Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts
1428 Alice Street,
Oakland,
CA
94612
1428 Alice Street,
Oakland,
CA
94612
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Malonga Casquelourd Arts Center (Official)
Additional Info
Architects: Chester H. Miller, Carl I. Warnecke
Firms: Miller & Warnecke
Functions: Community Arts Center
Styles: Renaissance Revival
Previous Names: City Club, Paris, Metropolitan Theatre, Seasonal, Alice Arts Center
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This small theater, part of a hotel/club building, opened in 1935 as the City Club, became the Paris in the 1950’s and closed in 1962; reopened about 1971 as the Metropolitan (apparently as a supper club), and operated briefly as the Seasonal, a Chinese movie venue, in the early 1980’s.
When the building was converted into the Alice Arts Center in the mid-late 1980’s, the theater was incorporated into the center for live theater and other community-related events and was known as the Alice Arts Center Theater until 2004, when it was renamed the Molonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts for a benefactor.
Contributed by
Garrett Murphy
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
The Alice Arts Center recently changed its name to the Malonga Casqueloard Center.
Correction—-I meant to say Malonga Casqueloard Center for the Arts.
In 2004, the center changed its name to the Malonga Casqueloard Center for the Arts in honor and memory of a recently-deceased benefactor of its activities. This should be called MALONGA CASQUELOARD CENTER FOR THE ARTS THEATER.
This theater’s (and building’s) style is Renaissance Revival.
I used to be a lighting designer for the Oakland Metropolitan Ballet Theater Company in the late 1970’s which performed at this theater. At the time it was also a venue for showing films from India. It had a fairly large seating capacity of around 500 seats.
The stage had an old resistance type lighting dimmer system as well as a full ‘fly gallery’ that used sand bag counter weights.
Vern Nerden was the Artistic Director of the company and created some of the finest original ballets I have ever seen.
Details of the building can also be found from a City of Oakland Planning Comission report here: View link
Notable details:
Built in 1927-28 by the Women’s City Club of Oakland and the East Bay
Designed by the firm of (Chester) Miller & (Carl I.) Warnecke
In 1948 it became a Moose Lodge and then a residential hotel.
In the 1970’s I knew this facility as the Metropolitan Theater. I remember that we stored costumes, props and sets in rooms in the building.
The projection booth was unusually large.
The lobby was also large but without a formal box office or way to strictly manage paying audience attendees.
The Women’s City Club (aka City Club Theatre and later Paris Theatre) at 1428 Alice Street.
See photo here: https://books.google.com/books/content?id=bYI_eT_EVOEC&pg=PA38&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U0k6peuQeRStQKkakaqfHoMvSKatQ&w=1280