Here is part of a November 1998 article in the Orange County Register:
Contractor Pete Montanez was sitting in a pew one Sunday morning when a surge of inspiration came over him. It happened as the pastor was preaching about Christian Tabernacle’s terrible problem. The congregation had bought the 1923 Fox West Coast Theater on Main Street, once the grandest movie palace in Orange County, but had run out of money to transform it into a church. I will fix it, Montanez thought.
The restoration of the National Register of Historic Places landmark was a giant task. The walls had holes and the carpets were disintegrating. There were rats, smashed lights and basement dressing rooms choked with decades of clutter. Long expanses of graceful gold leaf lay under coats of dirt. The 50-foot-high ceiling needed paint. The intricate Spanish Colonial Revival facade had faded so much that it was hard to identify the original colors.
But Montanez, 47, who lost his forearm in an accident 26 years ago, felt moved by the spirit of God to restore the theater, and there was no turning back. Years before, his parents helped build a church in Cuauhtemoc, Mexico. It seemed like his destiny. He and his family had been living in Fontana; he was only visiting Santa Ana, his former home, that day he went to the church service. In December 1996, he moved his wife and four children back to Santa Ana, and into the home of his sister, suspended his normal work as a general contractor and set about fixing the theater.
Montanez started in the basement of the theater on a restoration journey that occasionally took him back in time. Removing layers of paint, he found doodles from long ago. Under the stage, someone had stashed soda bottles that were so old he didn’t recognize the brand names. In the balcony, he found a row of square windows that had been covered up. He put in panes of glass and watched the morning light stream in. He borrowed scaffolding from a friend to work on the ceiling. He installed decorative trim around plain doorways. He noticed empty spaces atop the pillars on the facade, and fabricated big gold globes to sit on them.
Some of the tasks were more mundane. He installed plumbing in the bathrooms. He did electrical work. At first, Ariel Meza, the assistant pastor, got nervous watching Montanez climb up and down the scaffolding, because of his disability. Montanez lost his right forearm in a gasket-making machine in Anaheim in 1972. He says he was depressed for seven years, but finally snapped out of it and went into the homebuilding business.
Montanez finished his work on the theater Oct. 30, and on Halloween, the new church was rededicated in an all-day ceremony and lunch. Its gold leaf shone. Its pews stood on a rich royal-blue carpet. Meza said Montanez saved the church $200,000. Still, the project was an expensive one. The church paid $750,000 for the building in 1991, Meza said, and put about $500,000 into it. Christian Tabernacle, an evangelical Hispanic church, used to be on Susan Street but moved because it needed a bigger building. Meza said the church has about 600 members.
Montanez crossed Main Street this week to admire his handiwork on the facade from a better vantage point. He looked up at it and said he felt he could go back to breadwinning now, satisfied with the way things turned out.
Here is an item from the Frederick News dated 12/29/76:
Theaters and radio â€" both are part of Mike Smith’s professional life. Since 1960, Mike has been active in the theater business. Mike is now the manager of the Movies 1, 2, 3 at Frederick County Square. In addition to his managing duties, he also works some in the projection room, attending to the films and the projectors.
Mike started as projectionist at the Calvert Drive-In in Calvert County in 1960. It was on a part-time basis then because Mike was still in high school.
When he graduated from Calvert County High School in 1963 he became employed full-time at the Wheaton Plaza Theater. He was later transferred to the Andrews Manor Theater in Camp Springs. In 1967 when he was discharged from the service, Mike became Theater Manager of the Cheverly Theater. He remained on the circuit as a “trouble shooting” manager until 1969 when he returned to Frederick, his original home, to work as relief manager at the Tivoli Theater. He was also manager of the now defunct Braddock Drive-In.
Here is a 2/24/54 item in the Mattoon Daily Journal-Gazette:
NEWTON, Ill.-T.J. Price, manager of Newton’s Star Theater, announced Tuesday that the movie house has been sold to Frank Rogers of Paris. Rogers has been an employee in Paris theaters for the past ten years. The management changeover will become effective Sunday.
If you enter the theater address on this site, you will see a 1972 aerial view. The 1953 view shows only farmland, while the more recent photos show the retail development. View link
This is a 1923 ad from the LA Times. I thought it was interesting as it shows Sid Grauman’s influence at that time, as he owned the Metropolitan, the Egyptian, the Million Dollar and the Rialto. The Chinese was not yet built. http://tinyurl.com/dg3wre
Here is part of a November 1998 article in the Orange County Register:
Contractor Pete Montanez was sitting in a pew one Sunday morning when a surge of inspiration came over him. It happened as the pastor was preaching about Christian Tabernacle’s terrible problem. The congregation had bought the 1923 Fox West Coast Theater on Main Street, once the grandest movie palace in Orange County, but had run out of money to transform it into a church. I will fix it, Montanez thought.
The restoration of the National Register of Historic Places landmark was a giant task. The walls had holes and the carpets were disintegrating. There were rats, smashed lights and basement dressing rooms choked with decades of clutter. Long expanses of graceful gold leaf lay under coats of dirt. The 50-foot-high ceiling needed paint. The intricate Spanish Colonial Revival facade had faded so much that it was hard to identify the original colors.
But Montanez, 47, who lost his forearm in an accident 26 years ago, felt moved by the spirit of God to restore the theater, and there was no turning back. Years before, his parents helped build a church in Cuauhtemoc, Mexico. It seemed like his destiny. He and his family had been living in Fontana; he was only visiting Santa Ana, his former home, that day he went to the church service. In December 1996, he moved his wife and four children back to Santa Ana, and into the home of his sister, suspended his normal work as a general contractor and set about fixing the theater.
Montanez started in the basement of the theater on a restoration journey that occasionally took him back in time. Removing layers of paint, he found doodles from long ago. Under the stage, someone had stashed soda bottles that were so old he didn’t recognize the brand names. In the balcony, he found a row of square windows that had been covered up. He put in panes of glass and watched the morning light stream in. He borrowed scaffolding from a friend to work on the ceiling. He installed decorative trim around plain doorways. He noticed empty spaces atop the pillars on the facade, and fabricated big gold globes to sit on them.
Some of the tasks were more mundane. He installed plumbing in the bathrooms. He did electrical work. At first, Ariel Meza, the assistant pastor, got nervous watching Montanez climb up and down the scaffolding, because of his disability. Montanez lost his right forearm in a gasket-making machine in Anaheim in 1972. He says he was depressed for seven years, but finally snapped out of it and went into the homebuilding business.
Montanez finished his work on the theater Oct. 30, and on Halloween, the new church was rededicated in an all-day ceremony and lunch. Its gold leaf shone. Its pews stood on a rich royal-blue carpet. Meza said Montanez saved the church $200,000. Still, the project was an expensive one. The church paid $750,000 for the building in 1991, Meza said, and put about $500,000 into it. Christian Tabernacle, an evangelical Hispanic church, used to be on Susan Street but moved because it needed a bigger building. Meza said the church has about 600 members.
Montanez crossed Main Street this week to admire his handiwork on the facade from a better vantage point. He looked up at it and said he felt he could go back to breadwinning now, satisfied with the way things turned out.
Here is a 1967 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cgwkxp
Here is a 1970 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/d6jxjg
Here is a 1968 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/dd985p
This site has a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cwdwyf
It seems like the introduction should be amended since we do have a lot of information about this theater now.
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/dyjpkr
Here is an item from the Frederick News dated 12/29/76:
Theaters and radio â€" both are part of Mike Smith’s professional life. Since 1960, Mike has been active in the theater business. Mike is now the manager of the Movies 1, 2, 3 at Frederick County Square. In addition to his managing duties, he also works some in the projection room, attending to the films and the projectors.
Mike started as projectionist at the Calvert Drive-In in Calvert County in 1960. It was on a part-time basis then because Mike was still in high school.
When he graduated from Calvert County High School in 1963 he became employed full-time at the Wheaton Plaza Theater. He was later transferred to the Andrews Manor Theater in Camp Springs. In 1967 when he was discharged from the service, Mike became Theater Manager of the Cheverly Theater. He remained on the circuit as a “trouble shooting” manager until 1969 when he returned to Frederick, his original home, to work as relief manager at the Tivoli Theater. He was also manager of the now defunct Braddock Drive-In.
This site has a 1986 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/chnyz2
Here is a 1981 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ckkuk3
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/d8romb
Here is a 1980 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/d47pyn
Here is a 2/24/54 item in the Mattoon Daily Journal-Gazette:
NEWTON, Ill.-T.J. Price, manager of Newton’s Star Theater, announced Tuesday that the movie house has been sold to Frank Rogers of Paris. Rogers has been an employee in Paris theaters for the past ten years. The management changeover will become effective Sunday.
Here is a 1982 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/dbztjf
Here is the Rio in 1984:
http://tinyurl.com/c4hv45
If you enter the theater address on this site, you will see a 1972 aerial view. The 1953 view shows only farmland, while the more recent photos show the retail development.
View link
This is a 1923 ad from the LA Times. I thought it was interesting as it shows Sid Grauman’s influence at that time, as he owned the Metropolitan, the Egyptian, the Million Dollar and the Rialto. The Chinese was not yet built.
http://tinyurl.com/dg3wre
Here is a 1981 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ckxxw9
Here is a 1985 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cjnfy3
Here is a 1980 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/c2lh7e
Here is a 1980 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cr8vde
This site has a 1973 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/c7yyg4
This 1980 photo is how I remember the Goldman.
http://tinyurl.com/c9okrd
Here is a 1967 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/c936nk
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cejzqg