officeofimagearchaeology.com - SACRAMENTO ALHAMBRA THEATER DEMOLITION PHOTOS

Details: Written by Administrator; Category: SACRAMENTO ALHAMBRA THEATER DEMOLITION PHOTOS; Published: 18 February 2015; Hits: 4268

The Alhambra Theater at 1025 Thirty-First Street was a Sacramento California landmark until 1973. This incredible building first opened in 1927. Architects Nacht and Lewis design in this building is reminiscent of Spanish cities of old under the influence of the Moors. When viewing old color photographs of this gorgeous building I am reminded more of something from the mind of Lyman Frank Baum and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The building conjures in the mind fantasies of what might lie beyond that majestic entrance. If the exterior was a pleasure to behold it paled to the extravagance of the interior, floors covered with red carpet, gigantic pillars with gold britework throughout as well as the incredible pipe organ all served to add to the fantasy begun at the front door. Here anything was possible and was proven over and again thru the films shown on the great screen.

This was not the only building designed by Nacht and Lewis Architects. They were also responsible for the Fox-Senator Theater that opened September 29th 1924 at 912 K Street (demolished in August of 1977, the Elks Lodge Building at 921 11th Street, the 1933 downtown post office at 801 I Street and Sacramento's oldest operating high school C.K. McClatchy High School was established in 1937 and claims over 50,000 alumni.

The Alhambra Theater also boasted the Alhambra Pipe Organ. The organ built by the Robert Morton Organ Company of Van Nuys of southern California in 1927 was moved to the First Baptist Church of Stockton and is now the property of the Kautz family at Ironstone Vineyards.

In 1973 a bond measure failed that would have allowed the city to purchase the theater and despite the many good intentioned protesters marching out front the grand old Alhambra like so many of her brethren died under the wrecking ball.

You can still see a bit of the old theater though. The fountain is still there in the parking lot of the grocery store that replaced the Alhambra.