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The Bay Theatre is back.
Dark no more, the historic landmark has returned to its original splendor on Main Street in Seal Beach following a painstaking renovation, eight years in the making.
For the first time in decades, the Bay Theatre’s spotlights are bright again. The colored lights on the exterior marquee beckon the public to a fully renovated theatre, ready to play a significant role in the future of the Seal Beach community.
“Restoring the Bay Theatre was the last remaining piece of the puzzle that is needed so that this town would be preserved as it had been for many, many years,” developer Paul Dunlap told more than a hundred friends and business associates at the theatre’s “soft opening” Nov. 23.
“That prospect excited me,” he said, like a proud papa recounting his thoughts when he took on the challenge nearly a decade ago.
Even though the reimagined Bay Theatre must await regulators’ final approval to fully open to the public, the whisper of its potential has now become a roar.
“We decided to have a soft opening,” said Dunlap. “We invited our friends, our family, and our supporters, and wanted to share it with you, so you can see what the theatre is going to be like,” he said in brief remarks.
While plans are still underway for a Grand Opening later this month, (or early next month), Dunlap said he decided to have this small event to offer a few friends and those who helped on the project a sneak peek.
Final health inspections are expected this week and approval of detailed fire escape planning for the Orange County Fire Authority could happen soon. Once these approvals are in, the fully remade theatre will finally be able to open its doors to the public.
In the meantime, he said Seal Beach city officials have been very helpful and have permitted the theatre with temporary authority to hold selected gatherings like the one last Saturday.
“Everything is raring to go,” said Dunlap. “Our sound system is done. The interior is done,” he added. The Bay Theatre will open its doors to the public as soon as OCFA approves its final plans, said Dunlap.
Standing near the stage in this 1940s-era structure, Dunlap beamed as he explained the detail with which his team attended to restore a building.
He now hopes the Bay can become “a hub of the community.”
“Here we are,” he said, “and our thought all along was, rather than it be a movie house as it had been previously, we wanted to make it an event center, so it’s as functional and useful to the community as much as possible,” said Dunlap.
“Becoming a community event space was planned from the beginning, he said.
“We can show films, we can have concerts, we can have comedy, we can have Ted Talks, plays, musical theatre, whatever. We could even go as far as having MMA fights with a stage as such,” said an excited Dunlap, speaking softly in front of his nearly 40-foot red curtain that now adorns the stage.
Historical accounts by Larry Strawther indicate The Beach Theatre was opened ironically on Thanksgiving in 1945, with 662 seats. (The theatre will have approximately 350 seats after renovation.) It was taken over by Fox West Coast Theatres in June 1946 and was renamed Bay Theatre.
At the time, WWII-era military bases within the area kept a steady stream of service members looking for entertainment.
During the period, the Seal Beach theatre showed independent, foreign, classic, and silent films with organ accompaniment through the fifties and more modern fare in the sixties. The theatre gained notoriety after being mentioned as one of epic film director Steven Spielberg‘s favorite theatres while attending Cal State, Long Beach.
Former ticket takers at the Bay Theatre interviewed years ago by the Sun said remembered the Cal State student (Spielberg) showing up regularly to see foreign films in the 1960s. They said the future filmmaker would often show up, have coffee at the theatre, and watch whatever foreign film was being shown on Wednesday evenings, they remembered.
Dunlap and a group of investors purchased the theatre in 2016. “Once I realized what I had gotten into,” Dunlap said Saturday, “I dedicated myself to restoring the beauty of the Bay Theatre while remaining true to the 1940s esthetic of a Fox Theatre.”
Immediately after looking at the Bay Theatre eight years ago, Dunlap said he told brokers walking down the stairs, “I said I’ll take it.”
Back then, said Dunlap, “I did not understand everything I was jumping into. But so be it,”
Moreover, he said the delicate restoration could not have happened without project manager Ben Ahle, whom he said lived and managed the entire process from pouring concrete to polishing brass doorknobs.
Dunlap also thanked his wife Nikki for “sticking with me” and for her support while enduring the eight-year ordeal.
After touring the theatre and listening to Dunlap’s brief remarks, friends got a one-hour music concert from bluesman Ray Bonneville.
Dunlap said the theatre had booked the Canadian band earlier this year expecting the facility to be open by this time.
Even though it is not officially open, “we decided that instead of canceling the date, we wanted to use it for a soft opening,” said Dunlap, explaining to visitors that the theatre’s new sound system is a Yamaha Nexo, a state-of-the-art live performance sound system.
Mick Taylor, a sound and acoustics engineer who also works with Disney, explained the theatre’s multi-purpose sound system includes subwoofers built under the stage.
Dunlap’s reinforcement and insulation of the floor, walls, and ceiling make the venue acoustically sound and very attractive for movies, live music, speaking engagements, musical theatre, and almost anything, said Taylor.
Robert Howson, the owner of Harbour Surfboards, which is located across the street from the Bay Theatre, said not only was he present for the soft opening event, but that he has watched the transformation of the facility over the past few years.
“The event was outstanding, for sure,” said Howson, “but overall, this has been an eight-year labor of love.”
Howson said he’s watched Dunlap, and his team, methodically pull this landmark apart and meticulously put it back together. What is even more remarkable, he said, is the passion for the restoration that Dunlap demonstrated throughout the project.
“Paul has put lots of love into the Bay Theatre,” said Howson, suggesting Dunlap has “put more into it than he could ever get out.”
He too sees a bright future for the Bay.
“It (Bay Theatre) can now host concerts, comedy, school plays and so much more,” he said. Howson said the Bay Theatre is now “a great resource for the community the way Paul has reimagined it.”
Editor’s note: In our next story, we will dive into the renovation and explain how they managed to restore this jewel of a theatre into a fortified, acoustic gem that is versatile enough to fit into the digital revolution.
The Sun has followed the renovation and will present the story of the Bay Theatre’s metamorphosis.
Our next story will examine how Paul Dunlap, Ben Ahle and crew managed to authentically restore it to 1940s glory while reimagining its role in the community’s future.
