Look at the walls on either side of the stage. Each one holds an ornamental niche with a waterfall, a 1924 touch that helped cool the room, and the restoration that reopened the Balboa in 2008 got the water running again.
A 1924 movie palace
The Balboa opened in March 1924 as a vaudeville and movie house, designed by William Wheeler and built for $800,000. In 1934 it reopened as Teatro Balboa, showing films from Mexico City. The Russo family bought it in 1959 and ran action movies until 1985, when the city's Redevelopment Agency took it over and closed it.
Downtown redevelopment plans once called for gutting the building for retail space. A group formed in 1985 to save it and later became the Balboa Theatre Foundation. After about twenty dark years, a $26.5 million restoration brought the Balboa back as a live theatre and concert hall. The foundation also restored a 1929 Wonder Morton pipe organ for the room, rededicated in 2009.
Where to sit
The Balboa has 1,335 seats in three sections.
- Orchestra. 811 seats on the main floor, all reachable without stairs. For some shows two extra rows go in front of Row A.
- Loge. 159 seats on the second level, starting above Row N of the orchestra.
- Balcony. 365 seats behind the loge, up the stairs. It is a historic balcony, so legroom is tighter than downstairs.
San Diego Theatres, the nonprofit that runs the Balboa and the Civic Theatre, keeps a calendar of Latin legends, jazz players, tribute shows, holiday concerts and Silent Movie Mondays. The Mainly Mozart festival uses the room too. Our Latin, blues and jazz and classical pages carry most Balboa nights.
Getting there
The Trolley drops you about a quarter mile away. Ride the Blue or Orange line to Civic Center at Third Avenue and C Street, then walk toward Broadway.
Drivers get pointed to two garages, the 225 Broadway garage (enter from Broadway Circle at Second Avenue) and the Horton Plaza garage on Fourth Avenue. When the Padres are home at Petco Park, the Gaslamp streets jam up, so leave extra time either way.
Travel light. Bags have a size limit and there is no bag check, so read your ticket for the night's rules. House of Blues is a couple of blocks away, and more downtown venues are a short walk.