I am the Jeff Morse named in the above article. The California Theater sadly closed in 1977 and demolished not long after. It was built in the late 20’s under another name, the G & S, but was named the California by the 1930’s. It was built not only for films but for vaudeville as well and had a functional stage, dressing rooms, and an orchestra pit. Its a a shame city planners didn’t see the possibilities, it would have made a wonderful performing arts venue downtown, something that Santa Rosa sorely lacks. The interior was richly decorated in what I suppose could be called 1920’s chinoiserie with murals of Chinese peasant life. An interesting footnote- Nathalie Wood, a Santa Rosa native was introduced to films in this theater and knew it well in her childhood. On the site of the theater is a garage for the downtown mall. Thank you very much for the photos! I’ve never seen them before. It brought back many fine memories. Jeffrey Morse moravocis at sign mac.com
I am the Jeff Morse named in the above article. The California Theater sadly closed in 1977 and demolished not long after. It was built in the late 20’s under another name, the G & S, but was named the California by the 1930’s. It was built not only for films but for vaudeville as well and had a functional stage, dressing rooms, and an orchestra pit. Its a a shame city planners didn’t see the possibilities, it would have made a wonderful performing arts venue downtown, something that Santa Rosa sorely lacks. The interior was richly decorated in what I suppose could be called 1920’s chinoiserie with murals of Chinese peasant life. An interesting footnote- Nathalie Wood, a Santa Rosa native was introduced to films in this theater and knew it well in her childhood. On the site of the theater is a garage for the downtown mall. Thank you very much for the photos! I’ve never seen them before. It brought back many fine memories. Jeffrey Morse moravocis at sign mac.com