OCEANSIDE — Theater staff and local officials smashed through a wall at the historic Sunshine Brooks Theater this week to kick off a three-month renovation marking the first phase of a major revitalization project.
Theater patrons, staff, local leaders and other guests attended the wall-breaking ceremony on Dec. 16 in Studio 219, located directly next to the theater’s main lobby at 217 and 219 N. Coast Highway in downtown Oceanside. Currently separated by a wall, the studio and main lobby will be directly connected upon project completion.
Connecting the studio to the lobby will not only expand access for patrons but also improve safety for the theater’s youth performers, who currently must be escorted out onto the Coast Highway sidewalk and back into the main theater.
Renovations will also include expanding the lobby, creating a new concession area, and adding six new single-stall, all-gender restrooms — something the theater has needed for some time.
“If you’ve ever been to a show here, the lines at intermission are just outrageous,” said Ann Worth, co-owner of Object Projects, the architecture firm behind the renovations. “I’ve seen people cross the street to go to the library to use the restrooms.”
The renovations will also raise the studio’s current 9-foot ceiling to 13 feet, providing greater lighting flexibility in the space, which is used as a rehearsal space for performers. The project will also add new locker space for performers and staff in the studio.
Renovations will also remove the drywall covering the studio’s glass block windows at the top of its Coast Highway frontage, further opening up the space.
The first phase costs approximately $885,000 and is expected to be completed in March, giving the theater about a 12-week window to finish construction while continuing its regular programming.
The second phase, to be completed at a later date, will cover renovations to the theater space itself, including replacing the HVAC system, floor, carpeting and seating to accommodate up to 200 people, as well as upgrading sound and lighting equipment.
Both phases together are expected to cost approximately $2.2 million.
According to Leann Garms, vice president of the Oceanside Theatre Company board of directors, funding for the project came from both public and private donations, including an initial $75,000 grant from the county secured by Supervisor Jim Desmond and $500,000 from the city’s infrastructure reserves.
The City Council unanimously approved the funding for the city-owned theater earlier this year. In 2021, the City Council approved a 20-year lease allowing Oceanside Theatre Company to operate the theater and provide its cultural arts programming.
Garms said the theater has been shovel-ready for about a year, with support from the city, county, and private sources.
“It took a lot of people to help us get here,” she said. “I believe that most of the people in this room had something to do with where we are today. We had a clear vision, early investment and strong community support that was able to help launch this campaign, accelerate and phase this project so that we can have it completed to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the Brooks Theater.”
The theater was built in 1936 as one of the city’s first large projects following the Great Depression. Originally named the Rancho Santa Margarita Theatre, its name was quickly shortened to the Margo until 1948, when it was renamed the Towne Theater and operated as one of three downtown movie houses until the 1970s.
The city acquired the theater in 1993 from Hattie Hazel “Sunshine” Brooks, from whom the current name originates. The theater underwent a revitalization a few years later.
The Oceanside Theatre Company began managing the theater in 2011 and has overseen its operations since, undergoing its own rebranding and organizational changes in the process.
The theatre company has expanded and improved its programming in recent years, earning three Craig Noel Awards nominations, San Diego County’s highest theater honor, recognizing excellence in professional theater.
“Now that our programming has leveled up, we want to level up the building,” Garms said.
Mayor Esther Sanchez complimented the theatre company’s work over the past few years.
“I never thought I would see the theater here so busy and having so much activity going on,” Sanchez said. “It’s energized — you’ve really brought a lot to the table.”
