Film EventsOrinda Theatre TourSunday, September 28, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
FREE Tour of the Historic Orinda Theatre with Film Critic and Author, Matías Bombal
About the Orinda Theatre:
The Modern Baroque Orinda Theatre was designed by architect Alexander Aimwell Cantin for Donald Rheem who opened it December 27, 1941. Notable among its appointments were auditorium wall and lobby ceiling murals by Anthony Heinsbergen with pioneering use of UV pigments in the paint which made the murals glow under "black' light. A developer bought the property in 1984 with plans to demolish the theatre to build a shopping center. A grass-roots movement sprung up to convince the community at large of the value of saving it; after many struggles the shopping center was built around the theatre, which was renovated and re-opened in 1989. A new "movie palace wing" was added in 1996 with two more screens in vintage-style auditoriums. For the last eleven years, operators Zemrak-Pirkle Productions, LLC have been the stewards that keep the theatre a vibrant part of the community with first-run films, live shows and special movie events. The Time-Out website, based in France, listed the Orinda the 23rd most beautiful theatre in the world in 2025.