At 3200 Grand Avenue, the Grand Lake Theatre is one of the East Bay's best-known movie palaces. It is also one of the few still showing first-run films.
A century of movies
The theater says the Reid Brothers designed it for West Coast Theaters, Inc., and that it opened on March 6, 1926, as a vaudeville and silent-movie house. The Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD) says it seated 1,800 people when it opened. The Fox chain took it over in 1928 and switched to films only.
According to the theater, Allen Michaan of Renaissance Rialto bought the ground lease in 1980. In 1981 the balcony became a second auditorium. In 1985, storefronts along Grand Avenue were turned into two small themed auditoriums: an Egyptian-style Theater 3 and a Moorish-style Theater 4. Wikipedia says Michaan bought the building outright in August 2018.
The sign and the organ
Wikipedia describes the rooftop sign as the largest rotary contact sign west of the Mississippi. It says the sign is 52 feet high and 72 feet wide, has 2,800 colored bulbs, and is usually lit on Friday and Saturday nights. The theater says its Mighty Wurlitzer organ is played before Friday and Saturday evening shows in the main auditorium.
The marquee
Wikipedia notes that after the 2000 presidential election, Michaan began using one side of the marquee for political messages. The first read "This Is America — Every Vote Should Be Counted." He has kept using it that way since.
Going
The theater lists discount Tuesdays with $6 admission, excluding special engagements, and $7.50 tickets for most shows that start before 6 p.m. It also says Auditorium 2 is not wheelchair accessible. Check renaissancerialto.com for showtimes and current prices.