Ken Cinema

THIS THEATER IS A PRECIOUS JEWEL, a theater that is still as theaters were 40 or 50 years ago! The video store next door is also perhaps the best in San Diego. This theater "makes" the Kensington area of San Diego the great, cosy place that it is. If tourists want to see a side of San Diego off the beaten path then come here.

Yes, the Ken is certainly a precious jewel. I heard a recent rumor that the Ken has all new seats, including (yuck!) cup holders. I've yet to verify this rumor, but if it's true, it's great news, since the old seats at the Ken were notoriouly uncomfortable. On the other hand, I suspect the new seats will be in the modern plasticly style, whereas the old Ken seats had that classic 1950s (or so) metal configuration that is rarely seen these days. Hmm, maybe this isn't really good news anyway, at least not from a historic preservation point of view. I guess I should be thankful that the Ken even just exists, as nearly all the other single-screen theaters in San Diego are gone or converted to multi-screen.

The most timely feature of the Ken Cinema is their use (still!) of carbon arch reel-to-reel projectors. If you sit far enough back in the auditorium (my favorite spot was three rows from the back, centered), you can hear the projector bell chiming to alert the projectionist that the current reel is nearing the end.

The Ken seats 575 people and was remodeled by S. Charles Lee in 1947. It originally opened in 1916.

This info is provided by KenRoe along with his excellent pics.

http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=2780

Oops! Make that opening date 1912.

Because cinema treasures (and other architectural treasures) are disappearing at an alarming rate, especially in San Diego, I am happy to report that the Ken remains alive and well and the new seats mentioned in my previous posting are just fine. The Ken still has a loyal clientele and remains the soul of the Kensington neighborhood.

Here is a photo of the Ken's box office today.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/scorseseisgod/JenniferAtKen.jpg

This is a photo of the Ken Theater from the early 90's:
http://sandiegohistory.org/collections/theaters/images/ken.jpg

Any theater named the Ken is worthy of a visit next time I'm in SD.

The Ken is well worth a visit and it has great programming. When I was there in June (as Group leader for the Theatre Historical Society of America Conclave) we visited the Ken and "Mysterious Skin" was playing as the regular programme. The poster frame outside promised a screening at Midnight on the Saturday; The Lollipop Girls in "Hard Candy" -They're licking good! in Widescreen - 3-Dimension - Super 70mm Stereo (eh!??) starring John "Johnny Wadd' Holmes. As I say...Great programming.

Ken, I enjoyed your comments concerning the Ken.

Ken

Here is another photo of the Ken theater. For some reason I think this is a great name for a theater.

Here is a recent night view of the marquee.

I am delighted that the Ken Cinema is still a single screen house and that they still operate in the old fashioned way with changeovers and carbon arc lamps. That is how things were when I learned to run "the booth" back in November of 1972 at the old Cabrillo Theatre on Plaza Street at Horton Plaza (both the Cabrillo and Plaza Street are long gone). Somewhere back in the '70s Mr. William Rankin and I motorized the masking at the Ken. Boy, that sure was a long time ago.

Does anyone out there remember the downtown San Diego theatres of the 1970s?

A single screen venue tucked away by I-15 in the Kensington area of San Diego, this theater reminds me so much of what I'd experienced in neighborhood theaters in Brooklyn & Queens (like the Peerless) when I was a kid some 50-odd years ago. Landmark is to be congratulated for keeping this gem going, very much like its sister counterpart, the Hillcrest Cinema.

Just recently, I was fortunate to view a wonderfully restored print of "The Fallen Idol," a British entry made back in 1948. Last year, the folks at the Ken Cinema gave us the delightful "Festival Express," filmed in Canada in 1970 and featuring the likes of Janis Joplin just three months before her untimely demise, a dark-haired Jerry Garcia, Ian & Sylvia, Buddy Guy and many more colorful characters from that era.

It is my unfortunate duty to report that as of the writing of this post 9/20/06 the Ken no longer uses the carbon rod projectors. They have one in the lobby right now so you can take photos, but the last film to run on them was a week or two ago. Apparently there is only one company left in the world that manufactures those carbon rods, and as less and less theaters have projectors that use them, they have become prohibitively expensive to acquire. I guess the upshot is that at least the theater is still open and running, eh? Tis truly the end of an era. What a bummer!

WED20SEP06, 9:10P CST
That's a real shame but I guess inevitable. I'm sure the carbon is very expensive to make now. It's been a long time and I can't remember all that went into the carbons, but there were some rare earths involved. I guess carbon arc lamps, tube driven amplifiers and glue splicing are all history.
Dan Whitehead
Irving, Tx.

Just a little P. S.
I am so very glad that I learned how to run the booth in the time period that I did. All of the old disciplines were still practiced. We changed projectors about every twenty minutes, we "rode the gain" for the sound, we "trimmed the arc", we opened and closed the drapes, we dimmed the lights up and down, we turned the intermission music on and off and we "overlap" spliced the film with glue. We called this "Showmanship". I am proud to have been a part of it.
Dan Whitehead
Irving, Tx.

It is sad that the carbon arch projectors have been retired, though the theatre will surely benefit from the fact that the projector will now be manager run rather than projectionist run, lowering the theatre payroll. It was inevitable, and good for Landmark to wait until the Ken's projectionist retired to make this major change.

A fairly recent photo of the Ken can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/achangeinscenery/375622248/in/set-72157594514575526/

Any truth to the rumor that this will be turned into a duplex cinema called the Ken & Barbie?

The first time I can remember attending the Ken was in the early eighties for a Saturday night
screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. There were so many people dressed up as the characters in the movie that I had no idea what to expect. It was my first viewing of this now camp classic and I can remember someone entering with a motorcycle from a door on the front right side, playing the role of the Meatloaf character and the scenes where people tossed toilet paper and rice towards the screen.
Truly an eye-opening experience.
In a few weeks, I'll be bringing a group of photographers there for a screening of Edward Burtynsky's movie, Manufactered Landscapes. Looking forward to it.
http://www.pbase.com/camera0bug

Here is a close-up view of the Ken Cinema.

This is another night view of the Ken Cinema.

Here is an undated photo:
http://tinyurl.com/24xdb5

Ken, the photo you linked was taken in 2003, as the film showing at the time was "Lilya 4 Ever", which was out in limited release in April of that year. A very disturbing film, though definitely Ken fare. I saw many a disturbing film there over the years, "Fat Girl" and "Julien Donkey Boy" are two examples that come quickly to mind.

I've posted this same picture above, though now it's included on my theatres page on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/achangeinscenerymovies/2389005524/

Advertised as the Ken-Art in the LA Times in March 1967.

Here is another photo.

Does anybody here know any way that I can see some of the old Ken Film calendars from like the 94 - 04 period?

Joe, the cinema may have some filed away, if there's something specific that you're looking for you might want to try phoning them or the city office which is at the Hillcrest Cinemas.

Thanks.

Here are two 1983 photos:

Photo1

Photo2