Theaters

Paramount Theatre

The epitome of the Deco movie palace, splendidly restored in 1973, and an early ADSC Preservation Award winner, the Paramount does more than merely show films. Public tours of the theater are conducted at 10am on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. More info at www.paramounttheatre.com.

2025 Broadway, at 21st Street, Oakland, (510) 465-6400

Oakland Fox

Reopened as a concert venue in Spring 2009. The Fox Oakland Theater, on Telegraph Avenue between 18th and 19th Streets, operated as a first-run movie house from 1928 until 1962. During the next decade, under different owners and managers, it operated as both a first- and second-run movie house, closed briefly several times, and hosted various special events. The completely restored building is a pastiche of moorish themes. Learn more about the Fox's amazing restoration at www.foxoakland.com.

300 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Suite 222, Oakland, (510) 893-3663

Castro Theatre

This big-screen, ornate, 1500-seat house is the largest venue for repertory films in the U.S. Presenting live theater-organ music and occasional deco-era films, the Castro also hosts the San Francisco Silent Film Festival the Noir Film Festival. More info at www.castrotheatre.com.

429 Castro Street, San Francisco, (415) 621-6120

Grand Lake Theatre

Designated as one of the top ten vintage theaters in the U.S., 1926 marked the grand opening of the Reed Brothers-designed Vaudeville House and Silent Movie Theatre located in Oakland's Grand/Lakeshore District. Operating as a first run digital cineplex with 4 auditoriums exuding differing styles and featuring a live organ performance weekend evenings, the Grand Lake also retains the capability of projecting 35mm and 70 mm films. Learn more at: www.renaissancerialto.com/about

3200 Grand Avenue, Oakland, (510) 452-3556

Lark Theater

Repertory films and an annual Oscar party. More info at www.larktheater.net.

549 Magnolia Avenue, Larkspur, (415) 924-3311

Pacific Film Archive

The PFA generally showcases international and specialty films with occasional pre-code or silent films (silents presented with live piano accompaniment). Their website features Cinefiles, a searchable database of reviews, press kits, festival and showcase program notes, newspaper articles, and other documents. More info at bampfa.berkeley.edu.

In the Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Avenue, Berkeley, (510) 642-1412

Roxie Theatre

Occasional vintage film festivals are held at this small Mission district theater. More info at www.roxie.com.

3117 16th Street, San Francisco, (415) 863-1087

Sebastiani Theatre

Established in 1934. Live entertainment and occasional vintage films. More info at www.sebastianitheatre.com.

476 First Street East, "On the Plaza", Sonoma, (707) 996-2020

Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center

The Art Deco facade of the Rafael Theater has been carefully restored; the interior holds three state-of-the-art screening rooms, and the facility is now home to the California Film Institute. An ADSC Preservation Award-winner, the Rafael Theater features independent films, premieres, restored classics, rare films and retrospectives; it's a year-round film festival.

1118 Fourth Street, San Rafael, (415) 383-5256

Stanford Theatre

A vintage movie palace within walking distance of the Stanford University campus. Built in 1924, restored and maintained by the Packard Foundation, the Stanford Theater is almost exclusively devoted to Hollywood films made up to and through the 1950s. Devoted to film preservation, the Foundation will sometimes strike a print for an exclusive Stanford Theater engagement; so sometimes, the films shown there literally cannot be seen anywhere else. And there's a mighty Wurlitzer there, too! More info at www.stanfordtheatre.org/stf/

221 University Avenue, Palo Alto, (650) 324-3700

Sutter Creek Theater

It's north of the Bay Area, in Amador County, but considered a real gem. Gary Schmieding, of Sutter Creek Entertainment Co. reports that "It was built in 1919 as a silent movie house, with a crowned Art Deco ceiling and other appointments. It's in close-to-original condition, and we are starting to paint and fix up the building. The theatre is currently open and we are home to the Main Street Theatre Works (it was the Claypipers, from San Francisco, who put the theatre back in operation for plays in the 1980s). The last movie shown here was "Bambi" in 1952. We plan on putting the original screen back up and showing silent and foreign films." More info at www.suttercreektheater.com.

44 Main St, Sutter Creek, (209) 267-5737 or (916) 765-6627

Museums

Books of the Century Club

Study Oakland's history, decade by decade, in literature, architecture, industry, sports and the arts, with readings and panel discussions on the works of the Century's finest writers.

Sponsored by Oakland Heritage Alliance and Barnes & Noble. Jack London Square, Oakland.

Call for current schedule: (510) 763-9218

California State Railroad Museum

Located in Old Sacramento, the California State Railroad Museum offers lavishly restored trains, engaging exhibits, and unique special events such as the popular Railfair, last held in 1999. Open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.

125 I Street, Sacramento, (916) 445-7387

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

San Francisco's premiere collection of western art, housed at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park. There is also the DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park. Learn more about these museums at www.famsf.org/.

Golden Gate Railroad Museum

The prize display here is a fully restored steam locomotive: No. 2472, formerly a Southern Pacific P-8 Class, 4-6-2 Pacific Type, high-speed passenger steam locomotive. Admission is free, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 4pm. But because the museum is located inside the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, visitors will need to telephone (415) 822-8728 in advance, to arrange for an entry pass. And on arrival, visitors must show a valid driver's license, current vehicle registration, and proof of insurance. More info at www.ggrm.org.

Building 809, Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, at the end of Evans Street, San Francisco

Hiller Aviation Museum

An aircraft history museum located at the San Carlos Airport in San Carlos, California. It specializes in Northern California aircraft history and helicopter history. More info at hiller.org.

601 Skyway Road, San Carlos, (650) 654-0200

Market Street Railway

In the 1930s, American streetcar lines designed and built new, Moderne-style cars that resembled streamlined express trains, and were especially quiet and smooth-riding. But by the1960s, most cities had switched entirely to buses, and had scrapped their streetcars. However, the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) not only maintained its own cars and carlines, it acquired vintage streetcars from other cities and restored them to service. Each of these Moderne, so-called "PCC" cars is painted in its original city line's colors (Newark, Philadelphia, Boston, etc.), and the interiors, seats and all, are maintained to be just as they were in the '30s. These vintage streetcars run on MUNI's "F" Line, which has now been extended from Castro and 18th Streets all the way down Market Street and along the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf. Riders can catch an "F" Line car at any designated stop, all of which are pedestrian "islands" in the middle of the Embarcadero and Market St. More info at www.streetcar.org.

Napa Valley Wine Train

An elegant dining experience in restored vintage dining and lounging cars. More info at www.winetrain.com.

1275 McKinstry Street, Napa, (707) 253-2111

Niles Canyon Railway

A railroad museum where the exhibits come to life. The Pacific Locomotive Association, Inc. operates the Niles Canyon Railway as a living history museum, interpreting the importance of our heritage railroads in the development of California and the nation. Operating historic railroad equipment using standard railroad practices for train crews, signaling, block operations, and equipment maintenance. Preserving the atmosphere of railroads in small-town America before the 1960s by connecting the historic communities of Sunol, the Niles District of Fremont, and eventually Pleasanton. More info at www.ncry.org.

6 Kilkare Road, Sunol, (510) 996-8420

Oakland Aviation Museum

Formerly called Western Aerospace Museum, Oakland Aviation Museum was founded in 1981 as a non-profit organization operating an aviation museum. It’s located at North Field of Oakland International Airport. More info at www.oaklandaviationmuseum.org.

8252 Earhart Road, Oakland, (510) 638-7100

San Francisco Cable Car Museum

At the historic Cable Car Barn and Roundhouse you can see the machinery that actually runs the city's cable car system, plus exhibits of antique cable cars, mechanical artifacts and photographs. Museum admission is free. More info at www.cablecarmuseum.org.

1201 Mason Street, San Francisco, (415) 474-1887

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

The SFMOMA features some of the great artists of the twentieth century including Diego Rivera, Rene Magritte, Constantin Brancusi, Frida Kahlo, Ansel Adams, and other icons of the 1920s and 1930s. More info at www.sfmoma.org/.

The Tamalpais

A beautifully restored 1923 private railcar, the Tamalpais was built for Southern Pacific Railroad executives to travel and work in. It is extensively paneled in oak, elegant and comfortable, genuinely evocative of the pre-War era -- but not ostentatious. It's available for short trips, and for excursions to Reno and/or Los Angeles.

Call 1-800-783-0783

Western Railway Museum

A must for trolly and streetcar enthusiasts. You can ride one of the original Key System cars that used to cross the Bay on the lower deck of the Bay Bridge; the car even has vintage advertising cards above the windows! There are literally miles of track to ride, plenty of cars to explore, displays of rail and "traction" memorabilia, and special seasonal excursions on 1920s-vintage trains. More info at www.wrm.org.

5848 CA-12, Suisun City, (707) 374-2978