Regent Theatre
1118 Broadway,
Oakland,
CA
94612
1118 Broadway,
Oakland,
CA
94612
3 people
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1953 photo at the Peerlex posted via Brandon Djb Barlow. Possibly from the previously posted but now dead link.
Since my hobby is studying historic theatres, I went into this Pussycat Cinema around 1980. In all I patronized nine Pussycat theatres from San Diego up to San Francisco. All of them had flashy facades, and the lobbies were clean, but the dim auditoriums were rundown and dirty.
One night my friends and I took the bus downtown to go see My Fair Lady. We stopped at the Doggie Diner on Broadway for a burger, and noticed that the Art Cinema was playing “My Bare Lady”. None of us saw a adult film before, so we decided to go. The ticket lady asked us if we knew what was playing inside, she checked out our id’s and we went in. We were the only women in there! We found seats upstairs, and when we all sat down, all of a sudden men were starting to sit behind us, in front of us, and a few in the aisle that we were in. Many were in the military. We got nervous, got up and left and on our way out, the ticket lady laughed at us.
Here are two 1986 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/lw9zqz
http://tinyurl.com/nugkv4
This site has a 1980 photo of the Pussycat Theater:
http://tinyurl.com/dec55w
I hit the preview button about six or seven times to fix the typos, but I missed that one.
Sorry, that should be movie houses, not nooses. I missed that one.
Here is a May 1970 item from the Oakland Tribune:
The Oakland City Council last night refused to issue a business license to a downtown theater which specializes in “adult” films. Backing up its staff, the council declined to give a license to Pussycat Theaters Inc. to operate the Art Cinema Theatre at 1118 Broadway. City Hearing Officer George Dini said the denial was based on seven arrests in the theater of men charged with lewd conduct in the theater while watching films. He also claimed the theater had a “buzzer” system warning employees when police officers arrived to check the audience.
An attorney for the firm, which operates 14 such movie nooses in the west, said the council’s action violated the First Amendment. Its owner, Vince Miranda, said he will appeal the council action. He also told the council that he was a native Californian and religious. Mayor John H. Reading asked Miranda, “You don’t hold any Scout merit badges, do you?” Miranda did not reply.
New book-length Pussycat Theatre history from the San Diego Reader:
View link
The aka line at top says “Peerless” instead of the “Peerlex” seen on the vertical sign in the photo ken mc linked to and in this mis-dated photo from the Oakland Museum’s collection. Is that a mistake or was “Peerless” also the name at one time?
Here is a 1953 photo:
http://snipurl.com/1x4u6
The Regent Theatre seated 286 people.
This theatre was a gem. I went to it several times when it was the Pussycat, prior to that, it was called the Art Cinema which showed black and white nudies. The ticket booth was on the right with a turnstile and when you walked in there were the doors to the main floor auditorium, which had a couple of hundred seats. To the left was a staircase that led down to the basement. There was a lounge area, with a couple of couches and a coffee table. The restrooms were also there. There was no snack bar, just machines. The theatre was very clean and very well kept, considering the sex that used to go on in there. A lot of the hookers from the Travelers Hotel on 11th would go there with their dates. To the right of the main entrance was a staircase that led up to the loge and balcony sections. The loge had about a hundred seats, same with the balcony. It was small and very cozy! All the seats were comfortable. However there were no murals anywhere, just bare walls. The screen, was just a screen, very similar to the Strand in San Francisco, but no masking or curtains. The vertical marquee was very impressive when lit up, it made Broadway look like a real downtown. Sad that it is gone.
Hello from Colorado!
Vincent Miranda was my God Father and owner of the Pussycat chain. I am putting together a collection of ANYTHING Pussycat. I would really love to locate an old marquee…you know..the oval w/ the Ms. Pussycat and “Its a Pussycat Theatre” Even an old matchbook would make my day. I have been able to find old pics of The New View (Hollywood cat) and The Tiki (The Tomcat) but that is it.. at this time. I would love to have a pic for each California location. Please…if you have any information please let me know.
Thanks!
Tim david
970.309.3991
Other Pussycat theaters in the Bay Area(former names before converting to the Pussycat name):
Tower(Oakland—Became a Pussycat theater on Jan 1, 1976 and changed its name a year later—Closed in 1989)
Showcase(Concord—1976 to close in mid-1980’s)
Camera One(San Jose—Pussycat operated it for one year in 1970-1971, remaming it the Pussycat 1)
Gay(San Jose—Became Pussycat II in 1970 until late 1980’s)
Guild(San Francisco—1972 until close in mid-1980’s)
Grand(San Francisco—operated by Pussycat in late 1960’s after the Steiner Art theater had closed—Wound up reverting to subrun fare by 1970)
The Steiner Art Theater and the Hub in San Francisco did run films that Pussycat would play in the mid-late 1960s during periods that Pussycat did not have a San Francisco theater.
The Pussycat closed for the last time in 1986.
Probably more of us saw “educational” films at the Peerlex/Pussycat than would ever admit it. The Pussycat chain actually took pretty good care of its shady downtown theaters.
This theatre was known as the Newsreel, New Peerlex, Imperial, Regent and the Pussycat.
Prior to demolition, the Moderne vertical sign, which had neon letters reading PUSSYCAT but which actually dated to one of the theatre’s earlier incarnations, was removed and saved. This theatre was a very narrow brick building. The site still stands empty today, along with several adjacent parcels.