Roxie Theatre

517 17th Street,
Oakland, CA 94612

4 people favorited this theater

View larger map →

Additional Info

Previously operated by: Blumenfeld Theater Circuit, Fox West Coast Theatres

Architects: William Day, Charles Peter Weeks

Firms: Weeks and Day

Functions: Office Space

Previous Names: Dufwin Theater

Nearby Theaters

News About This Theater

Mar 2, 2010 — Happy 45th, "The Sound Of Music"

The Dufwin Theatre opened on October 14, 1928 with 1,400 seats, and was used initially for live theater. It was converted for movies and renamed the Roxie Theatre on December 5, 1930 with Eddie Cantor in “Whoopee”. It was closed in the early-1980’s.

It was eventually gutted and converted into office space and renamed Dufwin Towers, though a trio of mosaics depicting its original function on the front (which was restored during the conversion after being painted over for years) remains, as does the lettering “Dufwin Theater” above.

Contributed by Garrett Murphy

Get Movie Tickets & Showtimes

Recent comments (view all 24 comments)

kencmcintyre on October 19, 2007 at 4:49 pm

Here is a 1956 ad:
http://tinyurl.com/2u9rxd

kencmcintyre on August 27, 2009 at 4:23 am

Here are some 1928 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/nh3sx4
http://tinyurl.com/lgmrlw

seymourcox on May 2, 2011 at 6:55 am

In the early 1980s I patronized the Roxie. All the staff were Asian, very polite, friendly. I remember the lobby was spacious and regal. The concession stand offered a broader menu than a Dairy Queen. They sold Nochos, hamburgers, cheese fries, softserve, etc. The auditorium still looked exactly like the above 1928 photo, though kids had used Magic Markers to scribble graffiti over everything, which had ruined once lovely wood panelling. A triple feature was on the bill, but crowds of noisy teens were so loud I stayed only long enough to get a good look at architectural details.

Mikeyisirish on August 6, 2012 at 3:39 am

A few July 2012 photos can be seen here and here.

xsallnow on January 8, 2014 at 6:34 am

I remember the Roxie as a top-notch first-run house. Always enjoyed going there. A nice theater.

annewandering on April 3, 2016 at 2:51 pm

My husband worked there around 1970. I remember he talked about several others who worked there, Mary McGee and ..?.Ring. Apparently Mary McGee, who I did met years later, used to take the entrance money. He had some pretty good stories of his time there, many involving Mary’s ‘delicious’ brownies. I would be very interested in hearing from people who worked there at that time.

Rebadeba53 on January 29, 2018 at 12:24 am

I worked there with Mary McGee and Bea who were the two ladies that took the money in the booth. Also with a guy named Eric who was assistant manager he was creepy. Mr Jones was the manager.