Neon Delight

The Chabot Theater is one of the true treasures of Castro Valley. In order to support our local movie house, Your Boulevardier endeavors to see all films that show there -- even when they don't exactly pique his interest. The prices are good, and the staff is friendly. Parking is a problem until one learns about the Bank of America lot behind Jack in the Box. (Of course, it's best to walk to the show.)

Inside, the theater is a funky mix of old and new, with plenty of good seating (particularly so for the first row of the balcony), a serviceable but tiny snack bar, and odd-sized bathrooms (one urinal in the men's room seems to run 24 hours a day). The real joy at the Chabot is outside, though, where its refurbished neon marquee beckons. Your Boulevardier shot this brief video of the sign on January 6, 2009.



Your Boulevardier is not alone in loving the Chabot. Yelpers give it 4.5 stars. Interesting historical information and links can be found in the comments at Cinema Treasures. And a photo of the marquee can be found here (part of pbo31's Flikr photostream that includes several other lovely Castro Valley shots).