Pictured: The Majestic Theatre opened on February 23, 1920 in Benicia. The building had beautiful marble facings; mirrored doors; an artistic box office; one of the best screens available; rich draperies in gold, mulberry and blue; 600 leather-covered seats; and a $14,000 pipe organ. Mayor W. L. Crooks and his son W. B Crooks were responsible for having the theatre built by architect James W. Plachek and builder Henry W. Macullough.
The theatre had a fire in the 1940s. It was remodeled and renamed the State Theatre on June 11, 1942. Over the years it served as a cinema, children’s playhouse, and church. It was deeded to the nonprofit Majestic Theatre Corp. in the early 1990s and is currently owned by Robert Reichert.
Dr. James J. Hogan was born in Vallejo in 1872. He received a medical degree from Cooper Medical College in San Francisco and established a physician practice in Vallejo in 1892. He opened Vallejo's first hospital in 1912 at the corner of Virginia Street and Sonoma Boulevard. He died in Vallejo in 1942. Photo courtesy of Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.