Crest Theatre
4275 Atlantic Boulevard,
Long Beach,
CA
90807
4275 Atlantic Boulevard,
Long Beach,
CA
90807
18 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 70 comments
On Historic Aerials what appears tobe the theatre is there for the years 1953, 1954 & 1972. But it gone in the 1980 shot.
Here is part of a November 1978 article from the LA Times:
IDM Corp., Long Beach-based residential and commercial developer, is planning four developments using private financing in a revitalization of the Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach. IDM has acquired two vacant parcels on Long Beach Blvd and two theaters, the Towne and the Crest, on Atlantic Avenue.
After leveling the Towne Theater, IDM began construction of the 22,000-square foot professional center at 4425 Atlantic Ave. Plans are being completed on the $1.5 million Crest Business Center at 4275 Atlantic Ave., at the former Crest Theater site. Both projects are scheduled to be finished in the spring of 1979.
That Trader Joes has tobe a newer building and not a remodel. The Crest Theatre was a longer building that went to the alley behind the building. The Trader Joes building is not that tall to the pictures of the original theatre. The Crest had a rear stadium style seating area. Which would mean a higher building plus projection booth. If you go to Historic Aerials.com and see the 1953 and 1954 shots the roof is different style and their is a Very large parking lot near to the theatre. I would say it’s a new building over the original theatre.
i believe they remodeld the old building i was there last monday
and when i looked at the right side of the building or the north side
without all the new decor on it – it looked like that side toward
the back was not redecorated or more like the original siding was
i took photos and can send you them i need an email address to send them to tho
When you say “was located”, you’re telling us that the Trader Joes building replaced the Crest building?
i check with long beach historical society after posting this and christie there confirmed that the crest was located where trader joes is now they had to use the 4200 number block for the small shopping center is why they changed the number of the building to 4121 even tho it is actually in the 4200 block since it is north of cartegena
I think it’s demolished. I’ve been up and down that block dozens of times, and if there was an old theater I would have stopped and poked around.
I have, but I can’t tell from there if there is any remodeled theater.
I haven’t seen anything there resembling the theater. I can take another look the next time I’m in that area.
believe the old building is still there and has been remodeled,
trader joes is now there, the street number was changed because a small shopping center was constructed on the empty lot to the north
between the theatre and burlinghall street
i could be wrong but i think i might be right
I grew up in Lakewood, but my mom used to drop my girlfriends and I off at the Crest on Friday nights. Students got in for a buck back in the early 70’s and I still have my ticket stubs in my old scrap book. People just don’t raise their kids free range any more. I guess it’s just too dangerous. …..sigh…..
My cousin and I went to the Crest almost every Saturday during the 50’s .. it was a quarter to get in and we got a another quarter for snacks. Plain popcorn was 15 cents and candy was 6 cents. It was always a double feature and the manager, Mr. Francis, knew my mother was a Gore (and the Gore Bros. started the West Coast Theaters) so he always let us sit in the loges (which usually cost extra) and didn’t kick us out when he should have. In the 50’s, you could send two 9-11 year olds out to the movies by themselves and not worry. I don’t remember what year I saw Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Day of the Trifids but I still hate horror movies and won’t watch
them. The Towne Theater down the street just wasn’t as “cool”. Those were the days……..
Yeah for me that will always be the golden age of movie going in my lifetime. Dazzling Hollywood films in elegant single screen theaters where movies still had something of an event status even if they weren’t on roadshow. And adults could bring their kids even if it was an adult movie.
Right after this came the American new wave(films which today I still am constitutionally incapable of watching) and the beginning of the chopping up of those wonderful theaters.
Narrow long coffin like theaters and pretentious grainy inert movies.
And many consider that the American movie golden age!
I guess it’s the drugs.
Many of you have mentioned seeing movies in the sixties like Mary Poppins and around the world in 80 days, Those magnificent men in their flying machines and Sound of music. I remember as a kid growing up in Long Beach that the city would sell a set of tickets for a series of movies at a bunch of the Long Beach theaters. There was about a movie a week for the whole Summer and I think about 5 theaters involved with two movies each. I think that is where I saw all of those above listed movies. I think the Towne, Art, and Belmont may have also been involved.
Here is a November 1963 ad from the Press-Telegram:
http://tinyurl.com/2drv85
The Historical Society of Long Beach has a bunch of photos of the opening night and some of Welch’s and other Bixby Knolls landmarks. I saw a sign saying they were moving from their downtown location to the old Harris Furs shop that was across the street from the Crest. It’ll be a perfect place to look at pictures of the old neighborhood! I found their website at: www.historicalsocietylb.org
Besides the Loyola theatre being similar to the Crest there was another theatre, the Culver which was tri-plexed in the mid 70’s. THe Culver was also operated by Mann Theatres.
That part of Atlantic Boulevard had three movie theatres, Crest, Towne a few blocks north and Atlantic which was just past the railroad bridge.
I saw many films at the Crest during the 60’s. In 1965 dad took the family there to see an evening showing of It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. The line for that show went past Lloyd’s of L.B. furniture store all the way to the next street corner. Other films I saw there includes Mary Poppins, and HELP! also in 1965. The last times I went to the Crest was in the early 70’s to see the controversial movie Survive and later the long forgotten Oklahoma Crude in 1973.
One note about the Crest was that this theatre had no balcony. Instead the rows of seats that were a third of the way back rose up in a stadium seating configuration.
The Crest Theatre opened on January 23rd. 1947.
Ah….the Crest! What a Palace! For kids from our hood (Bixby Knolls and the kids from Hughes Jr., High and Poly High) this row of movie houses and eateries
(don’t forget the famous original Russell’s across the street) were our hang outs on the weekends! We took great pride in calling this theater our own! A great
example of design motif on steroids this Art Moderne decor covered every surfaces with lavish embellishments and gilding … even bellow your feet! They (like all of
their other “sister” movie houses in that chain theaters) had a great swirly floral art design laid into the sidewalk …very much like in a mosaic technique kind of
way called …it went all the way from the entrance around the ticket booth and out to the curb! WE would try and follow the designs around walking on them like
tight ropes waiting for my dad to pick from the Saturday afternoon matinee in the Dodge station wagon. You can still see this same
artistic entrance treatment (including the footprint of the ticket booth!) on the sidewalk down in Belmont Shore on Second St. (south side) where they turned the
old Belmont into a gym. It was located next to the famous Hof’s Hut (best burgers and onion rings on the West Coast!) but alas ..that is history too! Favorite
memory there were the Beatles movies “Hard Days Night” and “Yellow Submarine”!
Now the Towne Theater… not much in style or design …kind of plain “Googie” and nothing compared to the lavish and decadent design that was used the
Crest Theater or in the smoky green low slung jungle of Welch’s….a truly fantastic Art Deco “tropical” palm tree style restaurant just a few doors down from the
movie house on the corner of San Antonio Drive and Atlantic Blvd. (what a street corner unto it’s self…don’t get me started!) BUT… what made going to a
double feature at the Towne good was the Thrifty Drug store across the street that we would hit before the flicks and we would stock up on 5 cent candy bars that
were 3 for a 10 cents instead of 25 cents a piece in their snack bar! Root Beer Barrels and Red Hots or maybe a Big Hunk too!…. and a maybe something that
would last like a Fire stick by Jolly Ranchers or a caramel delight Sugar Daddy …now they would both get you through a movie!
Later years …Best thing of going to the Towne was ….kissing and making out with my first love …the pretty Rhonda M. in the back row of the place were the
lovers always sat! ..who was watching the movie? NOT US! ..But they were watching us! Those ushers would give us the flash light treatment in our faces to try
and break us up! Love …it is a wonderful thing in a dark movie house!
I never saw Goldfinger till years later…but remember the sound track like it was yesterday!:)
Ah yes!..I guess that you don’t do that at the movies anymore…not that I still don’t try!
Tim Moran/artist and Poly High class of 1969
Loved the Crest, the balcony was very cool in the 50’s/60’s. I do remember Welch’s Restaurant, the great variety stores in Bixby Knolls, and our other place to go in the summer was Shady Acres Miniature Golf in North LB. I lived east of the LB airport, but we gladly nagged our parents to drive us to the Crest before we were old enough to get there ourselves. You’d have thought Long Beach could have saved just one of the bigger old theaters.
Here are some additional photos from the LA Library:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036923.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036922.jpg
25,000 fans wait for opening of Crest Theater:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028692.jpg
Here is another photo, courtesy of the LA Library:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036925.jpg