Bal Theatre

14808 E. 14th Street,
San Leandro, CA 94578

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Showing 1 - 25 of 36 comments

rivest266
rivest266 on August 4, 2018 at 4:37 pm

This opened on July 3rd, 1946. Grand opening ad in the photo section.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on June 27, 2012 at 11:28 am

Here is an updated link to the 1946 Boxoffice article about the Bal Theatre.

Mikeyisirish
Mikeyisirish on June 27, 2012 at 10:02 am

A 2010 photo can be seen here.

Corksoaker
Corksoaker on July 31, 2011 at 7:26 pm

@davidkaye: Because that’s the name of that neighborhood in San Leandro. (I’m from San Leandro originally, grew up there in the 60’s/70’s)

davidkaye
davidkaye on June 18, 2011 at 2:04 am

Does anybody know why it was named the Bal? Is it Spanish? Was it someone’s last name?

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on April 15, 2010 at 11:18 pm

The Bal Theatre was designed by architect Vincent G. Raney. An article about it appeared in Boxoffice of September 14, 1946. There are four photos. The article mistakenly palces the Bal in Oakland.

robertcampbell
robertcampbell on April 14, 2010 at 7:03 pm

Great News! The grand reopening of the Bal will be on 4/23/10. According to the website calendar, renovations are being done, including the installation of a new curtain. Classic films are scheduled to play, starting with His Girl Friday on the 24th.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on April 9, 2010 at 7:12 pm

Here is a somewhat vertiginous view of the Bal:
http://tinyurl.com/yavk7d5

scottfavareille
scottfavareille on February 18, 2010 at 12:58 pm

There have been independently made documentaries that have been showing here on Saturdays since November. Status should be changed to “open”. I am curious as to how much of an audience the documentaries are doing.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on March 20, 2009 at 8:32 pm

Here is a January 1961 ad from the Hayward Review:
http://tinyurl.com/ctse5e

theda323
theda323 on March 17, 2009 at 4:31 pm

I hope they start showing cool B Movies at the Bal with the new owners.. San leandro is a gold mine for cool :)

TheatreGeek
TheatreGeek on February 5, 2009 at 4:21 pm

ok thank you, i see that you have taken recent shots of the theatre
have you been informed on what type of business is going to be inside of there?

TheatreGeek
TheatreGeek on February 4, 2009 at 10:20 pm

Hey Lost Memory I am the son of the man who has purchased the theater i was interested in what your history is with the theater,because i am very much interested in finding out as much as i can about the building, so if you can email me it would be great my email is
Thank you

TheatreGeek
TheatreGeek on November 24, 2008 at 10:58 am

I have also recently seen that there is now a Sold sign posted in one of the windows, i have also seen a few people walking in and out of the theatre from time to time. So is there any news on who has now purchased the Bal Theatre?

AkumaX
AkumaX on November 18, 2008 at 8:29 am

There is now a Sold sign in the window. Wonder who bought it this time.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on April 16, 2008 at 2:46 pm

Did the name originate with the district or with the theatre? The San Leandro Times says the Bal Districts are of mostly post-WWII development. It’s easier to tell what came first in Fresno’s Tower District, for example, since the neighborhood is considerably older than the theatre from which it eventually got its current name.

scottfavareille
scottfavareille on April 16, 2008 at 11:57 am

The neighborhood surrounding the theater is called the Bal neighborhood.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on April 15, 2008 at 4:47 pm

Here is an article with several photos of the Bal, including some interior shots.

I haven’t been able to find how the theatre got its name, but what I have found is an online excerpt from a book called “Got a Revolution” which reveals that The Bal’s owner, Renny Lamarre, was also the manager of a young musician named Marty Buchwald and, not liking that surname, changed it to Balin, taking the first syllable from his Bal Theatre. Marty Balin then went on to fame as a member of the San Francisco band Jefferson Airplane.

Purely as speculation, I wonder if the theatre’s name was chosen because bal is the French word for ball, as in fancy-pants dance?

Don Lewis
Don Lewis on April 15, 2008 at 6:56 am

A good view of the Bal Theater in San Leandro taken by SteelePop.

philbertgray
philbertgray on November 6, 2007 at 7:23 am

Here are links to several articles regarding The Bal Theatre

It’s legal troubles over showing “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in 2001
View link

It’s conversion to showing Indian Bollywood films in 2004
View link

The Bal Theatre is still closed. The poster display window has a Bollywood Film poster still in it. The last I heard the Lobby had been painted garrish colors during the run of “Rocky Horror”

cbainton
cbainton on August 30, 2007 at 9:49 am

Does anyone know how the Bal Theater got its name?

terrywade
terrywade on August 12, 2007 at 10:15 am

I remember seeing ‘Journey To The Center Of The Earth’ at the Bal many years ago. They had the best 4 track stereo surround system in the 50’s and 60’s. Someone needs to reopen the place. Book movies from the 50’s, get the seniors to come, make it like the old days. People are tired of the multiplex experience. The Lorenzo is about to be re opened one day.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on December 30, 2006 at 4:53 pm

Bal sued a much larger theater group in 1962 for anti-trust:
http://tinyurl.com/sfq3s

robertcampbell
robertcampbell on April 15, 2005 at 12:02 am

The Bal is a beautiful theatre. I wonder what happened to the beautiful blue curtain that graced the stage. The interior is a little water damaged, but the murals are intact and beautiful. I remember as a kid, there was a supermarket called LoRays that gave free passes for movies on Sat and Sun afternoons and the place was packed. The interior is a long wide auditorium, single floor, but starts to slope up in the back slightly for about 15 rows. The screen is big and the sound system is terrific. I wish I could win the lottery and just run the Bal. It had a beautiful neon sign that would flash in red and blues, you could see it all the way down East 14th Street. Only drawback was parking. There used to be a little coffee shop right next to the Bal, that made great hamburgers and back then you had to be 18 to play pinball, but the lady would let you play the one she had as long as you put money in the juke box. Ah, the memories!

Roger Katz
Roger Katz on December 20, 2004 at 4:19 am

For sale for $750,000 at