Arlington Theatre

Thanks Joe, I read what you are talking about and did get a good laugh.

I sure hope you are not referring to me as a newbie and an ignorant little boy. I am far from a newbie and definately not a little boy. You have an attitude towards others that might not agree with you as you can see on this page. If you go to the beginning of the comment section and read you will see some comments from some old timers that remember THIS theatre from the 1930’s.

Opened May 22, 1931.

As I said, at one time the owners of the Arlington two blocks away moved the business. Considering what you say it is possible that the Arlinton was moved from the present location to the other location 2 blocks away and then back again. Or the Arlington is another business but of the same kind as the original movie house.For how long it was- I was told by a Presbyterian minister that the original business in the present Arlington Theatre was closed under a Red Light law. Maybe not. The Red Light law of the State of California was very vague.

I did not say the building was built as a church. I said the present Arlington Theatre was changed from a church use to the present theatre use. The Arlington Theatre business was in a narrow building 2 blocks away when it moved to the present buildingfollowing the use of a church. What the present building was before what I knew it to be a church I do not know.You and I are talking about two different periods of time.

In the 50s, while the now-Alington building was being stripped of the religious articles, the two owners of the building(and owners of the then-Arlington Theatre two blocks away) called and asked me to meet them in front of Grauman’s in Hollywood. They said to me they had noticed how I had created the front of the Santa Barbara Museum Of Art when I converted it from the old US Post Office to what it is then and now- but they liked the front of Grauman’s better and wanted my advice for the new Arlington. I gave it to them and they stayed with what they wanted- like the front of Grauman’s. They chose the same color as then of Grauman’s. They were so happy with their choice that I did not say that I had chosen the colors of the front of Grauman’s and had done the painting myself.

You speak of the theater as a business. I spoke of one building that has had, in my lifetime, two different uses, or businesses and, I spoke of one business that has been, in my lifetime, in two different locations. You are ignorant of personal experience with the two different buildings and both uses of the two buildings. Your aim is listings of theaters as tropies to show people. I live life without caring about people such as you.

The original Arlington Theater was elsewhere in Santa Barbara until the early 1960s when it was moved into this closed church. In the late 1950s I helped my mother’s father, Frank Silva, move 3 loads of pews to a new church in San Luis Obispo County. Today you can still see the church steeple on top of the front of the church, with a flat platform where the cross was. I planted most of the trees by the back parking lot for the Arlington Theater people, for which I received two tickets for the grand opening- I gave those tickets to my parents.

That is a really nice job. Compared to some other renovation projects done in movie palaces during the 50’s this one is very respectful.

When did that happen?

I wonder if the postcard view at top was an architect’s rendition made during the planning stages. The decor shown in your image looks original but is drastically different.

Here is a May 2009 photo.

The mandatory fire evacuation area is now only three blocks from the Arlington. Eek.