La Paloma’s Eclipse Is Not Expected to Remain Total

The unexpected closing Tuesday of the historic La Paloma Theater in Encinitas put the theater in the dark, but not its fate.

“One way or another, whether we resell the lease or operate it ourselves, the theater will certainly open again, although I have no idea when,” said Alan Grossberg, who took back the lease he and partner Mark Weisinger had sold to Alan Gates in February, 1988.

Besides regularly screening cult films such as “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” Gates had been trying to turn the theater into a home for small arts organizations such as the San Dieguito Playhouse, whose most recent production, “Teahouse of the August Moon,” concluded its run Sunday despite the theater’s closure five days earlier.

“With no warning at all, I found out (Gates’) intention to close the theater,” Grossberg said, “and, since he has been in default for two or three months in his payments to us, we took possession.”

“So now, we need to work out details between him, the landlord, and us before we know what’s going to happen next,” he said.

Gates could not be reached for comment.

San Dieguito Playhouse president Norma Payne would like to know, too. The troupe had expected to stage plays at the La Paloma into next year while trying to relocate the former St. John’s Catholic Church on Melrose Avenue and convert the church into a theater.

“If the new owner doesn’t contract with us for next season . . . we might not have a next season,” Payne said.

The La Paloma Theater was built in 1928 by Aubrey Austin, a wealthy Santa Monica banker, as a combination movie theater and vaudeville house. It was one of the first rural theaters in the country to install sound equipment for “talkies,” which had debuted a year earlier.

With the death of vaudeville during the Great Depression, La Paloma turned into a full-time movie house. But, by the early 1960s, the theater had fallen into disrepair, and in 1963, after screenings of “Jason and the Argonauts” and “Gidget Goes Hawaiian,” it shut.

In March, 1972, the La Paloma reopened--under new ownership, and after a badly needed face lift--with an all-day Woody Guthrie benefit concert. For the next six years, the theater flourished with a mix of concerts, classic film screenings and civic events.

In early 1978, the La Paloma was purchased by Ed Seykota, an eccentric North County millionaire. Seykota further upgraded the theater by adding Dolby sound equipment and permanent stage lighting. For another seven years, the theater continued to do well with more concerts, more classic film screenings, and frequent showings of surf movies.

In February, 1985, Seykota sold the property to Del Mar developers David Winkler and Ivan Gayler, who in turn signed a 15-year operating lease with Grossberg and Weisinger.

“We operated the theater ourselves for the next three years, and we were very successful,” Grossberg said. “Then, we were approached by (Alan) Gates and sold the lease to him.”

“At the time, it seemed like a very good deal, but now, I wish we never would have done it,” he said.