Oakdale Theatre

325 E. F Street,
Oakdale, CA 95361

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dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on October 26, 2018 at 7:49 am

The Rialto Theatre opened in May 28, 1921 with Tom Mix in “The Texan.” It had a Hope Jones Wurlitzer organ at its opening. But it went to a more compact Johnson organ when the Wurlitzer proved to be too large for the venue. The theatre got a $1,500 refresh in 1926 and was rechristened as the New Oakdale Theatre launching March 27, 1926. Fred Lahm bought the theatre in 1928.

On November 1, 1928, the venue became the Strand Theatre as it had both new operators and converted to talkies with a Russell Photophore sound system. Lahm switched the Strand to an RCA Photophone sound system on June 19, 1930.

Harvey Amusement bought the location from Lahm in June of 1936 as the venue was renamed the Oakdale Theatre on June 2, 1936. It was sold several times including to the Blumenfeld Theatre Circuit. Blumenfeld sold it in 1951 to Maurice A. Lathrop. In 1952, Lathrop converted the auditorium to a wider screen.

In June of 1963, the Oakdale Theatre was closed as unsafe. New operators reopened the venue in October of 1963. The theatre was closed on June 24, 1967 permanently. In 1968, the theatre was razed for a new bank.