in order to remove the neon and metal channel letters from the South side of the theatre’s sign tower. The letters came off successfully, though it was a hair-raising operation. The letters on the North side had earlier been removed by someone from Ohmega Salvage via a ladder placed on top of the entrance canopy. This person apparently thought it too risky to remove the letter “M,” which was unreachable, so there it sits. The successfully-removed complete name from the South side of the sign tower will be carefully restored—my friend is a perfectionist—and likely sold. He also salvaged the box office etched window. The etched palm branch mirror panels which framed the exterior poster cases were removed by the owner for donation to the local history museum. My friend has also rescued door signs from the restrooms and the lobby phone booth, as well as two display cases which had been stored behind the screen.
My friend has been told that the wrecking claw will begin its work on Monday the 11th.
“Sic transit gloria cinema San Mateo.”
Well, my wife and I saw “Cinderella Man” last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Also, we made sure to see it at one of the locally owned and operated art movie ‘plexes in our area. Since our area only has two small historic theatres showing contemporary movies on a regular basis, we do the next best thing whenever possible and that’s to patronize modern theatres which are locally owned.
The organ from the Fox State later spent many years—the 1960s through the 1990s and a little bit into the new millenium—in Ye Olde Pizza Joynt in San Lorenzo, California. For many years, organist Bill Langford held fourth here, and was suceeded by Jerry Nagano and others. At the Pizza Joynt, the Fox State organ was played with the console from the Warfield Theatre, San Francisco. Sadly, a fire a couple of years ago closed the restaurant and destroyed the organ console. The pipes were largely spared, from what I’ve heard. I do not know what has become of the organ since then.
Clarification: The CALIFORNIA vertical sign was one of a number of identical or near-identical signs made for many theatres under the T&D banner which were named “California.” The example in Dunsmuir is identical in design to that of the 1927 California Theatre in San Jose, a sign which was originally applied to the 1912 T&D Theatre DeLuxe when it was renamed California, and then later moved over to the new 1927 namesake. The DeLuxe/California of 1912 date was then renamed the Mission, and was torn down in 1953.
The Dunsmuir California vertical was indeed studied in detail in recent years, so that a replica could be made by Wagner Electric Sign Co. for the restored California in San Jose.
Okay, I guess I have an undue advantage here because I’m a visual artist by training and profession, but a glance at the rendering of the new complex clearly reveals that it is NOT taller than the original Alameda Theatre facade. What people are seeing is the result of two-point perspective. The facade of the new complex is at the same level as the two side bays of the historic theatre facade (the sections which have the circular mandala-like elements on them). According to the illustration, the central third of Pflueger’s original facade, as well as the vertical sign, will be the tallest part of the whole completed complex.