Oakland’s Grand Lake theater celebrating 100 years, will have day of free movie showings

By Amanda Hari

The historic Grand Lake Theater will be celebrating its centennial this week.

Friday, March 6, marks 100 years since the historic location opened its doors, but they’ll be celebrating a little early with free movies all day tomorrow.

“I’m happy that a place like this exists in Oakland,” said Mathew Woessner. “It is a beautiful icon and relic of the past.”

Woessner lives just two blocks away and tries to go to the theater every Tuesday, when tickets are just $6.

He said the environment is something you just can’t get at a chain movie theatre.

“The aesthetic, yeah, the artwork,” Woessner said.

But despite walking in and feeling like you’re transported back in time, with gold fixtures, a stage, and a sparkling curtain from the original Fox Theatre in San Francisco, Grand Lake Theater has kept up with the times.

“In comparison to other movie theatres, it has the same audio quality, the same visual quality, and it provides the same experience as you can get at any other movie theater except it’s in our home,” Woessner explained.

Allen Michaan has operated the theatre since 1980, originally leasing it, and finally purchasing it about six years ago.

“The Grand Lake is really a spectacular survivor of the Golden Age of movie palaces, and I’m very proud to be caretaker of this building all these years,” Michaan said, with pride.

He’s inviting everyone to the theater on Wednesday, for free, to celebrate.

They’ll be playing classics like “Singing in the Rain,” “The Wizard of Oz,” and two movies that aren’t usually available in theaters

“But most special is that Walt Disney Company has allowed us to play original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the original Fantasia, 1940.”

He hopes people who have never had the chance to visit, take advantage of the free screenings and learn more about why the theater is loved by so many people.

“This theatre really is beloved by the community,” Michaan stated. “We do a lot of community events here; we do film premieres. It is a favorite theater of a lot of directors.”

The theater is one of only a handful in the country to show Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ in 70 millimeter 5-perf projection.

Coogler, who was born in Oakland, had a private screening of the movie at the theater, followed by a Q&A back in April of 2025.

Woessner said he realizes how special this place is, and is grateful he can come here whenever he wants.

“If I recall correctly, I saw a top 10 list of most iconic movie theatres in America, and this was one of them, don’t know where it ranked on the list, but it’s a gem of the Bay Area, and I think everyone should come to Oakland to see it,” said Woessner.

The theater will also offer tours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to continue the celebration.