Golden Gate Theatre
5176 Whittier Boulevard,
East Los Angeles,
CA
90022
5176 Whittier Boulevard,
East Los Angeles,
CA
90022
22 people
favorited this theater
Fox’s Golden Gate Theatre opened in 1927 with 1,345 seat and had two seperate marquees.
Located inside a little courtyard, the theatre was about 75 feet long inside.
The outer building containing shops and restaurants was razed a few years after the Whittier earthquake.
The remainder, which is the actual theatre building, was left sitting in the middle of the lot, with nothing around it.
On August 18, 2012, a CVS drugstore opened in the former theatre.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 175 comments)
i live not far from this historic theater. i grew up in echo park (Los Angeles) but remember that theater well. someone mentioned another theater further down whittier blvd. that would be the garmar theater in montebello, also closed down. today – may 2010 the garmar is now a bank; sprctrum bank but it too is a local community landmark. i believe the community must rise up like in the days of old to restore these iconic places like the golden gate and put them to good use.
The Theatre is still there and here are photos of the interior from last year, plus some old photos:
http://tinyurl.com/eastlagoldengatetheatre
We at the LAHTF hope we can get inside and get current photos and video of the theatre before the CVS moves in, but no promises.
I made it a point to visit as many old movie theaters in LA-Orange County before they closed and managed to see “Top Gun” at the Golden Gate in 1986. The long walkway from Whittier Boulevard to the box office was reminiscent of the Egyptian in Hollywood.
There was an old stationery store nearby that I used to patronize.
I drove past the site yesterday. The building just sits there, waiting for something to happen.
Wow … I Used To Come Here As A Child With My Parents And Later Brougt My Oldest Son A Couple Of Times To Watch Movies Before It Closed … Nice Memories .
http://laeastside.com/2011/07/a-sad-farewell-requiem-for-a-palace-the-golden-gate-theater/
Bad shape, but we knew this, and ones in much worse condition have been restored. Hope CVS keeps its promise to not do anything that can’t be reversed, and hopefully clean things up a bit first.
Article about CVS opening http://www.theeastsiderla.com/2012/08/former-east-l-a-movie-palace-debuts-in-new-role-as-drug-store/
Wow! Talk about character! I never went here but used to see the listing in the L.A. Times. The photos are terrific, but, God, the scumbag gangs are ruining the inside of the building. A lot of work went into designing this theater; why can’t it be restored?
It might be like the Fox Inglewood (my home). If it does get restored, people may not go because of the surrounding area. Who wants to go to a movie and spend most of the time worrying about their car getting stolen or getting mugged after the show is over?
Broke my heart when they tore down the retail space around the theater. At least the building is still there. but of course the beautiful box office and the refreshment stand and stairs are gone. in the forties the stage had the most beautiful curtain that rose up in scallops. So sad.
WOW Insane I grew up right down the street from the golden gate, Im in my 50’s now but I used to shine shoes right infront of the golden gate theater wow….It was 1969 what a year I would go down to the blvd ask the manager of the theater if me and my brother could clean the theator after the movie ended and he would let us watch a movie for work done..geat times… we would wonder all threw that building in was in great shap back then… I was also right infront of the theator when the whitter riots broke out.. Tell you about that next time i sighn on… thank you for the great pics. Gabriel Soto