Sunset Theater gets historic designation
Picture this: The Sunset Theater has officially qualified for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, according to local historic preservation consultant Lisa Craig. Sunset owner Terry Clark hired Craig to apply for the designation last year from the National Park Service. Craig says that the Sunset is “locally significant” and is an excellent example of a theater building “constructed in the Modernist style.”
Construction of the theater began in 1947. It opened in 1950 to an invitation-only crowd, but closed in 1988 after failing to make mortgage payments. It remained shuttered for about 31 years, until the property was purchased in 2019 by Clark, a local businessman. Clark is in the process of completely renovating the theater, turning it into a community events center. The bones and exterior of the building will remain largely the same, but the interior is undergoing a spectacular rebirth.
UPDATES: Papapavlo’s Bistro and Bar at the corner of School and Lockeford will have a “soft opening” at the end of this week, according to owners Andy and Jennifer Pappas. Jennifer recently posted a video on social media giving viewers a virtual tour of the place. An official grand opening of the new restaurant is scheduled for March 25, which will include a ribbon-cutting, entertainment and much fanfare.
It’s taken almost two years to finish the project, thanks largely to COVID. The new location will also be home to a mortgage lender and a bakery called Maddog and Pepper Bakery Café, which is owned by the same folks who bring you The Corner Scone. Everything should be open for business shortly, we’re told.
• The commercial cannabis operation proposed for the old Goehring Meat Company site along Highway 99 is apparently still just an idea. Dillon and Murphy engineers filed a “pre-application” with the county last year on behalf of Woodbridge Partners Inc., who own the property. No subsequent action has been filed with the county, we’re told, which may mean nothing, or could mean the project is dead.
• The city owns a 1.53-acre parcel in Reynolds Ranch (Costco shopping center) that was gifted to them by the developer as the new shopping center was being laid out. Plans were to build a new fire station on the property, but things changed when a new fire house was erected on Cherokee Lane at Oak Street, next to Richmaid. The city’s parcel has been subdivided into 10 singlefamily lots and will be auctioned off, according to City Manager Steve Schwabauer. The sale should net the city about $800k, he estimates. The city council will decide what the money will be used for.
THIS ‘N THAT: There’s yet another nifty little bakery in Lodi, called Aroma Bakery & Café, at 116 W. Turner Road. Their specialty is cakes and pastries.
• As we’ve written about before, a group called Friends of the Lodi Greenline wants to utilize the former train corridor from Woodbridge through Lodi as a bike and pedestrian path. The proposal, called “Lodi Greenline,” concerns the tracks and right-of-way that have sat unused since General Mills closed. The plan is currently being studied, says City Manager Steve Schwabauer (a cyclist himself). He says the public works department is working on a grantfunded feasibility study right now, saying completion is about six months out. He also says there is currently no funding plan for the project, so becoming reality may take a while. The preliminary plans call for the acquisition of the two miles of rail line property, removal or paving over of the existing rails, planting landscaping along the sides and bike lanes down the middle of the new pathway.
NAMING NAMES: What’s in a name? We may find out shortly. Next month the city council is slated to consider names for Lodi’s newest park, which is located just west of Lower Sacramento Road between Harney and Century Blvd. The Park and Rec Commission will take a look at about 20 nominations that have been submitted and are being kept secret by the city.
They will forward a recommendation to the council, which will vote on a name sometime in March, we’re told. The council can choose to accept the commission’s recommendation or come up with a name on their own. We decided to ask people via social media what names they like. Here’s a sampling:
Marilee Pennino and Marilyn Domingo suggest Joanne Mounce Park; Priscilla Aragon nominates Unity Park; Toby Moore-Moniz says it should be The BLM Woke Park; Karen Simpson-Haines, Karen Brown Anderson, and Gloria Muñoz propose People’s Park; Debi Weisz recommends Trump
Park; JoAnne Mounce thinks it ought to be called Robert Wheeler Park (after the long-serving plant manager of General Mills); Katie Wiley thinks it should be Annette Murdaca Park, “in honor of the amazing efforts put forth by one of our community’s own.”
Dennis Cunnington says Peace Park would be a good name; Matt Morris recommends either Discovery Park or Celebration Park; Melanie Valle says it should be named Freedom Park; Mono Geralis likes Bob Johnson Park; Dan Howen says Sand Hill Park; Gary Riggs would like it to be Hieb Park, named after the first migrant Dakotans of German descent to arrive in Lodi in 1897; Pete Martinez says it should be named Barry McCockner Park “for all his charitable work.” There are several more suggestions, which we will print next week.
HOMELESS CHRONICLES :A member of the homeless outreach team was out with a group of folks by a shuttered downtown restaurant recently. The advocate was trying to get the group to move along due to complaints from the public. The advocate was speaking with them when a man in a truck pulled up, got out and started handing the homeless bags of food. In this case, the bags contained hot tri-tip sandwiches. One of the appreciative homeless people said, “This is why I like being homeless in Lodi.” Hmm. Think about that for a minute.
REMEMBRANCE: Local businessman Joe Hassan passed away last Monday at age 87, according to his family. Hassan was owner of Joe Hassan's Clothing and Western Wear at the corner of Sacramento and Elm Streets. He was a Sacramento Street icon, who often could be seen sitting in a chair outside his store, watching the world go by. He was born near Jerusalem and lived in Lodi for 60 years, immigrating to America in 1960. Hassan got a job working for his uncle, who owned a dry goods store on Sacramento Street. He later bought the store when his uncle died. Hassan’s truly lived the “American Dream,” according to his family and friends. He leaves a wife, five children, thirty grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.
LAST LAUGH: Someone spotted these signs, which were forwarded to us by Lowell Flemmer, at a roadside stop: “Turning vegan would be a big missed steak;” and, “Forget world peace. Visualize using your turn signal.”