History Of the Bay

The Bay Theatre was originally constructed and opened in 1945 as the Beach Theater. In 1946 the Theatre was purchased by Fox West Theatres and redesigned under the direction of Fox president Charles Skouras. At this point the iconic neon marquee was added. They redecorated the interior in the motif used throughout the Fox theater chain. The Theatre was also given its current name.

Following a 5 year period where the building sat vacant, Paul Dunlap, owner of the Dunlap Property Group, purchased the theater in December of 2016. Thus began a painstaking restoration, true to the Fox Theater design of 1946. Original details were reinstalled. tracked down, or recreated, and the building was heavily refreshed. The Seal Beach City Council designated the theater as a historical landmark in September 2016.

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Over the years the Bay has hosted notable figures, like Steven Spielberg, an unauthorized biography mention's the Theatre as being his favorite place to see foreign movies while he was enrolled at nearby Cal State Long Beach in the mid 1960s.

A new era began at the Bay on January 25th 2025 when it opened its doors to the public, revived and ready to entertain and unite the public through entertainment for years to come.

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