The Northside was built in the 50s. It had two theaters side by side (studio A&B) that opened onto a courtyard that connected to Euclid via a breezeway. It originally had a marquee, but when I was involved with the Northside from 1969 to 1971 we replaced it with a plexiglass sign because it was flush to the building and too hard for people driving by to see. It was only easily visible to pedestrians across the street. Also, it was a major hassle to change movie titles on the marquee due to the steep incline of the sidewalk. There were two display cases on the university side of the breezeway for passersby on Euclid to view photos and posters of current and coming attractions. Many years after I left a storefront at the entrance of the breezeway was converted into a lobby for the theater. I don’t know exactly when the Northside closed, sometime in the late 90s I believe.
In 1969, John Armstrong and my former wife (Torene Svitil) and I purchased the Northside from the original owner, William Renault. We operated as the Northside Theatre Corporation. We all wore many hats and were involved in all aspects of running the theater, but I was was the one primarily responsible for selecting and booking the films we exhibited. Torene and I were involved with the Northside until late 1971, when we sold our interest to John, bought a houseboat, and moved to Tracy, CA so I could attend college in Stockton. During the time we operated the theater there was a virtual explosion of interest in foreign, classic, and independent films throughout the Bay Area. Many art houses opened on both sides of the bay. My personal favorite was the B. Lannes Cinema, which operated out of a basement in east Oakland and showed 3 to 4 films and numerous cartoons and vintage trailers for $1.50. It had about 15 seats. The owner was the projectionist and handed out free soda, candy, and popcorn during the last movie. Obviously he was not in it for the money.
The Northside was built in the 50s. It had two theaters side by side (studio A&B) that opened onto a courtyard that connected to Euclid via a breezeway. It originally had a marquee, but when I was involved with the Northside from 1969 to 1971 we replaced it with a plexiglass sign because it was flush to the building and too hard for people driving by to see. It was only easily visible to pedestrians across the street. Also, it was a major hassle to change movie titles on the marquee due to the steep incline of the sidewalk. There were two display cases on the university side of the breezeway for passersby on Euclid to view photos and posters of current and coming attractions. Many years after I left a storefront at the entrance of the breezeway was converted into a lobby for the theater. I don’t know exactly when the Northside closed, sometime in the late 90s I believe.
In 1969, John Armstrong and my former wife (Torene Svitil) and I purchased the Northside from the original owner, William Renault. We operated as the Northside Theatre Corporation. We all wore many hats and were involved in all aspects of running the theater, but I was was the one primarily responsible for selecting and booking the films we exhibited. Torene and I were involved with the Northside until late 1971, when we sold our interest to John, bought a houseboat, and moved to Tracy, CA so I could attend college in Stockton. During the time we operated the theater there was a virtual explosion of interest in foreign, classic, and independent films throughout the Bay Area. Many art houses opened on both sides of the bay. My personal favorite was the B. Lannes Cinema, which operated out of a basement in east Oakland and showed 3 to 4 films and numerous cartoons and vintage trailers for $1.50. It had about 15 seats. The owner was the projectionist and handed out free soda, candy, and popcorn during the last movie. Obviously he was not in it for the money.