Blog posts matching ‘alameda theater’ (2024)

Renovations

From tpr.org: As early as next year, the City of San Antonio could begin a major renovation of the historic Alameda Theater located downtown.

The Alameda, built in 1949, was once the largest theater for Spanish-language performing arts in the United States. It has been mostly vacant for several decades but was purchased by the city in 1994. City plans call for reopening the Alameda as a Latino-focused performing arts venue.

Assistant City Manager Lori Houston told council members that the renovation includes construction of a large stage and up to 1,500 seats.

“The way performances are done today is a little bit different, so we’ve talked about doing a thrust stage where audiences can have a more intimate setting when they’re watching a performance. The theater has great bones. We really need to focus on that finish out to include also improving the stage, doing better seating, and also restoring the art amenities that are already in there.”

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Theaters

From The Rivard Report: The iconic Alameda Theater hasn’t hosted large crowds for Spanish-language films and performers in decades, but the storied Latino performing arts venue which now sits in disrepair may soon get the facelift it desperately needs – and with it a chance of revival.

The City of San Antonio and Bexar County are finalizing an agreement with Texas Public Radio (TPR) that will allow the nonprofit to move its headquarters from its longtime offices on Datapoint Drive near the Medical Center into the space behind the Alameda Theater, located at 318 W. Houston St., and will include investments from both entities to help renovate the historic structure.

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Theaters

OAKLAND, CA — The New Parkway Theater is launching Karma Cinema Month in August to benefit local non-profits. 30 percent of their receipts will go to organizations like Alameda County Community Food Bank and College Track. And what’s even better for patrons? They can pay what they want. Another inventive idea to integrate a theater in a community.

Read more about it in the Contra Costa Times.

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Theaters

ALAMEDA, CA — Allen Michaan lovingly restored Auctions by the Bay after leasing it ten years ago but it’s never been particularly profitable for him. Now the hero theater owner is backing away from the property, putting it back in the hands of the city. While he hopes it will continue to be a community resource, it’s unclear how someone could make a feasible business out of it.

Read more about this predicament in the Oakland Tribune.

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Theaters

SAN JOSE, CA — Reliance/BIG Cinemas, which specializes in Bollywood films, has purchased and renovated the Towne 3 Theatre on the Alameda in San Jose. Opened as the Hester in 1926, the cinema was most recently known as the India Film Center 6 (although it had three screens). It had been previously both a p*rn and art theater over the years.

Paletta was joined by Uday Kumar, North America business head for Reliance/BIG Cinemas, and Chris Gehring, district manager for Phoenix BIG Cinemas Management, at the launch of the theater — California’s first theater to receive a top-to-bottom renovation as part of Reliance’s ambitious move to take over dozens of outdated, second-run American theaters and convert them to Indian movie palaces.

The Reliance team was quick to recognize the years of hard work by Raman Sanchula, Lalit Chopra and Lu Muvva, who ran the IMC6 and made the theater a center for South Indian movie buffs.

Read about the changeover in the India Times.

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Industry

BALTIMORE, MD — The League of Historic American Theatres, celebrating leadership among historic theatres throughout North America, presented its 2009 Outstanding Historic Theatre Award to Proctors in Schenectady, NY, and its 2009 Outstanding Individual Contribution Award, to theatre architect Killis P. Almond, San Antonio, TX, during its 33rd Annual Conference and Theatre Tour in Cleveland, OH.

League President James Boese, Vice President of the Nederlander Producing Company of America, New York, NY, John Faust, Theatre Manager, Stanley Center for the Arts, Utica, NY, Maureen Patton, Executive Director, The Grand Opera House, Galveston, TX, and Tony Rivenbark, Executive Director, Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Wilmington, NC announced the awards during the organization’s Annual Award Banquet on July 18, 2009 in the Palace Ballroom of the Wyndham Cleveland Hotel at Playhouse Square.

Presenting the Outstanding Historic Theatre Award to Philip Morris, President & CEO of Proctors, Boese acknowledged the historic theatre’s significant accomplishments, inspiring excellence in the preservation, restoration and sustainable operation of American historic theatres. John Faust, who had nominated the theatre for the award, praised Proctors as “a major success story, a stellar example of how the restoration, expansion and innovative programming of a historic theatre totally revitalize a community.”

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Theaters

ALAMEDA, CA — The Alameda Theatre has won an award from the California Redevelopment Association for the steps it took to reopen and put itself in a position to be successful.

In order to make the original single-screen theater economically feasible, the city approved plans that created the adjoining smaller screens and a contiguous parking structure. These new screens are the economic engine that drives the new theater complex, providing today’s moviegoers with the variety they expect in a movie theater experience. The 341-stall garage offers convenient parking not only for the theater, but for the nearby Park Street Business District.

The city contributed $21.7 million in tax increment bond proceeds and $1.7 million in parking revenues to a project that had a final tab of $36.4 million. A Housing and Urban Development Section 108 loan for $7.2 million and $5.8 million of private investments paid for the balance of the project.

Read the full story in the Alameda Sun.

(Thanks to celestialspirit13 for providing the photo.)

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Restorations

ALAMEDA, CA — Continuing to polish every last part, the Alameda Theatre’s murals are almost completely restored.

After several weeks of effort, months of anticipation and years of hope, the original mural in the Alameda Theatre’s mezzanine lobby is nearly restored.

“I’ve really enjoyed working on it,” said painter Jane Armstrong. “The days really go fast, and sometimes I forget to take lunch.”

Alamedans got their first glimpses of the mural back in 1932, when the art deco-inspired movie theater — designed by noted San Francisco architect Timothy Pfluger — opened its doors.

Read more at the Mercury News.

(Thanks to gwen for providing the photo.)

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Theaters

ALAMEDA, CA — The recently reopened Alameda Theatre has been getting heat for hiring non-union projectionists.

Martin Lipow, president of Local 169 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts (IATSE) says that un-trained, non-union employees in the projection rooms at the new Alameda Theatre are likely to damage film prints and increase the costs for maintaining equipment at the theatre. Lipow says that the Alameda Theatre is using non-union “front of the house employees,” such as ushers, concession stand workers and ticket-takers, rather than trained projectionists, to effectively just “push the button” to start screenings on sophisticated equipment that was designed to be run by professionals. The results, he says, will be a diminished theatre experience for Alameda movie-goers, and a poorly run theatre that might not succeed.

Lipow works for Renaissance Rialto Theatres – owned by Allen Michaan – which also runs the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland, the Orinda Theatre, and Auctions by the Bay at Alameda Point. Michaan is known for the political messages he posts on the Grand Lake Theatre, such as the anti-Iraq war slogan “No War For Oil.”

Read more at Action Alameda.

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Jobs

Does anyone have any photos or media related to:
-The Boulevard Theater
-The Alameda Theater
-The Center Theater
-The Floral Drive In
-The Garmar Theater
Any and all info will be appreciated for an E.L.A.
historical project. First hand memories, stories, etc. also welcomed.

Please contact:
Al Guerrero

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