OHA will interview Allen Michaan, owner and operator of the Grand Lake Theatre for over 40 years. Michaan moved to Berkeley in 1970 and supported himself by showing classic films in rented auditoriums. He built the Rialto Theater in Berkeley out of salvaged items that were rescued from other theaters. In the late 70s, he acquired the ground lease for the Grand Lake and has been operating and restoring it ever since. He purchased the theater in 2018 and also founded the Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire and Michaan's Auctions.
About Allen
I grew up in Stamford, Ct. and New York moving to Berkeley in 1970 after graduating high school. I was enrolled in U. C. Berkeley but dropped out in the first quarter and then took classes at U. C. extension in SF. I was supporting myself by showing classic films in rented auditoriums around Berkeley and created a midnight show film series in the Palace Theater in North Beach, SF. In 1972 at age 19, I built the Rialto theater in Berkeley in an old warehouse on Gilman Street and began creating a film selection of classic Hollywood movies, as well as unusual documentaries, and a mix of old TV shows and short films with a camp twist. Reefer Madness and related anti drug movies from the 30s were staples of the Rialto programming. The theater was assembled from salvaged items rescued from classic theaters that were being demolished around the Bay Area. I would purchase old seats, curtains, carpeting, lighting fixtures and ornamental plaster inexpensively to create my first theater. When I opened the Rialto in August 1972 I actually lived there with my girlfriend Lisa Hutz in a small windowless room off of the lobby. As the theater became more popular I created a second auditorium and later on I expanded it to 4 screens.
I called my company Renaissance Rialto Theaters as an homage to a vintage theater that always fascinated me as a child growing up in Stamford. It was the Rialto theater and it stood in a run down neighborhood, it most likely closed before I was born but it remained standing into the late 60s. The Rialto was one of the earliest theaters built exclusively for films in New England and dated back to about 1908. It was not a movie palace in any way but somehow sparked my love for old theaters. My favorite theater in my home town was the Palace which was remarkably similar to the Grand Lake in style and size. That theater survives today as a performing arts venue. (Do not be fooled by another Bay Area theater operator who calls his company Rialto Cinemas, there is no connection to my company there!)
The Rialto became very successful once I expanded it to 4 screens and I began to acquire theater leases around the Bay Area to build my theater circuit. I always gravitated to vintage theaters and reopened numerous closed venues.
Among the theaters that I operated were: State (Benicia), Sunset (Berkeley), 4 Star (SF), York (SF), Ghirardelli (SF), Bridge (SF), Presidio (SF), Gateway (SF), Opera Plaza Cinemas (SF - I built this theater), Park (Lafayette), El Rey (Walnut Creek), Orinda (I built the addition of theaters 2 and 3), Fine Arts (Berkeley), Park (Menlo Park), Guild (Menlo Park), Stanford (Palo Alto), Fine Arts (Palo Alto), Shattuck Cinemas (Berkeley - I built that theater), Oaks Theater (Berkeley), Pagoda Palace (SF), and of course the…GRAND LAKE THEATER
My big break happened in late 1979 when Mann Theaters, which was the successor to the old Fox West Coast theater chain, decided to dispose of their old style movie palaces. I was fortunate to be able to purchase the 1928 ground lease for the Grand Lake which ran until 2023. I had no competition for that deal as no one wanted to run a theater in Oakland as the city had a poor reputation and the attendance at the Grand Lake was very anemic. My friends in the industry thought that I was crazy to take on such a huge run down single screen location. I saw nothing but great possibilities in the Grand Lake! I immediately began a process of restoration and improvements in the building starting with the replacement of 9000 light bulbs in the lobby and auditorium that created the beautiful colored lighting scheme designed by the builders. They had all been allowed to burn out over the years. This was done during the few days that the theater was closed after I took over and when I reopened it was like a completely different place. I also upgraded the projection systems and installed Dolby stereo prior to reopening. The loyal following of moviegoers I had developed at the Rialto flocked to the Grand Lake and it quickly became financial success! In 1981, I created a second theater in the original balcony and in 1985 converted the retail wing into theaters 3 and 4. The Grand Lake became one of the highest grossing theaters in the country. The ongoing restoration program continues to this day and in 2018 I purchased the property.
During the 80s and early 90s my company flourished but things changed once the onslaught of large theater complexes began to occur. It became very difficult to book significant films into the many single screen theaters I operated and I began to sell off or close unprofitable venues.
Today I only operate the Grand Lake Theater and have since opened two other companies. The Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire which produces a large outdoor antiques show each month on the old jet runways of Alameda Point as well as Michaan’s Auctions which is a full service auction house holding monthly sales of art and antiques.
Read a bit more about the theater from Peter Hartlaub in the San Francisco Chronicle.