According to the report, the theater, initially called The Menlo, started out showing silent films accompanied by a live organist, but by 1929 had upgraded its sound system to offer "Movie-Phone" sound. The lobby was forcibly shortened by about 30 feet in 1942 when El Camino Real was widened. The theater changed names to the Guild when a newer theater in town took the name "The Menlo."

The Guild was constructed in 1924 and began offering "moving pictures" around 1925, according to a historical report by Bonnie Bamburg, excerpted on the Imagine Menlo website.

Landmark spokeswoman Laine Kaplowitz confirmed with The Almanac that the theater will be closing. The closure was first announced on Facebook on Sept. 20.

Landmark's Guild Theatre, a single-screen movie theater that's been in Menlo Park since 1924, is set to officially close after showings on Thursday, Sept. 26, according to the operator.

The initiative is led by the Peninsula Arts Guild, made up of Menlo Park resident Drew Dunlevie and backed by two affluent locals: investor Pete Briger and entrepreneur Thomas Layton.

Ownership changed hands several times. In the late 1980s, the theater was remodeled in the Art Deco style, and it developed into its current niche in the local theater-scape as an art house theater, the report explains.

The organization plans to operate the venue as a nonprofit, Dunlevie said. It would charge for admission to cover the costs of operations and paying the musicians, and would funnel any extra revenue back into the venue's programming, and offering discounted tickets.

According to the preliminary plans for the new Guild, the project would convert the single-screen theater into a three-level venue with a main viewing area on the ground floor, a second-story mezzanine, and a basement with a "green room" and a comfortable area where performers can shower and relax prior to shows.

He said he thinks they're close to completing all of the steps necessary to get permits from the city of Menlo Park, but acknowledges that it's been a complex process. "I don't want to jinx it," he said.

Dunlevie said he gave Landmark 30 days' notice a few days ago and is in conversations with the theater operator to have some additional final film screenings after Sept. 26.

As to the current status of the project, Dunlevie explained in an email to The Almanac on Monday, Sept. 23, "We're (hopefully) close to getting permits from City of Menlo Park so we can get started in earnest."

Update: As of late Monday night, Judy Adams, leader of the "Save the Guild" campaign, told The Almanac that The Guild will host a free screening of the film "Cinema Paradiso" instead of "Official Secrets" on Wednesday evening as a farewell event for the theater. Doors open at 6:30 and the film starts at 7:05. First-come, first served. Concessions will also be available for purchase.

For those interested in one last movie at the historic theater, the Guild is playing the film "Official Secrets" at 1:45 p.m., 4:15 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. through Thursday. Ticket information is available here .

The new Guild would be about 11,000 square feet, with a maximum height of 34 feet and a capacity of about 150 to 200 seats, or about 500 people at a standing-room-only show.

Guild Theatre to close Thursday

Menlo Park theater to be transformed into a live music venue