ken mc, thanks so much for the links to those photos – the place really was as huge as I’d remembered it as a kid. I hope that someone can turn up some photos of the old lobby someday, too. Thanks also for pointing out the LA Public Library web site as a source of great old photos.
I remember going there as a kid in the 60’s, before and after the construction of the 3rd Street pedestrian mall. My mom would drop us off on Saturday afternoons for the matinee. As I recall, at the time it was 25¢ for the kids' Saturday matinee, and 50¢ if it was a double features. (This was for first-run pictures, and included all of the usual pre-feature cartoons, etc.)
I’m sorry to hear that the old theater was razed. We moved away in 1971, and I’ve never been back, though I have great memories of the place. It was huge and beautiful, and the Saturday matinees were the only time our parents would let us go to the Criterion – since it was an all-kid audience and it didn’t matter how much noise we made.
It’s fun for me now, years later, to point out the Criterion marquee to my own son, when we watch “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” together…
ken mc, thanks so much for the links to those photos – the place really was as huge as I’d remembered it as a kid. I hope that someone can turn up some photos of the old lobby someday, too. Thanks also for pointing out the LA Public Library web site as a source of great old photos.
I remember going there as a kid in the 60’s, before and after the construction of the 3rd Street pedestrian mall. My mom would drop us off on Saturday afternoons for the matinee. As I recall, at the time it was 25¢ for the kids' Saturday matinee, and 50¢ if it was a double features. (This was for first-run pictures, and included all of the usual pre-feature cartoons, etc.)
I’m sorry to hear that the old theater was razed. We moved away in 1971, and I’ve never been back, though I have great memories of the place. It was huge and beautiful, and the Saturday matinees were the only time our parents would let us go to the Criterion – since it was an all-kid audience and it didn’t matter how much noise we made.
It’s fun for me now, years later, to point out the Criterion marquee to my own son, when we watch “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” together…