Towne Theater
6918 Eastern Avenue,
Bell Gardens,
CA
90201
6918 Eastern Avenue,
Bell Gardens,
CA
90201
No one has favorited this theater yet
The Towne Theater was located at 6918 Eastern Avenue, Bell Gardens and was opened around 1939. It was located just three blocks from the house where I grew up. My sister took me there to see my first movie in April 1952. The Towne Theater was somewhat of a run down theater. It was not a first run movie house. It had to wait until first Huntington Park and then Bell were done with there run of a movie before coming to Bell Gardens.
The Towne Theater closed in l956 or 1957. The last movie to play there was Elvis Presley in “Jailhouse Rock”. The building that housed the theater was demolished in 2002 to make way for a Hollywood Video.
The Towne Theater holds special memories for me because it was where I saw Gary Cooper in “High Noon”. How I wish I could see a picture of it.
Contributed by
DAVID SWAIN
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
The Towne theatre was built in 1939-1940 after many problims with building permits.
The description states that the theater was demolished in 2002, so the function should be changed accordingly.
This location is now a very large shopping mall just east of the 710 Freeway. The theater has been obliterated.
Status should be closed/demolished.
An item in the August 26, 1939, issue of Boxoffice Magazine probably referred to this theatre, though the item was datelined Bell, California (Bell Gardens did not incorporate until 1961, and in 1939 the magazine may have simply assumed it was part of the city of Bell.) It said that the new Towne Theatre was scheduled to open on August 30. The owners and builders of the Towne were named as Al Bowman and M. Kaplan. The house was to have 650 seats.
From Boxoffice in March 1958:
Henry Pines closed his Towne Theater, Bell Gardens, due to lack of business. He still retains, with Dave Ross, the Uptown in Pasadena.
The Uptown in Pasadena is closed! too bad