Gem Theatre

I lived right around the corner from the Gem, in the late 1950s and ‘60s. I saw many movies there as a young cub, and remember it fondly. The Gem is located in what is the old downtown section of Garden Grove, and may very well been the original theater for the town. It is a splendid little cinema and I am glad that it is doing live performances.

Was this theatre called the Gem when it was a movie house? There was once a theatre in Garden Grove called the Grove (not yet listed on Cinema Treasures, unless this is it under another name.) I never saw it, but it was owned in the 1950s by the Vinicoff Theatre Circuit, which also operated the Garfield Theatre in Alhambra which it owned in partnership with Edwards Theatres. Every once in a while, tickets bought at the Garfield would say “Grove Theatre” on them.

This theatre is very much alive and well. In great shape and being used for community theater and live bands.