Star Theatre
145 N. First Street,
La Puente,
CA
91744
145 N. First Street,
La Puente,
CA
91744
3 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 38 comments found
I remember as a kid seeing a movie there called “Dime with a Halo” It was a local movie about kids winning on a horse bet – they stole a dime from the poor box at Church to make the bet. And they had to get this old guy to get their winnings. He dies on the way to cash in the ticket. Very depressing for a kid.
Joe Vogel…if you look in the photo section, there is a black and white photo of the Bing Crosby Picture “Road to Rio”—if you look very closely above it, it spells out P U E N T E !!!
The theater has been used by film and TV productions over the years. The old manager office and even the interior auditorium had been kept in fairly good order. There is a link to photos of these on a location scout page but I’ll need to locate it. Also, the city council had approved the sale of the building and it’s adjacent parking lot so a private developer could demolish the site and construct a multi use condo/merchant shopping center with below ground parking. Alas, the city had licked it’s financial lips too soon. It was discovered that subterranean water tables could not be drained sufficiently to stabilized the building and prevent flooding.So for now the theater sits untouched. It would be wonderful to have some benefactor buy this theater and reopen it as a “Alamo Drafthouse” type venue.
Thanks for the pictures,guys.
Undated B&W photo of the Star Theatre.
View link
anybody know what is currently happening to this theater, i been making a lot of research and i cant find anything on it
Here is a 2008 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/lc8f3o
Another photo is here.
I moved out of La Puente in ‘77. I have fond memories of attending the double features at the Star in the late 50’s, the 60’s, and early 70’s. I saw “A Hard Days Night” twice and always saw the Jerry Lewis and monster movies there. I grew up about four houses away on North First Street. I remember the warm summer nights sitting on top of our house looking at the Star’s marquee & glowing star and watching the local guys showing off and/or working on their cars at the Flying 'A’ and John Hancock gas stations right across the street. My parents still own that house and I was there last summer to visit and reminisce. My wife took various pics of me in front of the theatre; great memories!
Although the S.C. Lee archives list this house as the Puente Theatre, I don’t believe it ever operated under that name. I think Puente theatre was just Lee’s working name for it. The owners probably hadn’t chosen the final name when he began working on the design. By Puente Theatre, Lee meant theater project in Puente.
Notice that in this Lee rendering it is called the “Name” Theatre (though obviously not. It just indicates that it hadn’t been given a name yet.) Also note that Bob Garrison and Steve Chambers in comments above both remember it as the Star Theatre as far back as the early 1950s. I certainly remember it as the Star Theatre in the later 1950s.
An early newspaper ad or directory listing for the house under the name Puente Theatre would, of course, convince me otherwise.
Considering its proximity to where I lived, I can’t believe I didn’t go to the theater more than I did. I do remember that the theater was pretty run so that when I saw a double bill of “Legend of Hell House” and “Night of the Living Dead” there were rows of seats missing…
Nice photo of people.
Here is a late 1940s photo from the UCLA collection:
http://tinyurl.com/9nyjvt
Here is another photo of the Star Theater.
Here are the photos:
http://tinyurl.com/6akopb
http://tinyurl.com/5o8zmj
http://tinyurl.com/62ot3w
http://tinyurl.com/5z2ahc
http://tinyurl.com/5fscaq
http://tinyurl.com/59m45j
http://tinyurl.com/5t4yh8
http://tinyurl.com/58zlzq
http://tinyurl.com/64ohjq
http://tinyurl.com/6o6evf
It was still there today, baking in the 101 degree heat. Photos to follow.
I’m heading in that direction tomorrow. Let’s see if the building is still standing.
I stopped by yesterday and found the doors chained. The status should be changed to closed.
My Father-In-Law was the owner of this theater until he passed away in 2005. He was a good man and did many good things. It’s very upsetting to see the theater set up to be destroyed. I agree with most of you that it is a historical landmark – which could have been included in the future of downtown La Puente. Perhaps one day we will miss it’s character when we stare blankly at the homogeneous town homes, condos and retail that slowly engulf Main Street.
That would be great.
Ken,
I am thinking of going over there maybe this weekend and seeing what the deal is.
Does anyone know the current status? Is the theater now gone?
Here is a 2007 photo of the Star Theater.
I cannot believe that they are going to demolish the Star Theatre! I just viewed the construction of this and they do not make buildings like this any longer. That the city of La Puente thinks that this is redevelopment?! This is a historic building and I thought it fell under the California Historic Preservation Law of 50+ year old buildings. Will have to check into that if it is not too late.
I was born in Los Angeles and lived at the ‘Puente Junction’ and Valinda from 1955-1971. I saw my first movie at the Star theatre. It was the Pink Panther, and Fiddler on the Roof. A Hards Days Night!
I wonder if they ever considered building around it! What a concept!
I hope it is not too late to see it one last time. We are coming down for Easter Week. I currently live in Downtown HISTORIC San Luis Obispo where we cherish our buildings…it has increased our value of our community!
This building is one of the buildings that made Los Angeles what it is today. A place where everyone seems to want to live…..
In case the above link doesn’t work, here is the text:
Odyssey Homes of California News
“Star Theatre: The end
La Puente to convert infamous site into mixed-use plaza
La Puente â€" The Star Theatre, which since 1947 has screened everything from Spanish-subtitled family films to triple X adult films, has closed.
After two years of conceiving plans to revitalize its business areas, La Puente’s Redevelopment Agency finally got its wish.
The Star Theatre and its parking lot immediately south of it was bought for an estimated $400,000 and will be demolished to make way for 70, 670 square feet commercial and residential space.
This is the first redevelopment project for the city since its redevelopment agency was founded on July 13, 2004.
A conceptual design has been submitted to the city by Odyssey Homes of California Inc., in conjunction with First Pacific Homes.
It features a three-story mixed-use plaza with 8,800 square feet of commercial businesses on the ground level and 48 condominium units on the upper floors. There will also be 176 parking spaces, 40 of which will belong to the city.
“La Puente has been known as a sleepy little town nestled in an obscure part of the San Gabriel Valley. We’re starting to mature as a community, and without redevelopment, out economic vitality will suffer,†La Puente Councilman Louie Lujan said.
A redevelopment plan enables cities to increase property taxes on commercial spaces, which in turn funds further redevelopment.
In 2004, local business owners and residents were invited to meetings, workshops, and a public hearing informing them of the changes that were to follow the city’s announcement of its redevelopment plans.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary as an incorporated city, La Puente will finally witness the destruction of its first and only movie theater.
Mayor Renee Chavez recalled going there with her gamily to watch Walt Disney films when the theater first opened as a single-screen, family movie theater.
That all changed in 1978, when then owner Arturo Gutierrez, started to screen X-rated movies. That continued for the next 22 years.
Although the Star Theatre, at 145 N. First St., made one last effort to reinvent its image six years ago by screening first-run family films with Spanish subtitles, it could never get over its negative reputation.
“I don’t think anybody’s going to miss it,†Chavez said.
“This means that the city is changing. It’s a positive step for this city and I’m thrilled about it.â€
The city is now in the first phase of its project, but council members will soon decide whether they will approve the proposal. Officials seem to be optimistic with the current designs.
“This is a pedestrian friendly are with a fountain and walkways. It’s going to bring back the concept of human capital and person-to-person conversations. [The design] looks beautiful,†Lujan said.
Construction is tentatively scheduled for later this year.
The Star Theatre project will be a catalyst for further redevelopment projects that have already been outlined by the city.
Planned projects include the expansion of the Ed Butts Ford dealership on North Hacienda Boulevard and the development of more commercial space to replace the city’s dilapidated bowling alley on the same street.
Allan Donnelly, the chief operating officer of Odyssey Homes, who was raised in the San Gabriel Valley, believes the city’s wish is only a star away.
“This [street] corner, it’s going to change everything. We’re going to build a brand-new beautiful building. People will have something to do, and property values should increase. That’s out vision,†Donnelly said.
Deal Struck to Develop Downtown Site. Site Slanted for Mixed Commercial & Residential Project.
The site of the current Star Theatre and the adjacent parking lot will be developed in a mixed residential and commercial project. The site (134-145 N. First Street in Downtown La Puente) is expected to be developed in a three story complex with nearly 9,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor with forty-eight residential units on the second and third floors. The residential component will included thirty-six two-bedroom condominiums and a dozen one-bedroom units.
The City’s Redevelopment Agency closed escrow with the developer earlier this year, selling the City-owned parking lot adjacent to the Star Theatre.
The two parcels will comprise the development site, with the now closed Star Theatre slated for demolition. The site will include 176 parking spaces, ensuring off street parking for residents. The project includes forty public parking spaces along with an additional twenty-two spaces for commercial use. The public parking effectively replaces the City’s former parking lot at the site, affording shoppers access to parking in Downtown. A large artist rendering of the project can be viewed at City Hall (a print version is shown here).
Sustain La Puente redevelopment
It’s been a hard row to how, but La Puente is poised to begin redevelopment. Out hope is that the initial project will lead to a badly needed revamp of downtown.
Increased property values have helped La Puente leaders pitch their city to more home builders and developers. Like many bedroom communities, La Puente needs to provide additional shopping venues for residents in order to capture more sales dollars that now go to surrounding cities.
For years, council members steered clear of redevelopment because of a wide ranging proposal decades ago that would have taken some homes through eminent domain. Although the plan would have completely changed the city’s core and with it, the little town’s fortunes, residents railed against the plan until it was abandoned, along with the redevelopment agency. Call it too much, too soon.
Much of La Puente’s core business district is run down and mostly absentee landlords have resisted change that would included investment to refurbish their aging buildings, most of which do not conform to state earthquake standards.
It’s fitting then that the first phase of La Puente redevelopment will be demolishing the Star Theater, a derelict Quonset hut that for more than 20 years screened x-rated movies in this town that otherwise centers on families and senior citizens. (More recently it showed first-run mainstream movies). The city’s redevelopment agency sold an adjacent parcel used as a parking lot to the developer who is putting together the project- a wise move that will help remove this flashpoint in the city politics and usher in a new La Puente.
As reported this week by staff writer Sang Lee, a 70,670 square foot commercial and residential complex will occupy the site. It promises to be one of the first and best mixed use plazas in the area with more than 8,000 square feet of businesses on the ground level and 48 condominium units on the upper floors.
The development should stand as a model for other cities whose residents have been reluctant to embrace the work-live and mixed-use concept of building up, not out, providing affordable housing along with retail and other business operations. It’s an old concept that’s gaining new traction in cities with little buildable land left.
It’s imperative that the council see this development through if the city is ever going to establish itself as an up and coming residential community offering close in shopping and entertainment that complements neighborhoods. It’s a great way for La Puente to kick off its next 50 years".