The Legacy of Stockton, California's Theatres: A Trip Through Time
Before Stockton became known as Hollywood North in the 1960s, It was well known for having a growing list of theatres housing live entertainment and moving pictures.
When you say theatre in Stockton, you’re most likely thinking of either the Stockton Civic Theatre, the Bob Hope Fox Theatre, or the two Regal Cinema locations. However, did you know that there were EIGHT previous theatres in our city’s history that were each referred to as “The Stockton?”
![](https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Novelty-Theatre.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=320&s=679680c40962d124230028413fd8416e 320w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Novelty-Theatre.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=540&s=1bd9bc2ebdd4b45c9d58d1b7ef3df5fe 540w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Novelty-Theatre.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=768&s=a136f62e625e9f24d105261983dbe510 768w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Novelty-Theatre.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1024&s=3978ea5663465842115a34ebab3aab6a 1024w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Novelty-Theatre.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=a4bbe0aff02b23ce91f6e7824bb863f5 1200w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Novelty-Theatre.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1440&s=ccc7d6582b9efb593648d9455e23dbbc 1440w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Novelty-Theatre.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1920&s=9e6ea1cb7a7e036038ffc85445efca92 1863w)
It all started back in March of 1850, when the Stockton House at El Dorado & Channel Streets was converted into a make-shift theatre, solely for the entertainment of pioneer merchants & miners. The “Stockton House Theatre” only lasted a total of 3 months, but then the historic Stockton Theatre popped up on Main and El Dorado 3 years later. While the best in theatre at the time played there, it all came to an end when the theatre was damaged “beyond repair” by a mysterious fire the night before the 4th of July in 1890.
![](https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Stockton-Theatre-1883.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=320&s=6b86084a4d830da137efda6c5f7cd30a 320w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Stockton-Theatre-1883.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=540&s=88ceb98383fbfa9189a16d8c0a571124 540w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Stockton-Theatre-1883.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=768&s=bfd32fc39857e7a1e23b59c7a26834dc 768w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Stockton-Theatre-1883.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1024&s=043088dddfbfb8a655282f9d9896353a 1024w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Stockton-Theatre-1883.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=80a2fd87307ad29bbd206f855205ad21 1200w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Stockton-Theatre-1883.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1440&s=20150882fd6532b979c9abd06c90915d 1440w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Stockton-Theatre-1883.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1920&s=b953b1fd71412ab8c279055d997a41f5 1920w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/Stockton-Theatre-1883.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=2560&s=b65c763745ef8a1a92b471183f3a5060 1973w)
In 1907, the East Market Street theatre was briefly known as “The Stockton” until it closed down for several months and reopened as The Bell. The Stockton Hot Mineral Baths—where basically moving pictures were shown nightly during mineral baths—joined the theatre legacy in 1908.
In 1913, the Stockton Picture Palace opened up on 33 E. Main St., became known as The Stockton in 1914, changed to The Strand in 1922, and closed up shop in the mid-1920s. Then came the next Stockton Theatre on 19 S. El Dorado in 1925—which met its demise in the 1970s to make room for the West End Redevelopment Project. And finally came the theatre built on 1825 Pacific Ave in 1945 which eventually became the four mini theatres known as the Stockton Royal Theatres.
![](https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/The-Hippodrome-1904.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=320&s=1c145648680c4b3aef6763e1344d48d3 320w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/The-Hippodrome-1904.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=540&s=653c98483f328ab1b3c55d5d5dfe40f7 540w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/The-Hippodrome-1904.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=768&s=481f13b8f42598699cd278d8b1c0322b 768w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/The-Hippodrome-1904.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1024&s=39eaf43907198509cdbc1da1ca8e10fd 1024w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/The-Hippodrome-1904.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=1fcae9a323ec574289250d3c070b65e8 1200w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/The-Hippodrome-1904.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1440&s=1666b472e026dc2bd2e704dddb7cb402 1440w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/The-Hippodrome-1904.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1920&s=2dfe977013c4ca6e5c3744f73d39ba9d 1920w, https://stockton.imgix.net/images/archive/The-Hippodrome-1904.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=2560&s=5654840e0f6b1e09bc35b7946c07848f 2252w)
Which brings us to where we started, with Stockton Civic Theatre—which was founded in 1950 and continues to house amazing performances from skilled talents, the Bob Hope Fox Theatre—where to this very day hosts a classic movie series as well as live entertainment, and Regal Stockton Holiday Cinema 8 & Regal Stockton City Centre IMAX Cinema—providing numerous screens playing the biggest blockbusters Hollywood has to offer. You could say Stockton has a thing for theatrical entertainment…
Moreover, along with Stockton Civic Theatre, here are more Stockton venues that offer a space for the theatrical...
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