Crest Theatre

The Crest was a large, single screen house. It held numerous sneak previews, among which was "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia" and a drunken Sam Peckinpah arrived with the print. This was part of the Mann chain. It is gone, either demolished or converted.

Sadly, this theater was demolished in the late 1970's

The Crest Theatre was located at 4275 Atlantic Blvd. and seated 1149 people.

I recall with fondness going to this picture palace in the late 1960s, and especially its beautiful yellow polychrome color and its spectacular marquee and tower, decorated with neon. Its demise was a tragic loss of art and cinema history for North Long Beach. I used to go to Norm's coffee shop, or Grisinger's in Bixby Knolls, for dinner and then zip over to the Crest to see a first-run movie like "Midnight Cowboy" there.

The earliest movie I can distintly remember seeing at THE CREST was Bedknobs and Broomsticks(1971) when I was 8 years old. I remember walking with my 13 year old aunt around the front of the theater with our tickets as we searched for the end of the line. It ran all the way down the side of the building to the back then partially across the HUGE parking lot that separated it fromt the next business, Pucchinis Restaraunt. I grew up just behind THE CREST; across the alley and down about 5 houses. I spent many afternoons of my childhood and youth under its ornately decorated ceiling. I loved to sit there in my seat before the movie started and trace with my eyes the spirals and flourishes of the painted walls and ceilings. I think I recall highly stylized deco, aluminum light fixtures which I'd count one by one. The front marquee, the mosaic floor at the entrance, the ticket booth, the sunken smoking lounge, the entire building was a marvel to my eyes. When the movie Earthquake came out in 1974 it boasted being played in "sensaround" the vibration of which we could feel at home and see ripple the water of our swimming pool. Once or twice, when feeling particularly daring I think was let in by friends through the back door or vice versa. I loved that movie theater like no other place in the landscape of my childhood.

My first year in high school (1979) I remember waiting each morning to catch the public bus that stopped right in front of THE CREST. Then a sign was put up signalling the end. Even when it closed, it was there to shelter me from the rain, where I'd stand under the marquee till the bus arrived. Later that year, I remember my best friend, Mike, and I searching through the ruins of the building once they'd smashed it down. I don't remeber what was there in the destruction, but I wish I'd taken some small momento. Even more, I wish I had been aware of my own power to have stopped it, but I was just a teenager and had no sense of empowerment. It was a huge loss to Bixby Knolls, the village-like neighborhood where I once lived. There is almost nothing left there now, the Hollywood nightclub Welch's, Brownie's Toy Store, the small department stores Roberts and Anthonys and Thrifty's with its nickel-a-scoop ice cream cones and cafe are all gone. What did they build in the lot created by demolition THE CREST, as I recall it was a Subway Sandwich and a Mattress King, neither of which I ever went into.

I remember attending the Crest as a teenager with buzzmyers (his comments are above)and another friend Brendan Lawler. The theater was spectacular, once inside every movie goer felt like a king, it truly was designed and detailed as a movie palace. I distinctly remember the floral patterns in the carpet and the grand moderne light fixtures.

At that time and later, attendance was in decline. The baby boomers were all growing up and there were fewer children in the area. Because of this decline, Brendan and I were able to get into R-rated movies, even though we were under age. I remember my Father once coming and pulling me and Brendan out during one of these films. The Crest is were I first saw Saturday Night Fever and Jaws.

Other stores on Atlantic at the time included Horrace and Green Hardware, TG&Y, the Town Theater, and the Tenderloin and Alfred's Restaurants. I was able to salvage the "cocktails" sign from Pucchinis Restaurant before it was demolished.

It's unfortunate the building wasn't adapted to another use, such as a bookstore, independent theater or community center-all uses adopted by other theaters in Southern California. It was replaced by a cheap strip center with no cultural or architectural significance.

On a whim I cchecked to see if the Crest was still open. I am sad to hear it was demolished. I remember it fondly from the fifties when we lived in No. LB. I continually tell people stories of how when all us kids would get rambunctious, the manager would stop the show, come out and threaten all of us. He would always retreat as the flattened popcorn box would soar by his head. Nothing too criminal. Boxes of Good and Plenty shaken to sound like a train during the ads for the refreshment counter and getting our candy from a nearby store in Bixby Knolls so we could afford the ticket price. I love the old theaters. We have the oldest surviving movie theater up in Humboldt County at Arcata - Minor Theater.\

Regards

don

i love the comments just above...i grew up in long beach and spent a lot of time at the crest...my brother and I lived to go there and the Towne..which was just 2 blocks away...Crest was unique for a lot of reasons...I recall that it had very plush red carpeting...and that the theater area was accessible from curving walkways aisles that led into the seating area.

It also had a really plush lounge..sunken and accessible down several stairs that had a tv in it...It seemed strange for the theater to have a tv...but it was a really nice place at one time.

The first film I remember seeing there was Howard Hawks The Thing From Another World(James Arness)in 1951..Scared the heck out of me..

The upper loges were great with a date

What a movie theatre! I grew up in the Long Beach area, and the Crest was my favorite. I saw the movie Mary Poppins in early 65'. I also saw Slap Shot in the mid 70's. I now live in Indiana, but what memories!

I made the trip from Torrance to see films like "Diamonds Are Forever" and "White Lightning". When there was a sneak you could enjoy a triple feature. The fun part is that back then you didn't know what film was being sneaked until the title hit the screen. Funny, I attended the Towne also but do not remember what it looked like inside.

I used to visit the Crest in the 1950s and my strongest memory is of the rather unique ticket booth, which was encased in a silvery metal sculpture like stylized flower petals or "stiffened" whipped cream. The Crest and the nearby ultra-modern Towne were the most unusual and interesting movie houses in my area of attendance at that time (within easy reach of South Gate).

Growing up in the 50s found me spending much of my time at the Crest Theatre. My uncle, Paul King, was the projectionist and often let me explore the wonders of the booth and snack bar. He also had a band, the Paul King Trio which played at the Riviera Hotel.

I will always remember the lighting under the stairs and the ornate metal work on the walls. In memory, the theater seemed huge and cathedral like. My mother would take me every Wednesday night for "Dinnerware Night" where everyone got a free dish or some such. During some contest, at four years old I won a cowboy shirt(!). Interesting, snaps instead of buttons. Who would have thought?

Back in the days where you would dress-up to go to the movies, I remember seeing "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and many more.

Theaters like this will be missed by us dwindling numbers of baby boomers.

This theatre is one of some 200 that could be described as "Skouras-ized For Showmanship" which is the title of the ANNUAL of 1987 of the Theatre Historical Soc. of America. In the late 1930s through the 1950s, there occurred on the west coast of the United States a phenomenon known as the 'Skouras style' in recognition of the oversight of the Skouras brothers in their management of several cinema chains. They employed a designer by the name of Carl G. Moeller to render their cinemas/theatres in a new style best described as 'Art Moderne meets Streamlined.' The then new availability of aluminum sheeting at low cost was the principal material difference to this style allowing for sweeping, 3-dimensional shapes of scrolls to adorn walls and facades in an expression that would have been much more expensive and not at all the same in plaster. With the use of hand tinted and etched aluminum forms, the designers could make ornaments in mass production that allowed much greater economies of scale. The ANNUAL also show in its 44 pages how some 20 theatres were good examples of this combining of aluminum forms with sweeping draperies heavily hung with large tassels, and with box offices and facades richly treated with neon within the aluminum forms. Few of these examples survive today, but it was a glorious era while it lasted, and this collection of crisp b/w photos is a fitting epitaph by the late Preston Kaufmann.
PHOTOS AVAILABLE:
To obtain any available Back Issue of either "Marquee" or of its ANNUALS, simply go to the web site of the THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA at:
www.HistoricTheatres.org
and notice on their first page the link "PUBLICATIONS: Back Issues List" and click on that and you will be taken to their listing where they also give ordering details. The "Marquee" magazine is 8-1/2x11 inches tall ('portrait') format, and the ANNUALS are also soft cover in the same size, but in the long ('landscape') format, and are anywhere from 26 to 44 pages. Should they indicate that a publication is Out Of Print, then it may still be possible to view it via Inter-Library Loan where you go to the librarian at any public or school library and ask them to locate which library has the item by using the Union List of Serials, and your library can then ask the other library to lend it to them for you to read or photocopy. [Photocopies of most THSA publications are available from University Microforms International (UMI), but their prices are exorbitant.]

Note: Most any photo in any of their publications may be had in large size by purchase; see their ARCHIVE link. You should realize that there was no color still photography in the 1920s, so few theatres were seen in color at that time except by means of hand tinted renderings or post cards, thus all the antique photos from the Society will be in black and white, but it is quite possible that the Society has later color images available; it is best to inquire of them.

Should you not be able to contact them via their web site, you may also contact their Executive Director via E-mail at: execdir@historictheatres.org
Or you may reach them via phone or snail mail at:
Theatre Historical Soc. of America
152 N. York, 2nd Floor York Theatre Bldg.
Elmhurst, ILL. 60126-2806 (they are about 15 miles west of Chicago)

Phone: 630-782-1800 or via FAX at: 630-782-1802 (Monday through Friday, 9AM--4PM, CT)

I was an usher at the Crest! I worked there when Earthquake was playing there..the arc light simplex projectors...excellent!! I also remember spending many a summer going to movies there in the 60's.. Beautiful //// say does any body remember Welches restaurant up the street on San Antonio next to the Towne Theater and across from Grisengers?

I worked with Harry Francis in 1980/1981 at the Mann Village Theatre in Westwood. He was quite well known by many celebs. One afternoon he pulled me aside to get refreshments (On him) for his friend who ended up being Natalie Wood with her kids. Oh, was she beautiful. I think the butter on the popcorn melted more when she smiled at me. Later the next year she passed away.

I saw several of my first movies at the Crest in the 60s, including, "Around the World in 80 Days," "The Sound of Music," "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines," and I THINK the first movie I ever saw, "The Greatest Story Ever Told." (though maybe this was at one of the other theatres on Atlantic) As I was only 3, I slept through most of that one, though I remember seeing Mary and baby Jesus, and making the visual connection to similar images on Christmas cards--hey, I was only 3!
I clearly remember the opening cartoon titles of "Magnificent Men...", and my Mom telling me that the words I saw flying across the screen were the names of the people who made the movie, and that these words were called "credits."
My most vivid memory of the interior was that the ladies restroom had red and white checkered tile walls. I was taken to that room by my Mom, since I was too young to use the men's restroom by myself. I do have a vague memory of the curved couches in the lobby next to the passage to the sunken restrooms, and I remember the shape of the vertical sign tower. Later, seeing pictures in the Preston Kaufman "Skouras-ized for Showmanship" publication confirmed these memories.

The Crest was the best! The upper balcony could not be beat. The movies came alive. Sad to see it gone, but not surprised. Thanks for the memories.

Southwest Builder and Contractor, issue of September 26th, 1945, says that the plans for the Crest were made by Kaiser Engineers.

it was a magicial place where a child loke me could sit in air condition darkness on a hot summer day with buttered popcorn and soda in hand watch the silver screen and dream of who we'd want to be...I was Bond, James Bond.

I went to Jordan High School on N. Atlantic Ave. back in the late fiftys and used to walk by the Crest and the Atlantic Theaters every school day. Nearly every weekend my brother and I would go to the either the Crest or the Atlantic (which is still there although not as a Theater) but I can't believe the Crest was torn down, it was very luxurious and you got a sense of wonder when you were there. I got kicked out once when I played a miniature one inch long Harmonica during the movie. Wish I could go back in time and see it before it was demolished.

Sensurround was used for presentations of 'Earthquake', 'Battle of Midway', and 'Roller Coaster'. Buildings were pre-checked for structural soundness before Sensurround could be installed. What wonderful memories there are of The Crest, the likes of which we will never see again.

Old photo:
http://www.longbeachheritagemuseum.com/bcrest3.html

Here is another photo, courtesy of the LA Library:

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036925.jpg

25,000 fans wait for opening of Crest Theater:

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028692.jpg

Here are some additional photos from the LA Library:

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036923.jpg

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036922.jpg

Loved the Crest, the balcony was very cool in the 50's/60's. I do remember Welch's Restaurant, the great variety stores in Bixby Knolls, and our other place to go in the summer was Shady Acres Miniature Golf in North LB. I lived east of the LB airport, but we gladly nagged our parents to drive us to the Crest before we were old enough to get there ourselves. You'd have thought Long Beach could have saved just one of the bigger old theaters.

Ah....the Crest! What a Palace! For kids from our hood (Bixby Knolls and the kids from Hughes Jr., High and Poly High) this row of movie houses and eateries
(don't forget the famous original Russell's across the street) were our hang outs on the weekends! We took great pride in calling this theater our own! A great
example of design motif on steroids this Art Moderne decor covered every surfaces with lavish embellishments and gilding ... even bellow your feet! They (like all of
their other "sister" movie houses in that chain theaters) had a great swirly floral art design laid into the sidewalk ...very much like in a mosaic technique kind of
way called ...it went all the way from the entrance around the ticket booth and out to the curb! WE would try and follow the designs around walking on them like
tight ropes waiting for my dad to pick from the Saturday afternoon matinee in the Dodge station wagon. You can still see this same
artistic entrance treatment (including the footprint of the ticket booth!) on the sidewalk down in Belmont Shore on Second St. (south side) where they turned the
old Belmont into a gym. It was located next to the famous Hof's Hut (best burgers and onion rings on the West Coast!) but alas ..that is history too! Favorite
memory there were the Beatles movies "Hard Days Night" and "Yellow Submarine"!

Now the Towne Theater... not much in style or design ...kind of plain "Googie" and nothing compared to the lavish and decadent design that was used the
Crest Theater or in the smoky green low slung jungle of Welch's....a truly fantastic Art Deco "tropical" palm tree style restaurant just a few doors down from the
movie house on the corner of San Antonio Drive and Atlantic Blvd. (what a street corner unto it's self...don't get me started!) BUT... what made going to a
double feature at the Towne good was the Thrifty Drug store across the street that we would hit before the flicks and we would stock up on 5 cent candy bars that
were 3 for a 10 cents instead of 25 cents a piece in their snack bar! Root Beer Barrels and Red Hots or maybe a Big Hunk too!.... and a maybe something that
would last like a Fire stick by Jolly Ranchers or a caramel delight Sugar Daddy ...now they would both get you through a movie!
Later years ...Best thing of going to the Towne was ....kissing and making out with my first love ...the pretty Rhonda M. in the back row of the place were the
lovers always sat! ..who was watching the movie? NOT US! ..But they were watching us! Those ushers would give us the flash light treatment in our faces to try
and break us up! Love ...it is a wonderful thing in a dark movie house!
I never saw Goldfinger till years later...but remember the sound track like it was yesterday!:)

Ah yes!..I guess that you don't do that at the movies anymore...not that I still don't try!
Tim Moran/artist and Poly High class of 1969

The Crest Theatre opened on January 23rd. 1947.

I saw many films at the Crest during the 60's. In 1965 dad took the family there to see an evening showing of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. The line for that show went past Lloyd's of L.B. furniture store all the way to the next street corner. Other films I saw there includes Mary Poppins, and HELP! also in 1965. The last times I went to the Crest was in the early 70's to see the controversial movie Survive and later the long forgotten Oklahoma Crude in 1973.
One note about the Crest was that this theatre had no balcony. Instead the rows of seats that were a third of the way back rose up in a stadium seating configuration.

That part of Atlantic Boulevard had three movie theatres, Crest, Towne a few blocks north and Atlantic which was just past the railroad bridge.

Besides the Loyola theatre being similar to the Crest there was another theatre, the Culver which was tri-plexed in the mid 70's. THe Culver was also operated by Mann Theatres.

The Historical Society of Long Beach has a bunch of photos of the opening night and some of Welch's and other Bixby Knolls landmarks. I saw a sign saying they were moving from their downtown location to the old Harris Furs shop that was across the street from the Crest. It'll be a perfect place to look at pictures of the old neighborhood! I found their website at: www.historicalsocietylb.org

Here is a November 1963 ad from the Press-Telegram:
http://tinyurl.com/2drv85

Many of you have mentioned seeing movies in the sixties like Mary Poppins and around the world in 80 days, Those magnificent men in their flying machines and Sound of music. I remember as a kid growing up in Long Beach that the city would sell a set of tickets for a series of movies at a bunch of the Long Beach theaters. There was about a movie a week for the whole Summer and I think about 5 theaters involved with two movies each. I think that is where I saw all of those above listed movies. I think the Towne, Art, and Belmont may have also been involved.

Yeah for me that will always be the golden age of movie going in my lifetime. Dazzling Hollywood films in elegant single screen theaters where movies still had something of an event status even if they weren't on roadshow. And adults could bring their kids even if it was an adult movie.
Right after this came the American new wave(films which today I still am constitutionally incapable of watching) and the beginning of the chopping up of those wonderful theaters.
Narrow long coffin like theaters and pretentious grainy inert movies.
And many consider that the American movie golden age!
I guess it's the drugs.

My cousin and I went to the Crest almost every Saturday during the 50's .. it was a quarter to get in and we got a another quarter for snacks. Plain popcorn was 15 cents and candy was 6 cents. It was always a double feature and the manager, Mr. Francis, knew my mother was a Gore (and the Gore Bros. started the West Coast Theaters) so he always let us sit in the loges (which usually cost extra) and didn't kick us out when he should have. In the 50's, you could send two 9-11 year olds out to the movies by themselves and not worry. I don't remember what year I saw Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Day of the Trifids but I still hate horror movies and won't watch
them. The Towne Theater down the street just wasn't as "cool". Those were the days........

I grew up in Lakewood, but my mom used to drop my girlfriends and I off at the Crest on Friday nights. Students got in for a buck back in the early 70's and I still have my ticket stubs in my old scrap book. People just don't raise their kids *free range* any more. I guess it's just too dangerous. .....sigh.....

believe the old building is still there and has been remodeled,
trader joes is now there, the street number was changed because a small shopping center was constructed on the empty lot to the north
between the theatre and burlinghall street
i could be wrong but i think i might be right

I haven't seen anything there resembling the theater. I can take another look the next time I'm in that area.

Haven't you checked Google maps? I'm like totally shocked.

I have, but I can't tell from there if there is any remodeled theater.

A couple of people have already posted that it was demolished.

I think it's demolished. I've been up and down that block dozens of times, and if there was an old theater I would have stopped and poked around.

The address given for Trader Joe's is 4121 Atlantic Avenue. I looked at that building using an aerial photo and it doesn't resemble a former movie theater. You can copy and paste 4121 Atlantic Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90807 into the Bing map and look for yourself. It's a corner building.

i check with long beach historical society after posting this and christie there confirmed that the crest was located where trader joes is now they had to use the 4200 number block for the small shopping center is why they changed the number of the building to 4121 even tho it is actually in the 4200 block since it is north of cartegena

When you say "was located", you're telling us that the Trader Joes building replaced the Crest building?

i believe they remodeld the old building i was there last monday
and when i looked at the right side of the building or the north side
without all the new decor on it - it looked like that side toward
the back was not redecorated or more like the original siding was
i took photos and can send you them i need an email address to send them to tho

That Trader Joes has tobe a newer building and not a remodel. The Crest Theatre was a longer building that went to the alley behind the building. The Trader Joes building is not that tall to the pictures of the original theatre. The Crest had a rear stadium style seating area. Which would mean a higher building plus projection booth. If you go to Historic Aerials.com and see the 1953 and 1954 shots the roof is different style and their is a Very large parking lot near to the theatre. I would say it's a new building over the original theatre.

Here is part of a November 1978 article from the LA Times:

IDM Corp., Long Beach-based residential and commercial developer, is planning four developments using private financing in a revitalization of the Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach. IDM has acquired two vacant parcels on Long Beach Blvd and two theaters, the Towne and the Crest, on Atlantic Avenue.

After leveling the Towne Theater, IDM began construction of the 22,000-square foot professional center at 4425 Atlantic Ave. Plans are being completed on the $1.5 million Crest Business Center at 4275 Atlantic Ave., at the former Crest Theater site. Both projects are scheduled to be finished in the spring of 1979.

On Historic Aerials what appears tobe the theatre is there for the years 1953, 1954 & 1972. But it gone in the 1980 shot.

after viewing the aerial shots i now totally agree i was completely off track. 50 years is a long time to remember the exact locations.
i lived there in 1950 and loved those places. the aroma of walking by
welch's is still there. seeing the "thing" at the crest and walking home thru scherer park over the railroad track to locust and peace st is still eerie

The Crest was located at Atlantic and Burlinghall. I attended one of the last showings there in 1978 of "Star Wars." I believe that the last movie shown was "Saturday Night Fever."

I waited about 3 hours to get in to see "Mary Poppins." Almost that long to see the double bill of "A Hard Days Night" with the Elvis picture, "Follow That Dream" about 45 years ago. A year later, saw the Beatles again in "Help!"

And if I recall correctly, I think I spent my 11th birthday there seeing "Mad, mad, mad, mad world," which featured sights of Long Beach.

Liked it better than the Towne.

I used to go to the Crest & Towne theaters as a child..my grandpa would drop me off and it was so nice to sit and watch the Disney classics...as I am today "The Absent-Minded Professor" (on Netflix-ha)...I even saw "The Wizard Of Oz" there and get this one...tonight of all nights I am taking my 20 yr old daughter to see the same movie for the 70th anniversary presentation in Burbank!!..not the same as the old theaters but it will be fun!...I loved Shady Acres...was there all the time aas a kid also..it was right next door to a trailer park and my great grandma lived there...she had what we now call "Alzheimer's" so she would yell at me if she saw me in the bushes trying to recover my ball as I was a "lousy" shot!!...hahaha wow...that's funny!

Great b&w pictures of opening night, they really new how to do things back then, Keg Lights and everything!!!