Fox California Theatre
Stockton, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Check out the historic Fox
California Theatre in downtown Stockton. When this photo was taken, the old movie palace was waiting for the help needed to bring it back. Fortunately, that tall sign wasn’t left advertising an empty auditorium forever.
The Fox opened on October 14, 1930, with Up the River, featuring Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart. Its elaborate interior gave moviegoers plenty to admire before the picture started, with decorative beams, gilded details, and a grand stage. Apparently, watching the screen was only part of the attraction.
Outside, the towering blade sign and broad marquee made the theatre hard to overlook. A night at the Fox started along the sidewalk, with the entrance offering a little preview of the grand surroundings inside. This wasn’t a movie house trying to blend into the next storefront.
Fox California Theatre
Stockton, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Years of changing fortunes followed, but preservation efforts eventually brought the theatre another opening night. After an extensive restoration, Jerry Seinfeld welcomed audiences back in September 2004. The former movie palace had found another way to fill its seats.
UPDATE: Now known as the Bob Hope Theatre, the restored Fox remains open for concerts, comedy, and classic movies. Its refurbished Robert Morton theatre organ accompanies film events, adding another old-time attraction inside. The familiar marquee has an audience to welcome again, and this downtown treasure is doing considerably more than waiting for renovation. 10-26
See more Fox theatres from across the country here Roadside Peek'sFox Theatres.
Castro Theatre
San Francisco, CA Photo courtesy Matt Walsh
Look up at the blade marquee on San Francisco’s Castro Theatre. Those tall letters have become almost as recognizable as the theatre itself, giving the neighborhood a landmark that needs little introduction. After dark, the sign makes quite a greeting.
Designed by Timothy Pflueger, the Castro opened in 1922 with an elaborate Spanish Baroque exterior and a grand auditorium. Over the decades, movies, festivals, and special events made it much more than a place to catch the latest picture.
Another major chapter began when the theatre closed in February 2024 for restoration. The project refreshed the historic decoration while introducing a flexible main-floor seating arrangement for both films and live performances.
UPDATE: The Castro reopened on February 6, 2026, following a $41 million renovation. Sam Smith’s concert residency helped launch its return, with movies and other events also part of the program. The familiar theatre entrance welcomes crowds again, more than a century after its first opening night. 10-26
Mexico Theatre (Closed)
San Jose, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Take a look at the rounded tower on San Jose’s Mexico Theatre. This old neighborhood movie house has some real streamline personality, with a cylindrical tower and projecting marquee that once carried considerably more neon than survives today.
It opened as the Mayfair Theatre on May 20, 1949, showing John Wayne in Red River. The theatre became the Esquire in 1962, later returned to the Mayfair name, and switched to Spanish-language movies as the Mexico around 1980. The changing names brought different programs beneath the same distinctive tower.
UPDATE: The Mexico no longer shows movies. The building went through later uses, including the church chapter seen in the earlier description, and was reported in retail use by 2023. The old theatre’s rounded profile still gives away what this place was built for. 10-26
Fox California Theatre
San Jose, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Here’s the Fox
California Theatre in San Jose before and after its big comeback. The earlier view catches the building waiting for better days, while the restored entrance shows what a returning blade sign and marquee can do for an old movie palace. Quite a change from a theatre promising another opening to one actually welcoming an audience.
Designed by Weeks and Day, the theatre opened on April 16, 1927, with Billie Dove in An Affair of the Follies and a stage show. The ornate surroundings gave downtown moviegoers something to admire before the entertainment even began. Apparently, a plain room with a screen wasn’t going to be enough here.
Movies and stage entertainment brought crowds through the doors until the house closed in 1973. A long stretch without its regular audience followed, leaving the old theatre waiting while downtown changed around it.
Fox California Theatre
San Jose, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The restoration went well beyond fresh paint. Historic photographs and drawings helped recreate the marquee, while decorative painting, gilding, and ceiling details brought back the interior’s earlier appearance. Outside, the tall blade sign once again gave passing motorists and pedestrians a reason to look up.
Take another look at those before-and-after views. The restored entrance makes the theatre look ready for a grand opening all over again. Fortunately, this time the lettering out front had a finished auditorium behind it.
UPDATE: The California reopened in September 2004 and remains an active performing arts venue for Opera San José and Symphony San Jose. The restored theatre is back in the entertainment business, with its illuminated entrance announcing another evening beneath the grand ceiling. The movie crowds of 1927 might find a different program inside, but they’d certainly recognize the welcome. 10-26
Park Theatre (Closed)
Lafayette, CA Photo courtesy Devil Doll
Check out the Park Theatre in Lafayette, a little neighborhood movie house with a marquee that recalls quieter evenings of checking the bill and choosing a picture. Opened in 1941, the single-screen theatre became a familiar destination for foreign and art-house films before closing on September 18, 2005. 10-05
The Park Theater Trust purchased the property in December 2021, beginning the work of bringing it back as a cinema and community gathering place. The plans include improved accessibility and facilities, with CinemaSF lined up to operate the theatre.
UPDATE: The Park remains closed while construction and fundraising continue. Structural work is moving forward, with the Trust working toward reopening the old theatre. No tickets just yet, but there’s finally more happening here than waiting for the next tenant. 10-26
Castro Theatre
Mexico Theatre (Closed)
Park Theatre (Closed) 
