Pablo Theatre (San Pablo)

Address: 2721 San Pablo Avenue, San Pablo CA 94806

Date Opened: July 2, 1943

Date Closed: (Probably) May 1, 1952

Circuit/Owners: Robert L. Lippert, Several Independent Operators

Number of Screens: 1

Number of Seats: 499

Current Status: Demolished

The Pablo Theatre circa 1947. Not exactly a movie palace but it was never intended to be. Construction supplies were in short supply and strictly controlled by the United States government in 1943. The Pablo was converted from a Ford vehicles garage in a structure that went way back to the early 1900's when it was originally used for a blacksmith shop. The Abbott and Costello comedy "The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap" and the cheapie Monogram crime drama "Fear" make up the double feature program here. Screeno was a patented Bingo type game dating back to the Great Depression era where the winning numbers were projected onto the screen.  Many thanks to Roxy Miravalle for this photo which was posted in the excellent "You Knew You Grew Up in San Pablo/Richmond, California When" Facebook page.

Article from the Richmond Independent announcing the opening of the Pablo Theatre on July 2, 1943. Click on above image to enlarge text.

The Pablo opened at at 2721 San Pablo Avenue (San Pablo & Market) in San Pablo on July 2, 1943. It was the fifth (and final) Robert L. Lippert theatre to open in wartime boom town Richmond in the previous year and a half. Prior to the Pablo Lippert opened the Grand, Studio, Times and "V" (formerly the Point in Point Richmond). Newspaper ads here are all from the Richmond Independent.

Popular Republic Pictures cowboy Wild Bill Elliott appeared in person as well as on the screen at the Pablo's grand opening. Columbia's Bill Elliott-Tex Ritter western "King of Dodge City" was combined with Warner Brothers' comedy drama "Off the Record" for the inaugural double feature.

January March and August 1944 newspaper ads from the Richmond Independent for the Pablo. The Pablo's wartime policy under Lippert was similar to that of the downtown Richmond, Studio, State and Rio theaters, a new double feature program every day, the only difference being that the Pablo was not open all night.

After being closed for some remodeling the Pablo opened again under a new operator as the "New Pablo" on December 1, 1948.

Bottom of the barrel programming at the New Pablo in the late 1940's. This double feature consisted of couple of reissued 1941 turkeys from Poverty Row distributor PRC (Producers Releasing Corporation). Men were probably hoping to see a bit of bare skin from burlesque queen Ann Corio in "Swamp Women" but most likely came away very disappointed.  I suspect  that even the kids at the Saturday matinee found these low budget bombs hard to sit through! At least there was a chapter from Columbia's "The Phantom" serial and some extra cartoons also on the program. Hey I would have been there just for that!

 Another operator takes over the Pablo on April 19, 1951.

The Pablo resorted to some tame but still "ADULTS ONLY" exploitation to get them in the doors in July 1951. "French Girls Club" is obviously a retitled and dubbed film from France and "Devil's Harvest"is a 1942 marijuana scare film of the "Reefer Madness" variety. The program was "HELD OVER! By Popular Demand" so hopefully it helped the Pablo pay a few bills by dragging people (men in particular) away from those new fangled television sets which were having a major and negative impact on theaters all across the country.

Only a year after the last "Grand Opening" the Pablo had a new and final owner when it reopened once again on April 2, 1952. Richmond's boom town economy was over for good and that combined with the increasing popularity of TV with the masses meant that many little neighborhood theaters like the Pablo's days were numbered.

Based the ads in the Richmond Independent it appears that the final owner's operation of the Pablo lasted exactly one month. The last ad I found for the Pablo was on May 1, 1952 when the feature attraction ending that day was the 1950 filmed burlesque show "International Burlesque". After showing mainstream product for the most of May to apparently very few patrons the Pablo tried a couple of adult oriented features, first the 1948 sex education film shown only to segregated men and women audiences (!) "Street Corner" and then "International Burlesque" which had it's final showing on May 1, 1952. I suppose it's possible that the Pablo's programming continued for a short time afterwards without advertising in the Independent but I sort of doubt it. If they couldn't get them in the doors with newspaper advertising I don't think they could have done so without. 

I vaguely remember reading an item in the Richmond Independent sometime after the Pablo closed regarding a married couple from Oregon who had purchased the Pablo and were then claiming that they were deceived by the previous owner regarding revenue and potential and thus were suing to collect damages.

After the Pablo closed in 1952 San Pablo would be without an indoor movie theater for the next 18  years. On May 7, 1970  Robert L. Lippert's Transcontinental Theatres opened the twin screen Showcase Cinemas I and II in the El Portal Shopping Center. 

The structure that housed the Pablo accommodated several other businesses in its post movie theater life. Those businesses included a junk store, a furniture store, an auction hall (that hosted dances and rock and roll concerts during the 1950's and 1960's) and finally The Bow Rack, a popular archery store  that's shown in the two photos above. Top photo above from the Jack Tillmany collection, used with permission. Bottom photo courtesy of Roxy Miravalle as posted on the "If you grew up in San Pablo/Richmond..." Facebook page. I believe the structure was demolished in the early 1970's.