Grand Lake Theater
Encyclopedia
The Grand Lake Theater is a historical movie palace
located at 3200 Grand Avenue and Lake Park Avenue in the Grand Lake neighborhood of Oakland, California
in the United States of America.
and silent movie
showings, but with the arrival of "talkies" it began to exclusively show sound films. In 1928, the Grand Lake became part of the Fox Theaters
chain, and in total, changed ownership five times until 1980. In 1980, the theater was purchased by Allen Michaan of Renaissance Rialto, Inc.
The theater's exterior is surmounted by a giant illuminated rooftop sign. Neoclassical
faux columns and urns line the main interior space and the ceiling is adorned with a crystal chandelier in the lobby and classical frescos in the auditorium. The theater's interior artwork is considered to be Art Deco.
After purchasing it, Renaissance Rialto, Inc. spent $3.5 million on renovation and expansion. In 1981, the balcony of the auditorium was split into a second auditorium. In 1985, neighboring storefronts were purchased and attached to the theater. These were transformed into a small Egyptian Revival styled auditorium and a small Moorish styled auditorium. After the expansions of the 1980s, the Grand Lake Theater had a total of four screens and 1619 seats. The main auditorium is also equipped with a Mighty Wurlitzer
organ hidden beneath the floor. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the historical organ rises for a brief concert before the movie.
Most recently, Allen Michaan has spent close to $300,000 to install twin 3-D projectors in two of the 84-year-old Oakland movie palace's theaters - similar to the state-of-the-art setup Pixar has in its private screening auditorium, and he also repainted the building at a cost of $170,000.
Michaan has said that "he will not let the Grand Lake Theater, ... die" in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.
rating of the political documentary Fahrenheit 9/11
. The Grand Lake has also received widespread recognition for Michaan's use of the marquee
as a political message board. In outrage at the 2000 presidential election, he posted this message on the high-traffic side of the marquee: "This Is America — Every Vote Should Be Counted" Since then, and with much support from the local community, Michaan has regularly used one side of the theater's marquee to display a timely political message. In addition to films, the theater also occasionally hosts talks and events on progressive political issues.
Between the midterm elections of November 2006 and January 2007, no political messages were displayed on the marquee, instead devoting the space to the names of upcoming films. Messages began to appear again in early January, beginning with "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing," a statement derived from Edmund Burke
's 1770 speech to Parliament, "Thoughts on the Cause of Present Discontents."
On September 9 and 10, 2009, the fifth 9/11 Film Festival was presented at the Grand Lake Theater. The theater premiered Dylan Avery
's Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup, narrated by Daniel Sunjata
and produced by Korey Rowe
and Matthew Brown
.
On November 2, 2011, the Grand Lake Theater closed its doors in support of the Occupy Oakland
general strike. The marquee read "We proudly support the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Closed Wed. to support the strike."
The Rachel Maddow Show
featured the theater on November 2, 2011, as part of the video segment covering that day's Occupy Oakland protest and general strike. Maddow, a native of nearby Castro Valley
, said that the Grand Lake Theater was one of her favorite landmarks when she was growing up and is still a favorite of hers as an adult today. See the Rachel Maddow Show Nov 2nd transcript for her full statement about the Grand Lake Theater.
Movie palace
A movie palace is a term used to refer to the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opened every year between 1925 and 1930.There are three building types in particular which can be subsumed...
located at 3200 Grand Avenue and Lake Park Avenue in the Grand Lake neighborhood of Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
in the United States of America.
History
The Grand Lake was designed as a single auditorium theater by the Reid Brothers for West Coast Theaters, Inc. After it opened on March 6, 1926, it held vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and silent movie
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
showings, but with the arrival of "talkies" it began to exclusively show sound films. In 1928, the Grand Lake became part of the Fox Theaters
William Fox (producer)
William Fox born Fried Vilmos was a pioneering Hungarian American motion picture executive who founded the Fox Film Corporation in 1915 and the Fox West Coast Theatres chain in the 1920s...
chain, and in total, changed ownership five times until 1980. In 1980, the theater was purchased by Allen Michaan of Renaissance Rialto, Inc.
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
faux columns and urns line the main interior space and the ceiling is adorned with a crystal chandelier in the lobby and classical frescos in the auditorium. The theater's interior artwork is considered to be Art Deco.
After purchasing it, Renaissance Rialto, Inc. spent $3.5 million on renovation and expansion. In 1981, the balcony of the auditorium was split into a second auditorium. In 1985, neighboring storefronts were purchased and attached to the theater. These were transformed into a small Egyptian Revival styled auditorium and a small Moorish styled auditorium. After the expansions of the 1980s, the Grand Lake Theater had a total of four screens and 1619 seats. The main auditorium is also equipped with a Mighty Wurlitzer
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, was an American company that produced stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass instruments, theatre organs, band organs, orchestrions, electronic organs, electric pianos and jukeboxes....
organ hidden beneath the floor. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the historical organ rises for a brief concert before the movie.
Most recently, Allen Michaan has spent close to $300,000 to install twin 3-D projectors in two of the 84-year-old Oakland movie palace's theaters - similar to the state-of-the-art setup Pixar has in its private screening auditorium, and he also repainted the building at a cost of $170,000.
Michaan has said that "he will not let the Grand Lake Theater, ... die" in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Roof Sign
The sign mounted on top of the Grand Lake Theater is the largest rotary contact sign west of the Mississippi River. It measures 52 feet (15.85m) high by 72 feet (21.95m) wide and consists of 2,800 colored bulbs and was designed by Theodore Wetteland. The firing sequence is controlled by a device much like a music box. The sign is typically lit Friday and Saturday, from dusk until the start of the last show of the night.Politics
Michaan is known to use his liberal politics as a guide in managing the Grand Lake. In 2004, he publicly announced that the theater would not enforce the RMPAA film rating system
The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
rating of the political documentary Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media...
. The Grand Lake has also received widespread recognition for Michaan's use of the marquee
Marquee (sign)
A marquee is most commonly a structure placed over the entrance to a hotel or theatre. It has signage stating either the name of the establishment or, in the case of theatres, the play or movie and the artist appearing at that venue...
as a political message board. In outrage at the 2000 presidential election, he posted this message on the high-traffic side of the marquee: "This Is America — Every Vote Should Be Counted" Since then, and with much support from the local community, Michaan has regularly used one side of the theater's marquee to display a timely political message. In addition to films, the theater also occasionally hosts talks and events on progressive political issues.
Between the midterm elections of November 2006 and January 2007, no political messages were displayed on the marquee, instead devoting the space to the names of upcoming films. Messages began to appear again in early January, beginning with "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing," a statement derived from Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
's 1770 speech to Parliament, "Thoughts on the Cause of Present Discontents."
On September 9 and 10, 2009, the fifth 9/11 Film Festival was presented at the Grand Lake Theater. The theater premiered Dylan Avery
Dylan Avery
Dylan Avery is the writer, director, and editor of the Loose Change films. He is from Oneonta, New York, and currently lives in San Diego, California. After being denied admission twice by Purchase College's film school, Avery planned to make a fictional thriller about a group of friends who...
's Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup, narrated by Daniel Sunjata
Daniel Sunjata
Daniel Sunjata is an American actor who performs in film, television and in the theater.-Career:...
and produced by Korey Rowe
Korey Rowe
Korey Rowe is a producer of Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup, a film by Dylan Avery. Rowe was born in Oneonta, New York and currently lives in upstate New York. He is a former US soldier who served six months in Kandahar, Afghanistan and one year in Kuwait and Iraq...
and Matthew Brown
Matthew Brown
Matthew Benjamin Brown is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Minnesota Twins organization...
.
On November 2, 2011, the Grand Lake Theater closed its doors in support of the Occupy Oakland
Occupy Oakland
Occupy Oakland is a series of demonstrations including the occupation of public spaces that began in downtown Oakland at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in front of Oakland City Hall in Oakland, California on October 10, 2011. It is allied with the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City and is one of...
general strike. The marquee read "We proudly support the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Closed Wed. to support the strike."
The Rachel Maddow Show
The Rachel Maddow Show (TV series)
The Rachel Maddow Show is a news and opinion television program that airs weeknights on MSNBC at 9:00 p.m. ET. It is hosted by Rachel Maddow, who gained popularity with her frequent appearances as a liberal pundit on various MSNBC programs. It is based on her former radio show of the same name...
featured the theater on November 2, 2011, as part of the video segment covering that day's Occupy Oakland protest and general strike. Maddow, a native of nearby Castro Valley
Castro Valley, California
Castro Valley is a census-designated place in Alameda County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, it is the fifth most populous unincorporated area in California, and the twenty-third in the United States...
, said that the Grand Lake Theater was one of her favorite landmarks when she was growing up and is still a favorite of hers as an adult today. See the Rachel Maddow Show Nov 2nd transcript for her full statement about the Grand Lake Theater.
Culture
- The Grand Lake was featured prominently on Michael Moore's website when it announced on its marquee, "We will not enforce the R rating for Fahrenheit 9/11Fahrenheit 9/11Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media...
." Photo - A picture of the theater marquee was used in a Choice Hotels commercial (to the tune of Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
's "I've Been Everywhere"). Photo
Notable Customers
- Reverend Jesse JacksonJesse JacksonJesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
- Congresswoman Barbara LeeBarbara LeeBarbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
- Congresswoman Cynthia McKinneyCynthia McKinneyCynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
- Filmmaker George LucasGeorge LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
- Filmmaker Steven SpielbergSteven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
- Actor Danny GloverDanny GloverDanny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
- Actor Sean PennSean PennSean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
- Actor Tom HanksTom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
- Investigative Journalist Greg PalastGreg PalastGregory Allyn Palast is a New York Times-bestselling author and a freelance journalist for the British Broadcasting Corporation as well as the British newspaper The Observer. His work frequently focuses on corporate malfeasance but has also been known to work with labor unions and consumer...
- Comedian Greg ProopsGreg ProopsGregory Everett "Greg" Proops is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his work as an improvisational comedian on the UK and U.S. versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?...
- Director Dylan AveryDylan AveryDylan Avery is the writer, director, and editor of the Loose Change films. He is from Oneonta, New York, and currently lives in San Diego, California. After being denied admission twice by Purchase College's film school, Avery planned to make a fictional thriller about a group of friends who...
External links
- Photo log of Grand Lake Theater's political marquee messages
- Grand Lake Theater current schedule
- May 8, 2007. KGO News, "Grand Lake Theater Struggles to Stay in Business"
- Nov 2, 2011. The Rachel Maddow Show segment (from 1min 40s to 2min 37s) about the Grand Lake Theater as part of the coverage on the Occupy Oakland protests
- Nov 2, 2011. The Rachel Maddow Show transcript