This theater should be a great theater.
The California, as it stands now, is a monument to bureaucratic incompetence and lost hopes. Lots of parties have come to the redevelopment table with grand visions that have resulted in...
Nothing.
The ..California.. sits on ....4th Ave...., 4 blocks north of ....Horton.. ..Plaza...., and just below the 4th and B concert venue. It's not the worst location, and there are few better. It should be a great theater for either movies or live events or even, as recently suggested San Diego City Council meetings.
It seats between 1700 and 2200 (depending on who you ask) and has been host to some of the best films of the past 80 years including King Kong and Enter The Dragon. It opened in April 1927 to great fanfare and continued playing movies until 1977. After that... the story gets strange. There have been a few renovations and then threats to tear it down.
Currently, something called Windmill Investment Advisors holds ownership.
Let's hope for the best.