Fox Theatre

Apparently, this also suffered earthquake damage about a year ago.

The Fox primarily played second-run fare after theaters in San Luis Obispo played them first-run. The same outfit(this was late 1970's-mid-1980's) also operated the Bay in Morro Bay and the Fair Oaks in Arroyo Grande.

Paso Robles also had the Oaks Drive-in, outside of town near Hwy 101 and State Route 46 West. This drive-in, now demolished, played a lot of XXX fare in the winter months before it closed in the 1980's.

It's also currently for sale (the realtor's sign was vaguely newish).

The Fox was formerly known as the Hi-Ho Theatre. As the years have gone by and the red paint in between the FOX letters has continued to fade, outlines of the old HI-HO letters and the patched holes for neon have become more visible. When named the Hi-Ho, the present vertical sign was crowned by a rainbow-like top with concentric half-circles of neon.

I am told that the Fox appears in one of the Disney "Witch Mountain" movies from the 1970s.

Paso Robles also once had the T&D Theatre, further downtown.

As far as pigeon roosts go it isn't very ornate, really. It's actually a very plain building. I don't think it had any earthquake damage in the 12/22/03 quake but it was gutted by fire quite a while back. It has been for sale or lease for a few years now, I think, since the current owner bought it at a foreclosure or auction and has done nothing with it.

Much further downtown was the Park Theate. I assume this was the T & D Theatre Gary mentions above. The Park was in operation during the silent film era and contained a 2 manual 4 rank Wurlitzer style 135B. The organ was given to a local Methodist church who did nothing with it and the organ seems to have ended up as junk.

If the Park Theatre was operating during the silent era, then it was not the T&D, plans for which (by San Francisco architect Albert A. Larsen) were announced in The Los Angeles Times on November 24th, 1929.

Well, back to square-one on the ID and location of the Park.

Joe; Details for the T & D Theatre, Paso Robles from the Film Daily Yearbook; 1950 edition give an address at 621-23 12th Street, Paso Robles, CA. 93446. A seating capacity is given as 1,049 if you care to add this one to CT. Thanks

1,049 seats is good size for Paso Robles even today. The silent era Park Theatre certainly had an older Wurlitzer. I wonder if the proposed T & D in 1929, presumably built in 1930, replaced the Park?

T & D was found all around this area of Monterey (Strand), Salinas (T & D), Hanford (T & D), etc.

Here is a photo of the Fox Theater in Paso Robles.

From Cinematour.com:

http://www.cinematour.com/picview.php?db=us&id=1119

My uncle, Al Stanford owned all 3 of the theaters in Paso Robles as well as others. There was a small theater around 13th and Spring which became a bowling alley for a while and then was broken up into small shops. The Fox was further north by a couple of blocks and was open until sometime in the late 70s. And the drive-in was out at 101 and 41 intersection. Al sold it to a developer in the early 80s and it did run bad movies (and some very softcore xxx) for a whle afterwards. It is now where a bunch of big box stores are.

Al worked for Fox (and probably a whole lot more) back during the depression. I can remember his stories about making tomato soup by putting ketchup in hot water. He eventually owned a number of theaters (11 comes to mind) but had sold out most of them by the time I was old enough to know what he did. He was always my favorite uncle.

I was told that the Fox Paso Robles is gutted and its masonry remains unreinforced.

Question--Did Al Stanford also own/operate the following theaters in San Luis Obispo county at one time: Bay (Morro Bay), Fair Oaks(Arroyo Grande), and a 2-screener in Atascadero (name escapes me at the moment)?

I was at this house a couple of times for my employer Walnut Properties/Pussycat Theatres. There was something a little spooky about it and I'm not the kind of guy who get spooked.

The only theaters that played XXX fare in San Luis Obispo county were (all early to mid 1980's):

Oaks Drive-In--Paso Robles Usually played XXX fare in the winter months (started in late 1970's)
Central Coast Theater--Pismo Beach In the early 1980's, they showed XXX fare at midnight on Fridays & Saturdays (I saw Cafe Flesh there, I also know they played Deep Throat and a few others) A local preacher started picketing the theater (& also went after stores that sold Playboy & Penthouse) and the midnight screenings of XXX fare stopped.
A building (a prior dance hall converted into a theater) just outside the San Luis Obispo city limits--Walnut Properties started showing foreign films here (non-sex) for a few weeks, then converted it into an XXX house that was raided by the Sheriff's office within 2 weeks. They tried showing XXX fare again & the Sheriff raided the theater (within a week) & it wound up having its operating permit yanked & thus it went out of business.

I do not recall the Fox showing XXX fare.

That's because it never showed x-rated movies and, if you pay attnetion, you'll notice that I didn't say it did. Walnut Properties/Pussycat theatres owned several houses that were not x-rated. Also, this house was dark all the time Walnut/Pussycat owned it. They also owned the Oaks Drive-In; I removed all the projection equipment from there some time in the '80s. The theatre in San Luis Obispo was called, if I remember correctly, the Log Cabin. Mr. Tate was advised beforehand that it was a bad move but paid no attention.

That's because it never showed x-rated movies and, if you pay attention, you'll notice that I didn't say it did. Walnut Properties/Pussycat theatres owned several houses that were not x-rated. Also, this house was dark all the time Walnut/Pussycat owned it. They also owned the Oaks Drive-In; I removed all the projection equipment from there some time in the '80s. The theatre in San Luis Obispo was called, if I remember correctly, the Log Cabin. Mr. Tate was advised beforehand that it was a bad move but paid no attention.

This is a 2007 photo of the Fox Theater building.

Dan, I appreciate the information & have read a pretty fair amount of info about the Pussycat Theater chain over the years. And that theater outside SLO was called the Log Cabin (I still remember the ads in the Telegram-Tribune.)

Was there any consideration that the Fox would become an XXX theater? I don't recall much opposition to the Oaks Drive-In showing XXX fare (despite the fact it was near Hwy 101), but I do recall Sheriff Whiting making statements in the Telegram-Tribune about the shutting down of the Log Cabin. (I wonder if the climate against porn in SLO county in the 1980's had anything to do with business plans for the Fox.)

Also, there was a theater in Orcutt (Northern Santa Barbara County, just south of Santa Maria) that showed XXX fare. Was that a Walnut Properties house? Any info on Walnut is much appreciated.

I never heard any comments about the possibility of the Fox showing X-rated fare. I went there twice on orders from Mr. Tate. The first time was to service the equipment as there were plans to lease the house. Nothing ever came of it. The second time I was there was to remove the platter system. I can't remember now if I removed any of the other projection equipment; I probably did. I do recall hearing of a theatre in Orcutt, but I don't know anything about it. Sorry. I worked for Walnut/Pussycat from 1972-1974 and then again from 1978-1989. It was a lot of hard work and long hours and I'd do it again at the drop of a hat. My home was in San Diego and I drove all over for them. A guy who has postings at this website, Jay Allen Sanford, is a writer for the Reader newspaper in San Diego. He's putting together an article about Mr. Miranda. Feel free to e-mail me at the e-dress posted in my profile here.

Scott, to answer your question about whether my uncle owned those others theaters, I honestly don't know but believe the answer is no. Most of his properties were in the Santa Cruz area and NCal. He has sold those before I was old enough to know what he did except for the theaters in Paso.

Also he had sold the Oaks before it ever started showing even mildly soft X stuff.

If ednsb is talking about Walnut Properties/Pussycat Theatres then it's a Walnut/Pussycat that I never heard of, and I worked for them for a long time as I stated above. They had ten houses in the San Diego area, four in Oceanside and I can't even remember how many in the Los Angeles area. The Oaks Drive-In was dark for most of the time I worked for them but I do remember Raul Castenada, who was their chief projectionist for many years, talking about how much trouble the sound system caused and that he was trying to talk Mr. Miranda and Mr. Tate into changing over to an FM broadcast sound system. The drive-in was still operating when Walnut had it, at least for a little while. They are the ones who shut it down. I think ednsb is mistaken.

I heard that they put a wood skating floor in this theatre? True? Does anyone know if its still there?

This is a recent photo of the Fox Theater building.

Another recent photo from a different photographer can be seen here.

The Fox Theater building is still standing as of October 11.

The Hi-Ho marquee can be seen on the left side of the frame in this undated photo:
http://tinyurl.com/2hara9

Has anybody been in the Fox Theatre in Paso Robles in recent years?
Is the stage still there?
Seats?
What does the inside structure look like.

thanks.
gic

Was there ever a stage? Perhaps a thrust stage or a stage for the speakers, but that would be about it if it is even still there. There certainly never was a fly.

If the exterior is any indication, the inside must be grim. I was in PR last week and the Fox is pretty much as it has been for years and years--uncared for and boarded-up.

The old Park Theatre/T & D was further downtown and actually had a small Wurlitzer. That organ was given to the local Methodist church who trashed the organ...several decades ago.

Here is the Fox in September of 2008.

This is the Fox in November of 2008.

Here is a 1944 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cdvpsx

1980 Photo

1981 Photo

1984 Photo

Various issues of Boxoffice Magazine indicate that the Hi-Ho Theatre was built for Arthur M. Miller in 1941. It opened early in June that year. In 1942, Miller sold the house to Fox West Coast's T&D Theatres affiliate.

The January 19, 1957, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that Fox West Coast planned to close its T&D Theatre in Paso Robles. Their intention was to demolish the auditorium and convert the lobby to retail space. The Hi-Ho Theatre would be renovated to become the chain's main house in Paso Robles. The December 7 issue of Boxoffice that same year said that the Hi-Ho Theatre had been renamed the Fox Theatre.

There are frequent mentions of Al Stanford in issues of Boxoffice from 1951 until 1973, most often in connection with the Oaks Drive-In (not yet listed at Cinema Treasures, by the way.) The Fox is also mentioned frequently, but I can't find a single mention of the third Paso Robles hardtop, the Park Theatre. However, Paso Robles currently has a 9-screen multiplex at 1100 Pine Street downtown called the Park Cinemas 9. It's not listed here yet either.

The second sentence in my comment above should say the Hi-Ho opened in late June, 1941.

Several years ago the owner of the Fox Theatre was selling seats. I'm not sure if they were the original theatre seats or if they had upgraded sometime during its operation.

Here is a 2009 close-up photo.

Hi - My name is Tonya Strickland and I cover Paso Robles for The Tribune newspaper. I'm seeking details on who the current owner of the Fox Theater is and any contacts in the group that tried to raise funds for it a few years back. If you have any information, please contact me at 805-781-7858 or tstrickland@thetribunenews.com It can be off the record if you prefer. Thank you.