Del Mar Theater
530 E. 14th Street,
San Leandro,
CA
94577
530 E. 14th Street,
San Leandro,
CA
94577
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Golden State Theater & Realty Corp.
Architects: Alexander Aimwell Cantin, Alexander Mackenzie Cantin
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Nearby Theaters
The Del Mar Theater was opened August 1, 1941 with Charlie Chaplin in “The Great Dictator”. It was designed by father & son architects Alexander Aimwell Cantin & Alexander McKenzie Cantin, who, in 1945 formed the architectural firm Cantin and Cantin. The Del Mar Theater had a seating capacity of 1,187, located on a stadium plan, with a raised stepped section at the rear. This theater had a sister theater, the Madera Theatre, in the city of that name. Both had identical façade and signage designs.
Contributed by
Gary Parks
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
The Del Mar had a beautiful neon Marquee which you could see for miles.I remember sitting through two matinee films along with the regular double bill. I believe the last film to play the Del Mar was MGM"s Where Eagles Dare. The Del Mar use to get all the Disney films and the admissiion price would be raised to 35 cents for children. A lot of wonderful memories in this large neigberhood house.brucec
I have great memories of the Del Mar. Have great pics of the exterior. The theatre had the stadium style balcony in the back, with main seating towards the front. Had a beautiful light fixture in the center of the ceiling, beautiful yellow curtains that closed. They were really strict in there. You had to pay extra to sit in the balcony and if you were caught, they made you move down to the front! Got caught many times. Saw the movie “Black Sabbath” there and had hamburgers at the chuckburgers down the street. brucec was right! The Marquee you could see all the way down East 14th Street. those were the days
The front of the Delmar also looked like the front of the now open Delmar in Santa Cruz CA. Check out the Delmar in Santa Cruz. The waterfall curtains in the main downstairs with the red/blue lights on them are worth a look. Jim did a great job at the Delmar. The inside is very different then the San Leandro Delmar, but the outside is almost the same, both built by Golden State Theatres.
Grew up in San Leandro and have the fondest memories of the Del Mar. It was very popular with the high school set. On any given Friday or Saturday night, they would sell more tickets that seats and many would be sitting on the balcony aisles! And the “Usherettes” with the Art Modern uniforms with baggy pants and the ever present flashlight which was used to get your attention should you be just a little too loud. It was a great place for date..used to walk to and fro and never worry. Then there was the donut shop next door that had an automatic donut making machine in the window. Used to watch that thing seeminly for hours. Would love to see some photos of the Del Mar if anyone wants to share.
Frank
This 1955 note card with photo is currently selling on eBay for $8.00:
http://tinyurl.com/2oz64h
Bid away, my friend.
I figured the photo would stick around a little longer after somebody buys the card.
This is from Boxoffice magazine, 8/2/41:
SAN LEANDRO, CALIF.-The Golden State circuit opened its new 1,100 seat Del Mar Theater here August 1 as the 96th house to become part of the chain. Glenn Caldwell is the manager.
Jack Tillmany, early CinemaTreasures contributor, historian, Theatre Historical Society co-founder, and theatre owner/manager, began his career in exhibition at this theatre.
This opened on August 1st, 1941.
Del Mar theatre in San Leandro opening Fri, Aug 1, 1941 – Page 25 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com