Moving Day

Sign riding into the sunset

About Town – FRIDAY, 4/10/26

The old Sunset Theater sign will be transported from its home of 75 years on the corner of Lodi and Fairmont to an undisclosed storage location tomorrow (Saturday) starting at 10 a.m., according to someone familiar with the project. The 45-foot sign is the last remaining remnant of the iconic Sunset Theater, which opened in 1950 and was one of the city’s main entertainment venues for generations. The corner was recently purchased by an adjacent property owner who hired Jim Thorpe Inc. to tear down the old theater to make way for a new 55-plus condo complex. The theater’s demise has stirred memories and angst among many long-time Lodi residents who didn’t want to see it go. There were high hopes of the old theater being saved when local businessman Terry Clark bought the property with plans to make it into a swank events center. But a few years and several million dollars later Clark decided to stop the project and put everything up for sale. As the old sign was being eased off its long-time perch along Lodi Avenue, frantic behind-the-scenes efforts by Lodi historian Ralph Clark (no relation to Terry) were underway to save the cinema spire. Clark was able to raise $50k to pay for the rickety structure to be moved somewhere for safekeeping. The WOW museum has reportedly offered to help find a permanent place of prominence for the old girl.

GOING LIVE: Lodi Fire Chief Ken Johnson says the county’s new ambulance provider, CENCAL, will begin operations on May 1. The new joint-powers authority is a partnership between Lodi and Stockton fire departments and the South San Joaquin County Fire Authority. The JPA will jointly oversee