Neptune Theater

The Neptune Theater opened in 1920, was closed in 1962, and razed in 1972.

The Neptune opened July 3, 1920 and its address was 714 Central Avenue.

The Neptune, located off of webster on central, was right next to the foster freeze. It was a dismal place, never heated half the time and had a kind of moldy smell, was told that it flooded numerous times because of a water line problem. The vertical blade and marquee were very similar to the New Fruitvale on East 14th Street. When you walked in there was the candy counter with staircases to the left and right that led to a little mezannine section. The Balcony and loge entrance was sealed off with plywood so you couldn’t get in there. There wasn’t much to see in there as far as artwork, although the center ceiling dome was quite impressive. In the late 60’s we went to the foster freeze next door and noticed that the side exit door was open, a few of us walked inside and saw that the seats were gone, and a few homeless people were inside. I’m sure that in its heyday it was a good theatre, but not when we were in it. Webster street at the time was run down and mostly transients and hard on their luck sailors would go to movies there just to get out of the elements.

The Neptune looms large in my memories of late childhood and early teens (1954-59). I spent a significant number of Saturdays attending the matinees that allowed one the freedom to escape into the worlds on the screen. Later on, it was part of the teen age cruise path along with the Vegas Smoke Shop and the Foster’s Freeze.

I remember that it was a typical neighborhood theatre of the time with a cramped lobby that was dominated by the snack bar. It seems to me that seating included smoking lodges and a balcony.

I long to see a photo of this theater. The Neptune was my childhood theater. For 20 cents we got a newsreel; 2 cartoons; previews; and 2 movies. The lodges in the balcony were rocking chairs. They tried not to let the kids upstairs. I remember seeing these movies there: “The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari” “The Giant Gila Monster” “The Killer Shrews” I do remember we kids trashing the place. We pulled the stuffing out of the seats and threw it at the screen. By the time I got there it had seen it’s day. It was very sticky…. I always see it when I pass by. Fosters Freeze survived one block west.