Comments from johnoconnor

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johnoconnor
johnoconnor commented about Fox Theatre on Jul 5, 2009 at 7:33 pm

An undated photo on the original Sequoia Theater located at 2114 Broadway can be found in “Images of America Redwood City on page 29. It shows the front of the theater with probably 100 people. I will scan the photo along with a photo of the "Sequoia” at the second location on Broadway. Also there is a photo of the start of the demo of the Redwood Theater showing workers on the roof. Also note my new thread about the FIRST theater(1915)in Redwood City –“The Bell” or Bell Theater on Main St.-there is a photo in same book.

johnoconnor
johnoconnor commented about Bell Theatre on Jul 5, 2009 at 5:17 pm

I have found more info about this theater in “Images of America Redwood City”.On page 15 there is a 1915 photo of the Bell Theater located at 865 Main St. There is a reference to a car dealer moving into the building in 1931 on page 49.

It appears that the building still stands and it is next to the old Holmquist Hardware building at 875 Main St. (at Stambaugh St.).

I was born and raised 4 blocks from this location on Stambaugh. In the late 1940’s the building was a produce stand (open to the weather? with just a metal lattice security barricade across the front. Sometime in the early 1950’s it was remodeled into a “mom and pop” grocery store call the “Sequoia Market"that was there until-who knows.

Somebody local would have to visit to see what is there now. Comparing and old aerial photo with a resent one shows the building to be the same.

johnoconnor
johnoconnor commented about Fox Redwood Theatre on Jun 25, 2009 at 8:33 pm

it seems there was another theater in Redwood City -the “Bell Theater” on Main St. I just opened a new thread-but I don’t have much info. Just what info a 70 year old man mentioned when giving some oral history to the Redwood City Library in 1976

johnoconnor
johnoconnor commented about Fox Redwood Theatre on Jun 1, 2009 at 3:54 pm

Larry the photo I have of the Redwood Theater was taken in about 1950 from about 500 feet above and is a bird’s eye where as one can read the wording on the car dealership.

johnoconnor
johnoconnor commented about Fox Redwood Theatre on May 30, 2009 at 8:20 pm

Let me start out by saying that my interest in this site is in seeing all this confusion cleared up . I stumbled onto this site by looking for “things ” Redwood City my birthplace (1942). I am retired up in Georgetown and I do miss Redwood City in a lot of ways and even more so the Port where my older brothers took me often starting about 1948.

In reading through all of these posts it is clear to me that the 3 theater’s facts locations are being mixed up. I will tell you what I know as FACT and why I can say that it is a fact and so on.

I will start with the Redwood Theater. FACT: It was located at the Southwest corner of California and Winkeblecker Sts.FACT: It was torn down along with every thing else on the block (auto dealer) in about 1956. FACT: A branch of the Bank of America was built on the site (1956). The Bank moved from its old site a block away at the Southwest corner of California and Broadway. I saw my first movie at the Redwood about 1950 (High Noon)?? We went to the Redwood Theater often because they allowed us to bring our own popcorn and the Fox Theater would not. I has an aerial photo showing the Redwood Theater and the car dealer(Kaiser) behind it out on El Camino. Conjecture: The building Anderson’s Tv is in at the site matched “Historic Aerials” photos from 1956.

FACT: The orginal location of the Sequoia Theater was on Broadway near the corner of Jefferson on the oppisite site of Broadway from the Fox/Sequoia. ERROR: The address of the orginal Sequoia as shown in the “Bits of History” Redwood City photos is wrong,The address would place this theater across Broadway (in the same block) from the Fox. The Courthouse takes this whole block. FACT: The Bank of America did save the orginal Sequoia building and they did tear down the branch office they were in at the corner of Jefferson and Broadway when they were done and it appears they (still) use it for a parking lot. See “Bits of History (RWC) photo#208

The Sequoia Theater (Fox) had some of the plaster ceiling fall onto people in 1950.(See “Bits of History photo#660. injuring 30 people. They reopened a couple of months later as the Fox. I think they replaced a lot of "bad” plastering. My conjecture. The official term was “extensive” remodeling. Rmors were flying around that someone lit off a “cherry bomb” on the roof. Other rumors blamed a passing train.

If anyone wants a copy of the Redwood Theater aerial photo or screen captures of the buildings locations E-mail me at I hope this clears things up.

johnoconnor
johnoconnor commented about Fox Redwood Theatre on May 23, 2009 at 6:14 pm

A photo was just posted on “flickr"and it is an aerial photo and it shows the Redwood theater and it can be proven that it was located at California and Winklebeck sts. I was born in RWC (1942) and I saw quite a few movies here.