The Colonial was purchased in 1972 or 73 by James Santillian Sr. & he owned it until his recent passing in January 2019 at the age of 88. It remains in the family, now his wife’s. His son, James Santillian Jr. has been running the business aspect of the theater (bookings, contracts, etc.) for at least the last ten years. The Sacramento Horror Film Festival holds events there several times a year, as well as TWF Wrestling. There are also concerts, live shows, independent films, and community events held there. It is available for booking and the restaurant next door will be reopening soon. The theater still retains a lot of its original charm and during the renovations done in the 90s, Charlie Holtz (who still lived nearby) was brought in to the project to provide details as only the original owner could. Working there is awesome, even with the ghosts that reside there. (A former projection manager has been known to continue doing “his job” {apparently just pacing} in the projection room. Must have REALLY loved that job to spend his afterlife still doing it haha) not to mention the interesting quirks inherent to a building that old.
The Colonial was purchased in 1972 or 73 by James Santillian Sr. & he owned it until his recent passing in January 2019 at the age of 88. It remains in the family, now his wife’s. His son, James Santillian Jr. has been running the business aspect of the theater (bookings, contracts, etc.) for at least the last ten years. The Sacramento Horror Film Festival holds events there several times a year, as well as TWF Wrestling. There are also concerts, live shows, independent films, and community events held there. It is available for booking and the restaurant next door will be reopening soon. The theater still retains a lot of its original charm and during the renovations done in the 90s, Charlie Holtz (who still lived nearby) was brought in to the project to provide details as only the original owner could. Working there is awesome, even with the ghosts that reside there. (A former projection manager has been known to continue doing “his job” {apparently just pacing} in the projection room. Must have REALLY loved that job to spend his afterlife still doing it haha) not to mention the interesting quirks inherent to a building that old.