The Vega building that fronted the theater was demolished in 1992, following the 1987 Whittier earthquake, according to this LA Times excerpt from May 1993:
The county Regional Planning Commission recently approved plans for renovating the old Golden Gate Theater, clearing the way for contractors to draw up architectural plans for a restaurant and offices on the lot. El Gallo Giro will build a restaurant at Whittier and Atlantic boulevards, where the old Vega Building once stood. The building will have a tower resembling the one that highlighted the Vega Building, as well as skylights.
Work is expected to begin in late May or early June, said Michael Rose, project manager and director of construction for El Gallo Giro Corp., which has a 45-year lease on the site. He expects renovations and construction on the $2-million project to be complete by Christmas. “We hired an architect who was involved in the City Hall (renovation) to preserve the historical integrity of the project, which are the facade and a number of interior aspects,” Rose said. “We sat down with community leaders because we were interested in community input, especially with this site.”
The Vega Building served as an arcade to the theater until the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake rendered it uninhabitable. The building was demolished in December to make way for construction. The vaulted floor of the theater, which has an ornate gold-leaf interior and was built in 1927, will be leveled to allow for community use such as meetings, weddings and quinceaneras celebrations, Rose said.
The company will also restore the courtyard between the two buildings and convert the theater lobby into offices, which will become El Gallo Giro’s corporate headquarters, Rose said. Carrie Sutkin, planning deputy for Supervisor Gloria Molina, said residents were especially concerned about improving the appearance of that lot, which was boarded up since the earthquake.
“Everyone wanted to save the theater and they wanted to restore Whittier Boulevard because it’s been so blighted,” Sutkin said.
Here is part of an April 1997 article from the Placerville Mountain Democrat:
It’s a wrap for Placerville’s Empire Theater as the Main Street movie house prepares for its final screenings tomorrow night. The Empire – which served as Placerville’s only movie theater for 50 years until 1984-will shutter in the wake of declining business and the pending opening of a six-screen movie theater on Placerville Drive, according to theater manager Julie Vogan.
“It’s been very slow … We’ve had about 20 people a week for the past several months,” Vogan said. Signature Theaters, which operates the Empire and Cinema 4 on Ray Lawyer Drive and is spearheading the new theater efforts, originally planned to close Empire when the new complex opens â€"scheduled for August. However, the theater’s patronage lessened dramatically when a multi-screen theater opened in Folsom almost a year ago. Business declined so much at the 375-seat Empire that the decision was made to close it early, Vogan said.
Empire isn’t the only local theater hurt by the Folsom cinema. The number of Placerville Cinema 4 theatergoers has gone down by about half since the Folsom theater opened, Vogan said. She said she hopes the new, 1,200-seat theater in Placerville will draw locals who are going to Folsom to see first-run movies. The 21,600-square foot theater broke ground about three weeks ago near the intersection of Pierroz Road and Placerville Drive.
The Empire, meanwhile, was built in 1931 after the original theater burned down in the mid-1920s. The early movie bill had a standard format: a short reel followed by a newsreel, a comedy and a feature. Adults paid 30 cents and children 15 cents, according to Mountain Democrat files. During the mid-1980s,the Sierra Cultural Arts Center Association and Theatre El Dorado studied using the theater as an arts center. However, no plans ever reached fruition.
The Empire struggled over the next 13 years to stay afloat as more theaters came to and near Placerville. In May 1984 the Empire â€" then owned by the Toler family – closed when Cinema 4 opened its doors and the home video business flourished. At the time, manager Jim Toler called it “an example of big business squeezing out the independent business man …” The theater reopened later that year as the Schisnewski family took over. Ultimately, Signature Theaters took over.
The theater can be seen in this 1950 photo from the LAPL:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics47/00043387.jpg
Premiere night, 1965, from the LAPL:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics28/00063855.jpg
Some touchup work in 1965. Already showing adult films:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015389.jpg
This is a new set of photos from the LAPL, beginning in 1931 and ending in 1942.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080181.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080182.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080183.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080184.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080185.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080186.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080187.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080188.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080189.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080190.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080191.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080192.jpg
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/czzo3e
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/d4zjw3
Here is a B&W photo by Joe Fizer:
http://tinyurl.com/ca3xww
Here is an undated photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ct6ueu
The Vega building that fronted the theater was demolished in 1992, following the 1987 Whittier earthquake, according to this LA Times excerpt from May 1993:
The county Regional Planning Commission recently approved plans for renovating the old Golden Gate Theater, clearing the way for contractors to draw up architectural plans for a restaurant and offices on the lot. El Gallo Giro will build a restaurant at Whittier and Atlantic boulevards, where the old Vega Building once stood. The building will have a tower resembling the one that highlighted the Vega Building, as well as skylights.
Work is expected to begin in late May or early June, said Michael Rose, project manager and director of construction for El Gallo Giro Corp., which has a 45-year lease on the site. He expects renovations and construction on the $2-million project to be complete by Christmas. “We hired an architect who was involved in the City Hall (renovation) to preserve the historical integrity of the project, which are the facade and a number of interior aspects,” Rose said. “We sat down with community leaders because we were interested in community input, especially with this site.”
The Vega Building served as an arcade to the theater until the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake rendered it uninhabitable. The building was demolished in December to make way for construction. The vaulted floor of the theater, which has an ornate gold-leaf interior and was built in 1927, will be leveled to allow for community use such as meetings, weddings and quinceaneras celebrations, Rose said.
The company will also restore the courtyard between the two buildings and convert the theater lobby into offices, which will become El Gallo Giro’s corporate headquarters, Rose said. Carrie Sutkin, planning deputy for Supervisor Gloria Molina, said residents were especially concerned about improving the appearance of that lot, which was boarded up since the earthquake.
“Everyone wanted to save the theater and they wanted to restore Whittier Boulevard because it’s been so blighted,” Sutkin said.
Here is a 1922 photo currently for sale on eBay:
http://tinyurl.com/cfsogq
This photo circa late sixties or early seventies is for sale on eBay:
http://tinyurl.com/dmwquu
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/dmo36l
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/csv2vh
Here is a 1973 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/dkgmvj
Here is a 1982 photo when it was the Cine Chelten:
http://tinyurl.com/cowuk3
Here is a 2006 photo from Life magazine:
http://tinyurl.com/c8bwo2
This photo shows a Rockaway Park theater that has not yet been listed, as far as I know.
http://tinyurl.com/d9nv3a
OK, I will post it over there. Thanks.
Here is another life photo, circa 1953:
http://tinyurl.com/czbrps
Here is a 1951 photo from Life magazine:
http://tinyurl.com/dnmlbv
Here is a 1982 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/c6p78v
Here is part of an April 1997 article from the Placerville Mountain Democrat:
It’s a wrap for Placerville’s Empire Theater as the Main Street movie house prepares for its final screenings tomorrow night. The Empire – which served as Placerville’s only movie theater for 50 years until 1984-will shutter in the wake of declining business and the pending opening of a six-screen movie theater on Placerville Drive, according to theater manager Julie Vogan.
“It’s been very slow … We’ve had about 20 people a week for the past several months,” Vogan said. Signature Theaters, which operates the Empire and Cinema 4 on Ray Lawyer Drive and is spearheading the new theater efforts, originally planned to close Empire when the new complex opens â€"scheduled for August. However, the theater’s patronage lessened dramatically when a multi-screen theater opened in Folsom almost a year ago. Business declined so much at the 375-seat Empire that the decision was made to close it early, Vogan said.
Empire isn’t the only local theater hurt by the Folsom cinema. The number of Placerville Cinema 4 theatergoers has gone down by about half since the Folsom theater opened, Vogan said. She said she hopes the new, 1,200-seat theater in Placerville will draw locals who are going to Folsom to see first-run movies. The 21,600-square foot theater broke ground about three weeks ago near the intersection of Pierroz Road and Placerville Drive.
The Empire, meanwhile, was built in 1931 after the original theater burned down in the mid-1920s. The early movie bill had a standard format: a short reel followed by a newsreel, a comedy and a feature. Adults paid 30 cents and children 15 cents, according to Mountain Democrat files. During the mid-1980s,the Sierra Cultural Arts Center Association and Theatre El Dorado studied using the theater as an arts center. However, no plans ever reached fruition.
The Empire struggled over the next 13 years to stay afloat as more theaters came to and near Placerville. In May 1984 the Empire â€" then owned by the Toler family – closed when Cinema 4 opened its doors and the home video business flourished. At the time, manager Jim Toler called it “an example of big business squeezing out the independent business man …” The theater reopened later that year as the Schisnewski family took over. Ultimately, Signature Theaters took over.
Here is a 1982 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/co5nru
This site has some 1941 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/d6j2xh
http://tinyurl.com/de4tm7
See my comment of 8/20/05. If you change the address, I might get lost on the way home. 8-)