Laurel Theatre

The architect was Frederick Quandt. It was a stadium style auditorium. When the office and condominium complex to replace the theatre was originally designed, the huge three-sided sign tower was intended to be saved and placed on the new building. Indeed, the finished development features a blank niche, where the sign was to have been placed. This never happened.

The one and only time I went to the Laurel Theatre (I didn't live in the area) was in 1979 when I took my date there to see Coppola's "Apocalypse Now". I recall it with fondness because it was a large and beautiful theater, very comfortable and spacious, due to size and its Art Moderne theme.

I believe that the theater that was picketed was not the Laurel, but the smaller one north on Laurel where Le Boulanger now is...that was once a small art house, that for a while was showing porn.

This did operate as a porn theater in 1979-1980. One of the features playing there was "Sweet Savage", which had Aldo Ray in it. (Ray did not do any sex scenes in the film.)

I worked at this cinema for years in the 1980's. This place was home to me. I was at one time both the manager and projectionist. This theatre had a very eery feel late at night when nobody else was there except me. I often joked that it had a ghost.

The Laurel was not a single floor theatre, it had stadium style seating, with one of the original opera style theatre curtains on the peninsula (besides the Palm). It was a beautiful theatre, and did show porn. I worked there briefly and the owners at the time started to refuse to pay us workers, so while the picketers were outside the theatre protesting the porn, we were letting everyone in for free that was over 18! The Laurel even had a wooden marquee on the El Camino Real to display what was playing. That practice was abandoned in the late 70's when it went Porn. Pretty Peaches and Amanda By Night didn't look good on the El Camino. The lease was too expensive and porno left the Laurel, but continued to show double bills until its closure. It was closed for a long time. Sad to see it go, I understand that it was turned into what is called the "Laurel Condos" and the marquee that was supposed to be saved, is gone.

I worked at The Laurel after the short porno run. It was a beautiful theatre and a shame to have lost it. The marquee out on El Camino Real was still in use up until the end. At one point it said, "For a good time call..." I was one of the workers who crawled up there and changed the letters and also the one who sawed off the "Tivoli Theatre" portion of the marquee! When I finally quit working there, shortly before it closed for good, the current owner wrote everyone bad payroll checks. I never was able to cash my last two! A sad ending.

i was there the day that they demolished the theater and i shed a single tear when the sign came crashing down, just like an indian. my friends and i are going to protest and get that sign back up there where it belongs. BRING BACK THE SIGN!

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here is the last day of the laurel theater

The Laurel (and the Carlos about a mile away) were my homes away from home while growing up in San Carlos in the 50's and 60's. I spent nearly every Saturday afternoon at one theater or the other. The "kiddie matinees" were quite popular. This was a top notch place on the Peninsula that showed a lot of top notch films. At one point I remember they had Korla Pandit (turbaned and bejewelled) playing organ concerts at intermission (don't think the theater had an organ - he must have brought his own). The seats were large and comfortable.

the laurel theatre in san carlos ca. was originally owned and operated by westside valley theatres. it was never owned or operated by fox west coast theatres or national general theatres.

larry goldsmith? my moms friend? Ferol...didn't you Manage the Fox Skyline....e-mail me if you get this!

Hey Mitch, yeah,its Mr. Fox Redwood& Fox Skyline!!! It's been over 30 years since I left the Skyline. And I still miss that company.Mann ruined everything. How is your mom,I tried to call her before we moved to Reno, but never could find her. What are you doing now? Let me know what Ferol is doing. Do you know what ever happened to Beverly or Jo Ann Brown??? Fill me in on all the old scoop. Do you remember Ward Stoopes?? talk to you later Larry Goldsmith.

Larry e-mail direct tarantex@yahoo.com mom passed away in 2003 of Cancer .

Hi John, It's Michael we worked together on The Peninsula. Sorry to hear about your mom, I lost mine over 15 years ago. How's Raylene? Ever hear from Peter?

Michael. e-mail me direct , Raylene would love to hear from you Peter passed away 4 years ago heartattack

Here is an opening day ad from February 1949 as well as an undated photo of Captain Satellite from KTVU:
http://tinyurl.com/2jtmwd
http://tinyurl.com/3dfsz8

3 Godfathers with John Wayne and Harry Carey Jr. was released in December of 1948.

The Laurel Theater was built by Harvey Amusement and operated by the Westlane Theaters. The two companies were owned primarily by the Harvey Brothers. H.V. (Rotus) Harvey and R. W. (Rodda) Harvey owned Westlane, with Rotus based in San Francisco and Rodda based in Stockton where the company owned 5 theaters including the Stockton, and two drive-ins. In the mid 1950's, the chain was the "biggest little theater chain" in the country according to their advertising. They owned or operated theaters all over California and Nevada, focusing on small towns. The Harveys started their business in Watsonville at the Pajaro theater in the 1920s. THey also built the Manor Theater in San Mateo and the Stockton in Stockton. They operated the Palm Theater in San Mateo for a period of time, as well as the Santa Clara Theater, which they may have built. Brother Julian Harvey also operated theaters, including two in San Jose prior to WW II. Brother-in-law Morris Lathrop ran the Oakdale Theater for the company, too.

The Laurel, Manor, and Stockton were all built to be the highest quality. The rocking loges in the upper part of the theater were wonderful.

Westlane Therater operations shrank with the advent of television. Ultimately, Rotus retired in the late 1960s, leaving younger brother Rodda to operate and liquidate the last few theaters in the Stockton area. An inaccurate history of Rodda exists on the Internet where he is confused with a distant cousin. The family and business history is inaccurate as well. Rotus's daughter survives and has photos of the interior and the exterior during its glory days.

My favorite memory: Seeing "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" with my younger brother in the afternoon, then hauling my mom and dad down to see it with us in the evening! Then a milkshake at the Teddy Bear Fountain next door. The 1950s, of course. I also spent many a great time at the miniature golf course across the street. Those were the days!

Note the name of the apartment complex on the site:
http://tinyurl.com/8d6cav

It was demolished and replaced by apartments.

1982 Photo

1986 Photo

An article about the Laurel Theatre appeared in Boxoffice Magazine's issue of July 2, 1949, and a photo of the theater's lounge was featured on the cover of that issue's Modern Theatre section.

Information about the Laurel's architect, Frederick W. Quandt, is scant on the Internet, but Therese Poletti and Tom Paiva's book "Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pflueger" contains the interesting revelation that Pflueger's maternal grandfather was named Frederick Quandt. I've been unable to confirm a connection, but it seems possible that architects Frederick W. Quandt and Timothy Pflueger were cousins.

Quandt designed more theaters then the two currently listed at Cinema Treasures (the Stockton Theatre was the other), but I've tracked down only two others, and can't confirm that either of these projects was completed. A June, 1938, report in Architect & Engineer said that Quandt had drawn plans for a theater to be constructed at Sonora, California, by Harvey Amusement.

An article in the Eugene (Oregon) Register-Guard of February 8, 1946, said that theater operator A. West Johnson had gone to San Francisco to consult with architect Frederick Quandt on the final plans for a new theater he would build at Broadway and Charnelton Street in Eugene. Construction was to begin as soon as materials became available.

There's also a possibility that Quandt designed the Manor Theatre in San Mateo, built in 1941 for Westland Theatres, a company associated with Harvey Amusement. Other houses designed for Harvey or Westland during the 1930s and 1940s might be Quandt designs, but I've been unable to find any confirmation for any of them.

If anybody has additional information about Frederick Quandt please share it.