Turlock Theater
120 N. Broadway Street,
Turlock,
CA
95382
120 N. Broadway Street,
Turlock,
CA
95382
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The Turlock had been converted to office space when it was destroyed in a fire in January 1976.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
There was a Turlock Theater that can be traced in Modesto Bee archives back to at least 1917, but it is not know if the New Turlock Theater which opened on April 15, 1920 was built at the same location. In May of 1923, D.H. Arakelian, the owner, filed suit against the building’s architect/construction superintendent because of faulty construction. In June of 1923, the lessee of the theatre brought suit against the owner because the building was “dangerous to human life.â€
In January of 1925, the Fresno Bee said that Dick Arakelian had exchanged the theater, valued at $100,000 for 80 acres of property near San Jose. The article also noted that the top two floors were occupied by a hotel.
In January of 1926 it was announced that the New Turlock Theatre, which had been closed for about four years, was to open under the management of C.C. Steele.
In 1941, the New Turlock and the local Fox Theatre came under the ownership of United California Theatres and apparently operated without incident until 1945, when it was gutted by fire. From all information, It then remained closed until 1948 when it was remodeled and reopened. it enjoyed a three week run of the first Cinemascope film, “The Robe,“ in January of 1954. This was even before it played next at the State Theatre in the much larger city of Modesto.
Finally, it was destroyed by fire on January 16, 1976. The Bee noted that the local Fox Theatre had been destroyed by fire in 1972. This left Turlock without any movies until April of 1976, when Cinemas I & II opened at Geer Road and Minnesota Avenue.
The New Turlock Theater burned on July 25, 1946.
A friend of mine viewed the movie “The Adventures of the Wilderness Family” just hours before it burned again in January 1976.
The Turlock Fire Department has many photos of both fires. In one photo the 1946 marquee reads “On stage in person The Colorado Hillbillies, also The Desert Horseman.”
Here’s an item from the July 10, 1948, issue of Boxoffice Magazine:
“The New Turlock Theatre at North Broadway and Olive Streets in Turlock was opened recently. Built at a cost of $120,000, the theatre is owned by United California Theatres and replaces the old Turlock which burned about two years ago.”
It sounds like it was completely new construction, given the price tag.
Here is an article from the Modesto Bee dated 1/16/76:
TURLOCK – The Turlock Theater at 128 N. Broadway was destroyed early this morning by fire which threatened surrounding buildings and caused the evacuation of 18 residents from the adjoining Tourist Hotel. Firemen estimated the loss will run in excess of $250,000. There was no immediate report of loss of life or injuries, although four firemen who were inside the theater came perilously close to being crushed when the theater’s ceiling caved in.
The blaze was believed to have started in the loge area or the projection room sometime after the theater closed at 11:15 o'clock last night. They speculated that the cause may have been a carelessly discarded cigarette. Firemen were called about 2:30 o'clock by a janitorial service owner who saw smoke billowing from the theater entrance.
All of the department’s trucks and men rolled to the fire within minutes and fought the stubborn fire for two hours before the roof collapsed. Ken Odell, manager of the 20-room Tourist Hotel, told firemen he awakened about a half-hour before the alarm, thinking he smelled smoke. He said he dressed and went outside to look around but saw nothing and went back to his room. Shortly afterwards he heard fire trucks roll up in front of the theater. He then assisted firemen in rousting hotel residents, most of them elderly, who fled into the street, some in their nightclothes.
The fire left Turlock without an indoor theater. Fire destroyed the city’s old Fox Theater in 1972. The Turlock Theater itself was gutted by fire in 1945 but was rebuilt three years later. At least four volunteer firemen on the scene, including City Councilman Joel Nikolauson, had fought the theater blaze in 1945.
The Turlock Theater recently was purchased by Hank Garcia and Jim Andrade of Wilsonville. Its manager for the past four months has been Carl Koch. Firemen were not able to notify him of the fire until about five hours after the blaze was reported.
That’s a real long excerpt.
Here is a view of the 1946 fire:
http://tinyurl.com/da4fbp
Heh, thats my page you linked to. I’m glad its come in useful. I’m the historian for the TFD and I appreciate the Bee article Ken. I hadn’t got around to digging that one out yet and you’ve saved me some trouble. Ken, are you a Turlock History guy? Any other recollections or info on our fire history?
No, I’ve never been to Turlock. Still have time, though.