Towne Theater
4425 Atlantic Boulevard,
Long Beach,
CA
90807
4425 Atlantic Boulevard,
Long Beach,
CA
90807
4 people
favorited this theater
Opened shortly after World War II, this theater operated in North Long Beach until the mid-1970s. Usually competed with the Crest Theater just down the street for first run films.
The theater was closed in the mid-1970s and demolished.
Contributed by
David Boyd
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Recent comments (view all 32 comments)
Here is an early forties ad:
http://tinyurl.com/32o7cu
I lived in North L.B. and went to the Towne from around 1954 to 1965 or so. I remember it being huge, modern and clean. Didn’t they have “all cartoon” Saturday matinees? What a blast.
As a L.B. kid in the early-mid sixties, my friends and I would visit the Crest and the Towne. One question we debated was, which theater was best? We all liked the florid Crest, but I imagined the Towne as the more sophisticated alternative. Alas, I have practically no visual memories of either place anymore. And now both torn down, lo these thirty years. It cannot be!
Back on January 18, 2005, I said that the name of the architect of the Towne was Hugh Biggs. The article from which I took the information got his name wrong. I’ve lately found several references to the Towne Theatre giving his correct name, Hugh Gibbs. Gibbs was later one of the architects of the Long Beach convention Center.
A two-page illustrated article about the recently opened Towne was published in the December 7, 1946, issue of Boxoffice Magazine. The house was originally operated by Cabart Theatres.
Here are some photos of the Towne from Boxoffice in November 1947:
http://tinyurl.com/ybvhl3n
Can anybody tell me if it was the Crest or the Towne that had the step down lounge? I believe that it was the Crest, but, I honestly can’t remember. I do remember that the last movie that I saw at the Towne was “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”, back in 1963. I have such great memories of Long Beach at that time. Remember swimming in the little pond in Houghton Park? Lest, not forget the one & only POP (Pacific Ocean Park); of course that was Santa Monica, not Long Beach. Love those memories & Oh, if only life were that simple again… If anyone happens to have any pictures “PLEASE POST”.
The Crest Theatre had a step down lounge. The Loyola Theatre in Los Angeles, The Fox Theatre in Inglewood and the Crest Theatre in Sacramento all had the step down lounge areas.
ken mc – i cant bring up your pictures of the towne theater long beach ca please resubmit them thanks
BETWEEN THE TOWNE AND CREST – THEY WERE THE BEST – MEMORY’S OF THE WAY LONG BEACH CA WAS IN 1951, WITH THE BEAUTIFUL RESTAURANT WELCH’S IN BETWEEN – ITS ALL GONE WITH THE WIND – NEVIN
The new Towne Theatre was described in this 1946 trade article: boxofficemagazine