UA Del Amo 6
91A Del Amo Fashion Square,
Torrance,
CA
90503
91A Del Amo Fashion Square,
Torrance,
CA
90503
13 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 57 of 57 comments
Hey!
Just browsing and came across this site. I used to work at the UA Del Amo theatres between 1982-1984. Fun staff(cute girls)interesting customers(matinee)and all the free movies, popcorn and soda. I was terminated/quit(whoever you believe)but I have interesting stories and great memories of one of the best theatres(south bay)ever. I don’t ever remember a guy named Al and I never seen a doq up in the projectionist booth. Maybe before my time. Oh and the rocket was cool too!
Hey JoeC:
I remember that mural you mentioned. The inside of the rocket, though, I don’t remember too much about … I must have been around 7 or so when I went inside. I vaguely remember some flashing lights/buttons and display screens. Kind of like a Disney version of what a rocket ship should look like.
Getting back to movie theaters at Del Amo, I read Mills Co will begin tearing down that portion of the mall soon and has plans to build a new AMC 16 screen cinema in it’s place (along with other stuff). Soon Cinema Treasures will have to add a AMC Del Amo 16 page to the site!
Hoffster,
Native Torrance guy too, born and raised, now living in Redondo. I am actually going to be working with the new Mall owners, The Mills' Corporation, going to try and get some of those old blue and white DAM parking lot signs. I wish I had that funky round 6o-ish mural that was above the old Lindberg Nutrition store (where the stairs lead up/down from Montgomery Wards. So what was it like inside the rocket?
JoeC, I think you mean the doors facing the North parking lot … I may have seen you sneaking in a few times ;) .
The rocket ship didn’t last too long. When UA Del Amo was only a four-plex, the rocket ship was just outside (North parking lot). I remember going in the ship when I was a kid. By Summer 1981, the rocket ship was gone. I’m not sure if the theaters owned it or if the mall did. Either way, when UA expanded Del Amo and built the two larger auditoriums (#5 and #6), they built them where the rocket ship was located. All in the name of “progress”, I guess. Speaking of progress, I’ll post some news when they finally do tear down that portion of the mall and theaters. I still live in Torrance and pass by there from time-to-time.
Good to hear from people who have similar memories as me.
I vividly remember the rocket ship “thing”…never went in, but friends and I took Torrance Transit in middle school (75'78) to the mall to see Grease, Star Wars etc…and then run out to the transit station so we wouldn’t miss the bus back home!
I was a kid when the mall opened up. I used to walk about two blocks from my house on Madrona Ave. on Friday nights and sneak in the side doors which faced the south parking lot. These lead into the movie theater. Free movies, never got caught. The mall used to have a large “rocket ship” near this area. It seemed big at the time, but from what I was told by mall personnel, it was actually a place for children to go into and watch movies while their parents shopped. I pulled up an old ad from the local paper on microfilm and it in its advertisement for the mall it shows this rocket. I don’t think the theater ever utilized the rocket ship idea, but it was pretty cool-especially when your 8 yrs. old. Good stuff. The old theater will probably be getting demolished soon. The mall is planning a major renovation Fall 2004. C'est la vie. Joe
The theater address was 91A Del Amo Fashion Square, Torrance, CA in the (now closed) east end of the Del Amo Fashion Square. The original 4 auditoriums were small, single aisle theaters. The two newer theaters that were added were larger, with double aisles. One of the two newer screens (theater #5) had 70MM projection capabilities and both newer screens (#5 & #6) were equipped with Dolby Stereo capabilities.
Through about 1982 or 1983, the theater had a full-time projectionist (if I remember correctly, his name was Al and he kept his dog with him upstairs in the projection booth). After that time, all 6 screens had platters that were operated by the ushers on staff at the time.
The complex was typical of bland mall cinemas of the time … no character or uniqueness to speak of. As Manwithnoname alluded to in the comment above, the theaters have been closed since the late 1990’s. Since nothing has replaced the theaters yet, I’d guess a lot of the old 6-plex still exists behind the shuttered doors.