Long lines
Plaza Theater Teatro opened in 1915 (or 1918) as the Park Theater at 645 E12th St. across the street from Clinton Park in what is now the East Peralta neighborhood. Over the years the theater was also known as the the Ritz Theater and the Pix Theater.
After the destruction of West Oakland and the urban renewal that followed, the Spanish Star Theater in West Oakland was demolished. As Latino families began moving to East Oakland in the late 1960s, the theater became the Plaza and started showing Spanish, Mexican and Latin American movies and English movies with Spanish subtitles.
During the 1970s and 80s the Plaza was popular with the local Mexican Latino community. It would get crowded on weekends when it would show popular movies from Mexico and Latin America.
The theater finally closed in 1995 and was abandoned for many years. Recently the building has been used as retail space.
In 1928, a serious fire destroyed the orchestra pit and the stage. Firefighter C. R. Anderson of Engine Company 4 was badly injured when part of the roof collapsed. 1
Links and References
- Plaza Theatre on cinematreasures.org
- Roof Falls, Traps One in Theater Fire Oakland Tribune October 25, 1928
