Speakeasy Theaters
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Speakeasy Theaters was an
independent movie theater An independent movie theater (American English) or indie cinema (British English) is a movie theater which screens independent, art house, foreign, or other non-mainstream films. It can be contrasted with a mainstream theater (often a multiple ...
operator. Closed in 2009, they once operated two theaters, the Parkway theater on Park Boulevard in
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
and the Cerrito on San Pablo Avenue in
El Cerrito, California El Cerrito ( Spanish for "The Little Hill") is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, and forms part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It has a population of 25,962 according to the 2020 census. El Cerrito was founded by refugee ...
. Both theaters showed late first-run movies (films still in release that have gotten cheaper to exhibit) and various special event programs in a casual, living-room-like setting. Due to the serving of beer and wine, attendance at most films was restricted to age 21 and over; weekend matinees and some special events were open to people of all ages. On March 22, 2009, the Parkway theater went out of business. In 2010, new investors announced the Parkway would reopen, as the New Parkway, at a different location, as a similar venue. It opened at its new location in December 2012. The Cerrito also closed May 18, 2009, and reopened a few months later under new ownership as the Rialto Cinemas Cerrito.


Theater Histories

Both venues are converted movie theaters with long histories. The 1920s-era Parkway Theater was in disrepair when the Speakeasy Theater took it over in 1996; it had last shown films in 1990. The new owners converted the seating, created the kitchen, and opened their unique offering of "progressive indies, second-run Hollywood flicks, and old classics" together with comfortable seating, food and beverages, including beer and wine. It was California's first "speakeasy" format movie theater. The theater style turned out to be successful, and many movies and events were well attended. The management tried to be responsive to the neighborhood and patron community, and offered special screenings for political, social, and popular events (including screenings of the Super Bowl and the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
). The "scruffy but beloved" theater operated as a duplex. Although the company eventually foundered due to financial overextension, it had developed "a wildly popular, incredibly unique, highly acclaimed, and financially successful theater in a part of Oakland where many doubters would have said it could never be done." The
art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
style Cerrito Theater, described as "the town's favorite landmark", operated as a theater from 1935 through the 1960s, then was converted into a furniture warehouse. In 2002 a group of locals calling themselves Friends of the Cerrito Theater persuaded the city to purchase the property and restore it, using money from the city's
redevelopment agency A redevelopment agency is a government body dedicated to urban renewal. Typically it is a municipal level city department focused on a particular district or corridor that has become neglected or blighted (a community redevelopment agency or CRA) ...
. The city spent more than $2 million to restore the original features including chandeliers, etched glass, and colorful murals depicting dancing maidens, warriors and Greek gods. A second floor was added to house a second screen, and two cafes were constructed downstairs. As construction started, the Speakeasy Theaters were chosen as the organization to run the venue.


Format

Each of the Speakeasy Theaters offered unconventional seating, including couches and small tables. Each theater was slightly different in size and style of seating offered. Frequent patrons often developed a favorite theater based on seating arrangements, and movies were usually rotated from upstairs to downstairs so patrons could see the film in their preferred theater. The theaters were notable for selling beer and wine. They also offered restaurant style food including pizza, sandwiches, and other appetizers and entrees, including a selection of vegetarian and vegan foods. Food was ordered at the concession counter on the way in, then brought to the seat/table when it was prepared; patrons received a mildly glow-in-the-dark number to help the staff find them during the movie. Beverages were provided at the time they are ordered. Both theaters hosted a weekly event called The Baby Brigade, a showing where infants under 1 year of age were welcomed.


The New Parkway

Attempts to reopen the Parkway at its original Park Boulevard location were unsuccessful, but the name and format were transferred to a new location. The New Parkway, also called the Parkway Speakeasy, opened in Oakland in December 2012 at a new location, an old sheet-glass factory on 24th street in the Uptown district. The new owners are a group of 56 investors, many of whom had been loyal patrons of the original Parkway.


Rialto Cerrito

{{Main, Cerrito Theater When Speakeasy Theaters went out of business the city, which owns the property, immediately sought new bids to continue to operate the Cerrito theater, arguing that "The Cerrito gave us an identity as a city, an appeal that a lot of people didn't feel was there before." Rialto Cinemas, which operates several other historic theaters in the Bay Area, was chosen over six other bidders. The reopened theater follows a format similar to that of the Speakeasy Theaters, including the eclectic array of movies and the sale of beer and wine, but is "a bit more family oriented."


References


External links


The New Parkway website

Friends of the Cerrito Theater website
Movie theatre chains in the United States Cinemas and movie theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area Culture of Oakland, California El Cerrito, California