TODAY IN HISTORY: 1945 – Bay Theater Opens (as Beach Theatre)

After an almost two year ordeal in obtaining land and permits, Seal Beach got its first real full-time theater when the Beach Theatre opened on Thanksgiving Night in 1945.

The theater was the project of Oscar Johnson, who had been involved with theaters in Southern California for many years, and thought Seal Beach, with its newly opened Naval Base and its 1200 sailors, civilian workers and some of their families, would be a perfect location for a new theater.  He originally tried to obtain a hall around 208 Main Street as a theater in early 1944.  It had been a bingo and gambling hall in the 1930s, but when those operations were ended in the early 1940s it lay unused until it was leased as a storage facility. But this came to an end when it was pointed out Main Street was permitted only for retail businesses.  But then Johnson found out there was not enough space on the property.  Seal Beach Mayor William Gauntner came to the rescue and made available the northernmost part of the land he had recently purchased on the 300 block of Main Street, and where he just starting to build the new block of buildings that would become Brock’s Drugs (and later Warno Sports, and now Bistro St. Germaine.).

The Beach finally opened on Thanksgiving Eve 1944 and Johnson operated it for about six months, until he sold it to Fox West Coast Theaters chain (actually owned by National General Theaters), run by Charles Skouras whose family had been very involved with both Paramount and Twentieth Century-Fox family.  Skouras, who would be the highest paid man in America in 1946, and Fox West Coast did many upgrades, including adding an extended marquee over the entrance, an improved sound system and ornate features over the restrooms and snack areas.

The theatre operated for many years as a Fox West Coast/National General operation, although in the mid 1960s it became well-known for running art and international films during the week and recent-release Hollywood films on weekends.  Fox/National General was taken over by Mann Theatres in 1973, which began selling off single screen theaters soon after that.  In 1975, the Bay was sold to Richard Loderhouse, who purchased it to feature his Wurlitzer Opus pipe organ.  Loderhouse continued the Bay’s eclectic booking policy over the next 30 years.  In 2007, with Loderhouse’s health failing, his family sold the organ to a church-based retirement community in Arizona.  Loderhose died a year later and the Bay failed to attract a buyer for years until Paul Dunlap stepped in to purchase the property in 2015.

After years of planning, plan checks and lots of proverbial red tape, Dunlap hopes to have the theatre open by Christmas.  He reportedly has only one item left to install to meet fire department sign on.  Once that piece is delivered he thinks it will be open within a week.  .