Comments from CaliforniaKid

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CaliforniaKid
CaliforniaKid commented about Oakland Drive-In on Dec 28, 2003 at 11:44 pm

The Oakland and Stadium Drive ins were wonderful places to go during the summer. They used to show 3 movies and charged $2.00 per car. I used to collect three girls and the four of us stopped by a pizza place to buy an extra large sized pizza and two packs of soda. We hid them in the car trunk and each one of us chipped in 50 cents to pay for the entrance. It was so much fun!

The sites now are nothing but a huge shopping center. The trees are still there.

CaliforniaKid
CaliforniaKid commented about Bal Theatre on Dec 28, 2003 at 11:40 pm

Bal Theatre was another one I used to go as a child, but when it started showing Spanish speaking movies, I stopped. It was closed for a long time and reopened briefly to show captioned movies which was a delight to the deaf community. Unfortunately, it closed again.

CaliforniaKid
CaliforniaKid commented about Del Mar Theater on Dec 28, 2003 at 11:37 pm

I grew up in San Leandro before moving to Oakland. Del Mar was the theatre that I used to go all the time since it was a walking distance from my home. It was an Art Deco building with a loge.

I understood that it was badly vandalized and had to be shut down and demolished. Now Pacific Telephone company occupies the space where Del Mar once stood.

CaliforniaKid
CaliforniaKid commented about Roxie Theatre on Dec 28, 2003 at 11:29 pm

When I lived in downtown Oakland in the late 1970’s and 1980’s, I used to go to Roxie to watch 3 movies for $2.00 and it used to show nothing but Black movies. The upper balcony was closed to the pubic.

But I remember going there once to watch a western movie and we used to go up the balcony to see it. That was around 1967.

CaliforniaKid
CaliforniaKid commented about T & D Theatre on Dec 28, 2003 at 11:25 pm

I remember seeing “Jumbo” played by Jimmy Durante as a child at T and D in the early 1960’s. What fascinated me the most were the two angels standing on top of the theatre sign.

When I moved to downtown Oakland in 1977, it was still standing although it was boarded up. The reputation was so bad that people in Oakland referred “T & D” as “Tough and Dirty” because of porno movies it showed and the audience was usually the street people seeking shelter.

I watched it being demolished and it was a sad day to see a fine old building being torn down.