Grand Lake Theatre

On August 1, 1929, Abraham C. Karski and Louis Kaliski leased the theater to West Coast Theatres, Inc. for a period of 94 years, 4 months until November 30, 2023.

[3] Most recently, Allen Michaan has spent hundreds of thousands to install twin 3-D projectors in two of the Oakland movie palace's theaters - similar to the state-of-the-art setup Pixar has in its private screening auditorium, and also repainted the building.

[4] The Theater's 95-year lease was set to expire on November 30, 2023; prior to this, however, longtime tenant Allen Michaan purchased the Grand Lake Theatre in August 2018.

In November 2005, the Theatre served as a center for relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina that Congresswoman Barbara Lee coordinated.

[7] Between the midterm elections of November 2006 and January 2007, no political messages were displayed on the marquee, instead devoting the space to the names of upcoming films.

Messages began to appear again in early January, beginning with "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing," a statement derived from Edmund Burke's 1770 speech to Parliament, "Thoughts on the Cause of Present Discontents."

The theater premiered Dylan Avery's Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup, narrated by Daniel Sunjata and produced by Korey Rowe and Matthew Brown.

"[8] The Rachel Maddow Show featured the theater on November 2, 2011, as part of the video segment covering that day's Occupy Oakland protest and general strike.