Vintage California Theatre blog series #3
In 1991 I moved from Alameda to what was called in the county (Contra Costa County) between Walnut Creek and Alamo. The properties there were soon annexed into Alamo. To get to Alamo, I had to drive from Oakland where I worked, through the Caldecott, a tunnel in the Berkeley Hills between Oakland and Orinda, California. Just outside of the Caldecott Tunnel, you get a glimpse of the Orinda Theatre marquee next to State Highway 24.

Having grown up in grand movie theaters discussed in the first two blogs of my Vintage California series, the Alameda Theatre and Grand Lake Theatre, I was pleased to find a movie palace closer to my house. Walnut Creek had The Festival Cinemas, a block style building with two, not connected entrances. It was not the movie experience I remembered and enjoyed. The Festival closed and was demolished in 2001.

- Orinda Theatre from Highway 24 - Interior mural

Orinda Theatre - Moraga Way and Brookwood Road, Orinda, CA 94563

The Orinda Theatre, a classic example of Streamline Moderne style, was opened on December 27, 1941 featuring the American Western film Texas with William Holden, Glenn Ford and Claire Trevor in Texas with William Holden, Glenn Ford and Claire Trevor.
In 1937, Donald Rheem, the son of William S. Rheem, President of Standard Oil Company bought land at the Orinda Crossroads. Other than a building across the street the site was empty. The Caldecott Tunnel opened in 1937 allowing greater access between Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
In 1984 the Orinda Theatre was slated for demolition. Through the efforts of The Friends of the Orinda Theater, it was fortunately saved and reopened in 1989 as part of Orinda Theater Square. Two screens were added, to the theatre. One features murals saved from the Garden Theatre in San Jose when it was torn down. The original lobby and main theatre are as they were when the theatre opened in 1941.

Orinda Theatre Facts:

Placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1982.
The original murals representing "air, fire, water and earth" that decorate the walls and foyer ceiling are by Anthony Heinsbergen who also created murals for the Oakland Paramount Theater.

Next Up: Tower Theatre, Sacramento, CA