Jack Tillmany: 2 books

You read the sad stories in the papers: another ornate, 1920s, single-screen theatre closes, to be demolished and replaced by a strip mall. That�s progress, and in this 20-screen multiplex world, it�s happening more and more. Only a handful of the 100 or so neighborhood theatres that once graced...

Oakland has a rich theatre history, from the amusements of a gas-lit downtown light opera and vaudeville stage in the 1870s to the ornate cinematic escape portals of the Great Depression. Dozens of neighborhood theatres, once the site of family outings and first dates, remain cherished memories in the...