Stadium Theater
1653 Cravens Avenue,
Torrance,
CA
90501
1653 Cravens Avenue,
Torrance,
CA
90501
4 people
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The Stadium Theater was opened in 1949 and was a popular movie house until the 1960’s when falling profits forced a switch to X-rated films. Renamed Pussycat Theater by 1973, it remained opened until 1991 and has been decaying ever since.
Recently a group formed to raise enough capital to buy and restore the theater, but the City Council approved a plan to demolish it and replace the old movie house with new condominiums.
The council had earlier been given the group sixty days to finalize their plans.
Supporters had begun to raise money for its purchase, but finances were never resolved and the council, without any other viable alternative, granted Michael Mulligan Development permission to demolish the theater.
The Stadium Theater, like many of the area’s old movie houses, will now join other ghosts of Southern California’s past.
Contributed by
Cinema Treasures
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Recent comments (view all 30 comments)
New book-length Pussycat Theatre history from the San Diego Reader:
View link
Great article, JayAllen… Thanks!
It WAS a great article but I would have appreciated being credited with the use of the picture above since I took it.
Actually, this listing should be updated to show the Pussycat as an alternate name (it was that longer than it was the Stadium) and that the operators were Pacific & Walnut.
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cnbe8l
I can’t believe it….ken mc actually made a post that wasn’t followed by a useless comment from Lost Memory. Bookmark this page.
That’s funny. Talk about useless comments. LOL
Heers another one!!!!
The first films to play this theater were “Life of Riley” and a Bowery Boys comedy. In person on opening night were Rosemary DeCamp, Huntz Hall and Gabriel Dell. When it was opened by the same owners as the Torrance Theater it was trumpeted for it’s modern air conditioning. stadium seating and crying rooms. Later, a new screen was installed for the presentation of 3-D films the first of which being “Man in the Dark”.
It’d have been better if they’d have kept the AURORA lettering and just named it Pussycat on the marquee, rather than destoying the original history.. what a great design!