Big 100: Centennial Plans Take Shape for Downtown Balboa Theatre in 2024

A three-day celebration of the 100th anniversary of the downtown Balboa Theatre is coming up in the spring, with nights to honor the American songbook and the U.S. military.

Various community-focused events, taking place March 28-30, will showcase artists and performers from across San Diego and beyond while honoring Balboa Theatre’s rich history and legacy.

Tickets for all the events will be available in January.

San Diego Theatres is the nonprofit arts organization that operates both the San Diego Civic Theatre and Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego. Abigail Buell, vice president of strategy and business development, said the organization is “honored to celebrate Balboa Theatre, its enduring legacy, and its exciting future.”

The range of events honoring the many roles the venue has played across the last century include: 

• March 28 – Balboa 100^th Anniversary Gala featuring Hershey Felder and the Great American Songbook, with 100 years of famous American music performed by Felder, an acclaimed pianist, playwright and actor. 
• March 29 – Centennial Salute: Honoring San Diego’s Military at the Balboa Theatre, with a screening of the silent film The Flying Fleet, accompanied by the Wonder Morton theatre organ, acknowledging the theater’s roles as both a silent movie theatre and a wartime home for sailors. 
• March 30 – Two events, first Toons & Tunes: A Morning of Family Fun for children and their families with a screening of classic cartoons accompanied by the Wonder Morton organ. There will be a kids’ Roaring ‘20s costume parade before the screening. Then San Diego Spotlight: A Night of Community Events with musicians, singers and dancers from around San Diego, including legacy nonprofit community partners and a group of newcomers.

Proceeds from the gala will benefit the Balboa Theatre Grant Fund, an annual program that provides our local nonprofit partners access to spaces and services at the theater at a reduced cost.

The restored Wonder Morton Organ, an icon of the silent film era, will feature prominently across the weekend as a nod to the theater’s early life as a home of silent films and vaudeville.

The theater, designed by architect William Wheeler, opened in 1924 to a night of vaudeville acts such as Fanchon & Marco and the Sunkist Beauties, along with a screening of the silent film Lilies of the Field and personal appearances from the film’s stars. 

Ten years later, it was rechristened “Teatro Balboa,” as a hub for contemporary films from Mexico City and during World War II, it served as housing for sailors prior to shipping out of San Diego.

But the theater later fell on hard times, and was once slated for demolition. Though it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was required extensive restoration, which took place in the 2000s, leading to a grand re-opening in 2008.