Celebration for Balboa Theatre’s 93rd birthday

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — The Theatre Organ Foundation hosted the 93rd Balboa Theatre birthday bash Monday night.

It was a benefit for the Wonder Morton Organ, a beautiful piece featured at the theater that’s over 80 years old.

The theater itself was built in 1924 and upgraded for sound pictures in 1930. It faced destruction years later, but was saved by a passionate group called the "Save Our Balboa" organization.

In 2005, the Centre City Development Corporation, who initially wanted to gut the theater, offered up $26.5 million to completely renovate the landmark. The makeover was revealed in 2008. 

It is now an excellent venue for live theater and concerts and that’s exactly the message they were sharing Monday night.

The event was open to the public and featured nine decades of music, dance and entertainment from local theater companies. Their goal was to raise money for future repairs on the Wonder Morton Organ. Their ultimate goal is to raise $93,000 within the next year.

The Max Raabe and Palast Street Orchestra will perform at the Balboa Theatre on Friday, followed by a movie night featuring "Singin’ in the Rain" and "An American in Paris" on April 2.