Here is an item from the Oakland Tribune dated 11/4/48:
What was once a dog track and later a large trailer court has now become one of the largest drive-in movie theaters on the Pacific Coast. After months of construction, the El Cerrito Motor Movies, at Fairmount Avenue, a block east of San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito will have its opening tomorrow night. The drive-in, which will be operated under direction of Blumenfeld Theaters, will have three changes of program a week, the change days being Friday, Sunday and Tuesday.
My only quibble would be that I don’t recall ever seeing billboards of that nature on Main Street, at least not on that part of Main. if it’s not this Gayety I wonder which one it could be. I think it may be on Broadway, but perhaps not in Los Angeles?
Interesting that they advertise it as having a Broadway stage show. There is a Gayety on Central Avenue in LA but none on Broadway that I know of. Maybe they were fudging since Broadway is three blocks away.
All the news plus coffee and doughnuts. From the Oakland Tribune, 10/20/39:
Opening tomorrow at noon, the Franklin Newsreel Theater will fire its first entertainment bombardment. Thirty or more minutes of the latest news, plus one full-length picture, “War Clouds Over Europe,” starring Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson, three short subjects, a musical reel, cartoon and novelty subject will provide two hours of the grandest show you have ever seen
In the lobby of the Franklin Newsreel Theater The Tribune’s exclusive A P. Wirephotos will be on display as a service to its patrons. Here you will see the latest happenings from “coast to coast in six minutes.” Another novel innovation of this newsreel theater will be the free coffee and doughnuts served in the lobby, every day, from noon until 2:30 p.m.
Here is part of a June 1965 article in the Syracuse Herald Journal:
Dean Robinson of Penn Yan, who delighted local music lovers last year with an informal concert on the giant Loew’s Theater organ, will appear again on June 17 to put the newly-restored RKO Keith’s organ through its paces. Robinson, who plays regularly for a well-known Penn Yan supper club, has been engaged by the fledgling Syracuse Theater Organ Society, which is seeking to save the Keith’s organ for Syracuse.
This instrument is the only one of its kind left in the Syracuse area. The Loew’s organ has been sold to California interests. Officials of the association will solicit assistance from local people in their campaign to keep the organ here. Persons who are interested will be asked to join the society.
The RKO Keith’s theater will be razed in about a year, but measures to save the organ must be taken before that time. Association officials estimate that about $10,000 will be needed to finance purchase of the organ and removal from the theater. The Keith’s organ was restored by a small group of theater organ enthusiasts, under the direction of Paul Fleming. The men spent more than a year working on the instrument’s maze of switches, circuits, pipes and sound effects.
This ad was in the Van Nuys Valley News in February 1974. Per William’s post immediately above, the address should be corrected in the introduction. http://tinyurl.com/dlg627
Entering the address on this site produces aerial views of the drive-in from 1948, 1956 and 1968. By 1980 you can see that the theater has been paved over. View link
There must have been enough of a population base at that time to justify the construction. Panning around the 1969 photo shows only farmland, and I can’t imagine 1963 being any different.
I have not been to this theater to see a film, although I took some pictures of it last year. This place flies under the radar, publicity-wise. The Laemmle place closer to Old Town gets a lot more business.
If you enter the address here you will see three aerial photos showing the drive-in. No street number is needed, the drive-in will pop right up. In the 1969 photo, the drive-in is in the middle of nowhere as none of the surrounding property had been developed. View link
If you enter the address on this site you can see the Rio in the 1980, 1972 and 1952 photos. Just south of the theater in the 1952 photo is what apppears to be a drive-in restaurant. The theater appears to be a sizable building. View link
If you enter the address in this site, you will see aerial photos from 1948 to the present. In the first shot Culver City is farmland, and the theater is under construction. Over the years you see the area developing. In the contemporary photos there is no trace of the drive-in. View link
I found this photo circa 1945 in the LAPL database. For some reason it doesn’t show up when you enter Rialto as a search term. I think this is the Rialto in South Pasadena. http://jpg1.lapl.org/00078/00078486.jpg
Scroll down on this site for some photos of the Adams. The blog author mentions an aka of Carteri.
http://www.dsoderblog.com/
There are some nice photos of the theater on this site:
http://www.dsoderblog.com/
Here is a November 1969 ad from the Dover Times-Reporter:
http://tinyurl.com/cv3khe
Here is an item from the Oakland Tribune dated 11/4/48:
What was once a dog track and later a large trailer court has now become one of the largest drive-in movie theaters on the Pacific Coast. After months of construction, the El Cerrito Motor Movies, at Fairmount Avenue, a block east of San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito will have its opening tomorrow night. The drive-in, which will be operated under direction of Blumenfeld Theaters, will have three changes of program a week, the change days being Friday, Sunday and Tuesday.
My only quibble would be that I don’t recall ever seeing billboards of that nature on Main Street, at least not on that part of Main. if it’s not this Gayety I wonder which one it could be. I think it may be on Broadway, but perhaps not in Los Angeles?
Interesting that they advertise it as having a Broadway stage show. There is a Gayety on Central Avenue in LA but none on Broadway that I know of. Maybe they were fudging since Broadway is three blocks away.
All the news plus coffee and doughnuts. From the Oakland Tribune, 10/20/39:
Opening tomorrow at noon, the Franklin Newsreel Theater will fire its first entertainment bombardment. Thirty or more minutes of the latest news, plus one full-length picture, “War Clouds Over Europe,” starring Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson, three short subjects, a musical reel, cartoon and novelty subject will provide two hours of the grandest show you have ever seen
In the lobby of the Franklin Newsreel Theater The Tribune’s exclusive A P. Wirephotos will be on display as a service to its patrons. Here you will see the latest happenings from “coast to coast in six minutes.” Another novel innovation of this newsreel theater will be the free coffee and doughnuts served in the lobby, every day, from noon until 2:30 p.m.
Here is an ad for the Roosevelt in the Oakland Tribune, July 1938:
http://tinyurl.com/c8qko7
Here is part of a June 1965 article in the Syracuse Herald Journal:
Dean Robinson of Penn Yan, who delighted local music lovers last year with an informal concert on the giant Loew’s Theater organ, will appear again on June 17 to put the newly-restored RKO Keith’s organ through its paces. Robinson, who plays regularly for a well-known Penn Yan supper club, has been engaged by the fledgling Syracuse Theater Organ Society, which is seeking to save the Keith’s organ for Syracuse.
This instrument is the only one of its kind left in the Syracuse area. The Loew’s organ has been sold to California interests. Officials of the association will solicit assistance from local people in their campaign to keep the organ here. Persons who are interested will be asked to join the society.
The RKO Keith’s theater will be razed in about a year, but measures to save the organ must be taken before that time. Association officials estimate that about $10,000 will be needed to finance purchase of the organ and removal from the theater. The Keith’s organ was restored by a small group of theater organ enthusiasts, under the direction of Paul Fleming. The men spent more than a year working on the instrument’s maze of switches, circuits, pipes and sound effects.
There are aerial views of the drive-in from 1964 and 1980 on this site. Enter the theater address to see the photos.
View link
This ad was in the Van Nuys Valley News in February 1974. Per William’s post immediately above, the address should be corrected in the introduction.
http://tinyurl.com/dlg627
You can see an aerial view from 1971 if you enter the theater address on this site.
View link
Entering the address on this site produces aerial views of the drive-in from 1948, 1956 and 1968. By 1980 you can see that the theater has been paved over.
View link
Enter the address on this site for some aerial views in the 50s, 70s and 80s:
View link
There must have been enough of a population base at that time to justify the construction. Panning around the 1969 photo shows only farmland, and I can’t imagine 1963 being any different.
I have not been to this theater to see a film, although I took some pictures of it last year. This place flies under the radar, publicity-wise. The Laemmle place closer to Old Town gets a lot more business.
If you enter the address here you will see three aerial photos showing the drive-in. No street number is needed, the drive-in will pop right up. In the 1969 photo, the drive-in is in the middle of nowhere as none of the surrounding property had been developed.
View link
If you enter the address on this site you can see the Rio in the 1980, 1972 and 1952 photos. Just south of the theater in the 1952 photo is what apppears to be a drive-in restaurant. The theater appears to be a sizable building.
View link
Here is a photo taken today:
http://tinyurl.com/cdczlz
The related links site is defunct and should be removed.
If you enter the address in this site, you will see aerial photos from 1948 to the present. In the first shot Culver City is farmland, and the theater is under construction. Over the years you see the area developing. In the contemporary photos there is no trace of the drive-in.
View link
An ad for the Imperial is on the left in this December 1947 issue of the Long Beach Press Telegram:
http://tinyurl.com/dnml69
Here is a December 1947 ad from the Long Beach Press-Telegram:
http://tinyurl.com/czqhqr
I found this photo circa 1945 in the LAPL database. For some reason it doesn’t show up when you enter Rialto as a search term. I think this is the Rialto in South Pasadena.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00078/00078486.jpg
The last film to play at the Olympic was “Gordon’s War” with Paul Winfield, according to the LA Times ads of October 1973.