Cinema 1 Theatre
363 Main Street,
Salinas,
CA
93901
363 Main Street,
Salinas,
CA
93901
8 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 33 of 33 comments
I was a relief projectionist at the El Rey in 1964. One of the requirements as projectionist was to put a white light on the screen every day before opening so that Sy could get on stage and sometimes do a little dance. Interesting fellow who left me with fond memories of just how colorful some of our movie theatre people were.
Always an interesting day in the projection room of the El Rey. There was a discipline involved that seems to have gone by the wayside in so many areas these days.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ben Kehe
Motion Picture Projection Services, Inc.
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
918 906 3715
Recently-discovered photos show that the tropical murals of the El Rey were NOT the original decor. The streamlined ornamental plaster—yes, but there were originally geometric deco patterns all over the walls and ceiling, much like on the tilework over the lobby drinking fountain!
The Molinari boys were always amazed that “Cigar Butt Gertz” could know which one of us threw the popcorn box. It was rumored that Gertz was a war hero with a metal plate in his head-but I have not idea if that was true.
The El Rey Theatre was such a cool looking theatre. The well-dressed stage area (such as it was) was always very nice looking. And the murals on the sidewalls were unlike any other theatre in the Central Coast area.
For the most part, the exterior is quite intact and could look great again with some restoration. The building itself is a solid reinforced concrete structure.
Now, the theatre has been closed so long, and thanks to that miserable church the murals destroyed, and no seats, it would take a fortune to bring it up to code and restore.
I was looking at the building last week. Judging by the relationship of the rear wall to the north side exit, the stage cannot be more than 8' deep—just enough room for some big theatre speakers.
As a kid growing up in Silliness, you had not lived until you had been kicked out of the El Rey by manager-for-life, Sy Gertz.
Sy could suddenly show up in the row right behind the noise makers, lift the offenders out of the seat and toss them out on the street.
Sy had a very long memory too! The interior of the El Rey was easily the most attractive in Silliness. The wall murals were beautiful.
Damn that home-brew, invent-a-church for painting out the murals during their faulted, misdirected “theatre purification” in the late 1980s.
I love this theatre! Heading north up Main street it dramatically appears in the distance and dominates everything in the vicinity..A sureal god of a former movie palace. Still “for lease”
The El Rey Theatre is located at 363 Main Street and it seated 800 people.
The El Rey was built in 1935. Though built principally for movies, the theatre was equipped with a small stage. Norma Jean Baker, before her journey to stardom, emceed a stage presentation there, when she was the Castroville Artichoke Queen. In the early 1980s, the theatre was renamed CINEMA 1, and given an exterior paint job, to try to clean up its image from its previous use as a porn house. It switched to bargain movies, and was only marginally successful. Throughout its operating history, the interior remained surprisingly intact—tropical themed murals, most of the original seating, swagged and tasseled curtains, and moderne light fixtures. After suffering damage in the 1989 earthquake, the theatre did not reopen. A group tried to convert it into a church, and, despite some local opposition, painted the entire interior white! Then they were told by the city that they could not operate a church on Main Street, but the damage had been done. A coffee shop operated briefly in the lobby, but since then, the theatre has remained closed.