Montrose Theatre

2226 Honolulu Avenue,
Montrose, CA 91020

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Additional Info

Architects: Carl Boller

Firms: Boller Brothers

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The Montrose Theatre was a small independent theatre which opened on October 16, 1924 and operated until March 22, 1987, when it was destroyed in an arson fire which started at the rear of the stage house. A parking lot is on the site today.

Contributed by William Gabel

Recent comments (view all 15 comments)

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on January 16, 2007 at 7:32 pm

Here is a short account of the fire:

3/24/87 Daily News

The Montrose Theater was destroyed by fire early Monday morning in what many longtime residents called a sad end to what had been an important part of the community for more than 60 years. The fire erupted at 4:22 a.m. in the stage area — a remnant of the days when the theater hosted live vaudeville shows as well as motion pictures, said John Orr, a fire investigator with the Glendale Fire Department.

Clarkus
Clarkus on April 20, 2008 at 7:00 am

Ken, Glendale fire inspector John Orr was convicted of numerous arson fires in Glendale and surrounding areas in the middle 80’s. I wonder if the 1987 fire at the Montrose was part of his handywork?

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on November 5, 2008 at 5:23 am

Here is an excerpt from the LA Times dated 3/24/31:

MONTROSE THEATER SOLD

Announcement is made here of the sale of the Montrose Theater to B.G. Meyers, formerly of St Cloud, Minn. Meyers is the son of M.P. Meyers, pioneer property owner in the Montrose area.

BruceVerish
BruceVerish on January 18, 2010 at 3:40 am

I saw Meatballs there in 1979

Matt Hormann
Matt Hormann on November 11, 2010 at 11:14 pm

I am writing an article on the theater for Montrose-La Crescenta Patch. If anyone has any memories of the theater to share, I would love to incorporate them. Please contact me.

RonKoblin
RonKoblin on January 30, 2012 at 2:11 am

Hey, Matt – I used to go to the Montrose Theater every Saturday morning I could when I was in the 5th grade (Dunsmore) – about 1956-57… It was a significant event with the Manager actually turning up the house lights and walking onto the stage to have us kids look at our ticket stubs for the Prize Raffle!! Popcorn was about 15 cents and dime candy bars (like Mounds, 3 Muskateers and Butterfingers) were actually 10 cents. A nickel bought a box of “Dots,” “Black Crows” or “Juju Bees.” Admission was 35 cents. The morning event featured a couple of cartoons before a serial showing of my favorite (the real draw after all) “Flash Gordon.” Boy was that a morning we looked forward to!

freddiecar
freddiecar on April 27, 2015 at 9:23 am

I lived around the corner off verdugo and shot video of the fire.just found it and is the only video of the blaze . I will upload it soon

Carbo3D
Carbo3D on July 24, 2015 at 9:54 pm

Freddiecar, can you post the link to your rare Montrose Theatre fire footage once it’s posted? Thanks.

adamghost
adamghost on September 6, 2016 at 4:07 am

This is a first…apparently this should read “demolished…showing movies!” In August 2016 the Montrose Film Festival screened two movies in the parking lot where the theater once stood. Pretty cool!

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