Built in 1925, the Stanford Theatre was designed by San Francisco architects Weeks and Day, whose work included the Mark Hopkins and St. Francis Hotels, not to mention the California Theatre in San Jose (1927).

In 1987, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation bought the theatre and restored it to its original splendor. It is now owned and operated by the non-profit Stanford Theatre Foundation.

The renovated Stanford Theatre quickly became America's most popular place to watch classic Hollywood movies. More people saw Casablanca here on its 50th anniversary in 1992 than anywhere else in America.

Most classic Hollywood films played here on their initial Palo Alto engagements. The following schedules were compiled from ads in the Palo Alto Times.