California Theatre a San Jose gem
By Maggie Beidelman
Downtown San Jose's California Theatre, recently renovated to house both live stage performances and motion pictures, is truly a historic treasure of our neighboring metropolis--once you actually find it, that is.
When it was originally built in 1927, the former Fox Theatre was a grand movie palace. Sadly, it was sold in 1972 and faced a degraded fate until 1985, when the San Jose Redevelopment Agency purchased the building. It remained vacant until 1998, when the Agency Board approved a restoration project that would re-use and expand the theatre to provide a home for the arts downtown, including a venue for classic film presentations.
The California Theatre, in conjunction with San Jose Opera, also offers an educational program for students in grades K - 12, in which participants learn about the performing arts. Linda Perriott, the communications and public relations director of San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau, encourages college students to volunteer with this program because "giving back to the community is a good and necessary thing."
With a price tag of $75 million come 61,253 square feet of theatre space, 1,119 seats and a public courtyard. The restoration project was completed in September 2004.
Trying to find this gem, however, may be harder than one would think. For car-less freshmen and newcomers to the area, it's natural to feel uneasy venturing much farther than the Safeway across from The Alameda. Given this, the process of trying to find the California Theatre can be an adventure in itself.
Bus 22 is your ticket to downtown, and if you're lucky, you'll be driven there by Anita. This kindly woman is more than willing to take neophyte riders under her wing and dispense useful advice, like how transfer to Bus 23 on Second Street if you want to get to the theatre.
But even with her help, for someone with no real knowledge of the city's layout, locating the theatre may be a bit daunting.
The California is tucked away on South First Street between San Carlos and San Salvador, cowering beneath the San Jose Convention Center and many multi-floored hotels. But find Original Joe's on the corner of South First and East San Carlos, and you're as good as there.
However, once found, the first glimpse of the theatre justifies the journey. The architecture is Art Deco, popular in the 1910s and 1920s, and the exterior sports a sleek, linear design and large, vertically-hung sign.
The Spanish Colonial interior retains the majestic grandeur of the historical edifice, but now boasts modern amenities. As an historical preservation site, it was restored according to contemporary structural concepts. A classic red carpet leads to the front door, a friendly doorman, and into the heart of the theatre itself. Once inside, a cathedral ceiling and ornate walls of a foyer fit for a grand palace dwarf the visitor.
Glowing Spanish-style chandeliers hang suspended from wood-beamed ceilings in both the foyer and the theatre proper. The intricate golden designs woven among angels, knights and coats of arms upon the venue's many walls give a medieval tinge to the theatre's early 20th century architecture.
Designed to house the San Jose Opera and Silicon Valley Symphony, the theatre is equipped with a full orchestra as well as floor, mezzanine and balcony seating.
While it does contain a single-screen movie theatre, the California primarily hosts live performances, such as the San Jose Opera's current production of Puccini's "La bohème."
After playing phantom of the theatre for a night, reality awaits: it is time to descend the fleur-de-lis carpeted stairs that so many have traipsed down before and return to the outside world of indistinguishable street corners and convoluted bus schedules.
Contact Maggie Beidelman at (408) 551-1918 or mbeidelman@scu.edu.