The interior of this theatre viewed from the balcony, showing organ grilles, screen, and an unoccupied but illuminated organ console, was used to play the part of an anonymous LA-area theatre in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” “Grays State Theatre” is listed in the locations in the end credits.
Yes, that is the theatre that is now the Guiness Museum. The theatre was built in 1919 and is said to be the first movie theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. The facade and signage shown in the above image (which appear almost the same today) are from a 1930s remodeling designed by S. Charles Lee.
I was in Rochester in 1999, and enjoyed a movie at this great theatre. The cafe had a very arthouse-y hip look and atmosphere, yet comfortable, and the original theatre’s integrity has been completely respected, though it is clear that at one time the auditorium had been redecorated very plainly, as hinted at in the above description.. The facade is a wonder to behold at night, with the neon of the vertical sign reflecting in the shiny black terra cotta of the facade.
To set the record straight: What is listed here as State Theatre IV is the former Strand/Rio/Regency, built in the Teens—always and still a single screen—across the street from the State (former Golden State) opened in 1926. In the photo above, the Rio is just out of view to the left. The State is obviously on the right. The State is currently a triplex, hence the appelation of the theatre covered on this page as “screen IV” of the State. It ceased being the Regency circa 1994 and became “State screen IV” so that movies could be moved over across the street (and vice versa) without having to go back out to bid.
The “tacky grey box” mentioned above is the plain concrete shell of the auditorium, with the Hollywood Video neon logo applied to it. I agree that the vertical sign was applied to the building without any attempt to tastfully join it to the surface. However, had the city and other concerned citizens not fought to save the sign—with the idea that it was good advertising to have a landmark sign proclaiming the name of the city visible from both El Camino Real and the new transit station—all the property owner would have saved was the “grey box.” From what I understand, the city maintains and operates the vertical sign, with no involvement from the property owner.
The Melody/Marina was a Quonset-style theatre with a very simple Moderne facade which followed the arched profile of the Quonset. The marquee was semicircular, horizontally echoing the arch shape of the facade.
This theatre has been an office building for quite a while. The upper half of the facade, with a Moderne interpretation of a Greco-Roman arch with a circular window in its center, still survives as originally designed.
In this theatre’s later years of operation, when so many theatres were losing their neon marquees in favor of plastic ones in the name of maintenance, this theatre preserved its neon-bedecked marquee because the manager at the time took care of it himself.
A friend of mine once worked for the demolition company who gutted the Manor when it was undergoing conversion to offices. He remembers operating heavy equipment in tearing up the auditorium floor. He remembers murals on the walls in what he recalls as an undersea motif. Ironically, this friend later grew to love old theatres and is now a fellow old theatre fan.
Diane, I lived in Fremont in the mid-1980s. At that point there was still a mural on the auditorium ceiling. It was of a pair of flying nude nymphs or goddesses with blue-greyish skin against a deep red sun, with a sort of mustard colored background. The mural was in excellent shape then. I did a colored pencil rendering of it at that time which I still have. The rest of the auditorium was plain, obviously painted-over, with dark blue walls and plain light fixtures along the walls (not original). At the time I lived in Fremont, the Center was a $2.50 double feature house. Immediately before that, it was briefly called the Azteca, and ran Spanish-language films.
I saw the United Artists Building in 1995. It was in bad shape then. So sad to see that it is being further abused.
Re. graffiti. Much if it is indeed art of a sort. This does not excuse it being put on any surface without the owner’s permission. This is indeed vandalism. Just like any other artform, there is graffiti muralwork which I find attractive, and work which I find ugly. As for the simple tagging…it is basically the human version of a dog lifting his leg on a fire hydrant or tree.
At least these graffiti artists seem to be studying history somewhat—seeing that they are using Maya heiroglyphs to inspire some of their work. That’s more than one can say for some of their contemporaries, who have no regard whatsoever for learning history or art. This does not excuse the vandalizing the UA Building, it’s just an observation.
As I too have been involved with the State Theatre for over a decade, I would simply like to add my hurrahs for this new development. These plans fully respect the theatre’s history and aesthetic integrity, while providing practical plans for its continued operation.
I have recently confirmed my Dad’s use of the posessive “Poli’s Palace” rather than “Poli Palace” by the discovery of a 1920s postcard which was on ebay recently which showed a vertical sign on the theatre which used the posessive form. I didn’t bid on it, and don’t know who won it. The sign was definitely before the Loew’s acquisition, and likely the theatre’s original sign.
While I’m not in the market for theatre seats (I already have a dozen from San Francisco’s Harding Theatre in storage waiting for when my wife and I build our home theatre), you may be interested to know that the end standard design seen here was known as the Wheat motif, owing to the stylized art deco pattern’s resemblance to an inverted piece of wheat. Check out an old “wheat” penny and you’ll see a similar stylization of wheat. Two theatres which come to mind which have this style of aisle/end standard are San Francisco’s Castro, and San Rafael’s Rafael.
Ah yes, they Grey Paint Craze of the 1980s, actually the Grey-and-Blue-Grey paint Craze. The Burbank Theatre in San Jose was a late victim of this as well. Really not an improvement over the Brown-and-Tan Craze of the 70s.
The Fox was formerly known as the Hi-Ho Theatre. As the years have gone by and the red paint in between the FOX letters has continued to fade, outlines of the old HI-HO letters and the patched holes for neon have become more visible. When named the Hi-Ho, the present vertical sign was crowned by a rainbow-like top with concentric half-circles of neon.
I am told that the Fox appears in one of the Disney “Witch Mountain” movies from the 1970s.
Paso Robles also once had the T&D Theatre, further downtown.
I’ve passed by this drive-in along Highway 101 for decades. I noticed not long ago that the red neon SUNSET sign tower sign is much better maintained these days. The fact that it’s run by a drive-in buff explains this. I have gone off the highway to find the entrance and marquee sign. There’s nice neon on it as well, and is worth a look.
I drove by this theatre about ten years ago and photographed the sign. I don’t typically photograph drive-ins (I love them, but, one has to specialize sometimes). I’m glad to know it is still open and appreciated. Santa Maria lost all of its old downtown theatres, including the large Fox Santa Maria, which was demolished for a mall because Mervyn’s department store, one of the prospective anchor tenants, didn’t want to be located next to a movie theatre (Thank you, Mervyn’s, we all know how badly we need more of YOU!!)
At least there is the Hi-Way Drive-In, and, if you head a few miles West across flat agricultural land to the tiny town of Guadalupe, there is the little Royal Theatre, now used for town meetings and events, but with a nice restored neon marquee and sign.
To correct Mr. VanBibber’s assertion that the Jose was also known as the Victory and Crest…Sorry. Incorrect. The Victory was on North First Street. It became the Crest in the 40s. When it burned in the 1960s, its vertical sign was salvaged, given new letters reading JOSE, and installed on the Jose, where it remains. At the time General Theatrical Co. operated both the Crest and Jose.
The ticket lobby is nearing completion and is looking beautiful. Marble cladding of the columns is complete. The multi-paned arched windows and doors of the entrance vestibule are in place. Exact replicas of the original poster case frames are in place. Lantern-style wall fixtures replicated from photos of the originals are in placde. The ornamental plaster of the false balconies overhead have been brought back to their original dark faux woodgrain coloration. The marquee has been finally trimmed out and completed. Work is still in progress on installing the poster cases and the marble slabs to the surfaces which frame the entrance and face the street, and the floor of the ticket lobby has yet to be tiled. The vertical sign still has yet to arrive for installation. Preparations were underway for a new sidewalk surface in front of the entire South First Street frontage. The new structures adjacent to the original facade appear to be all but complete, from what I could see beyond the construction barricade. These additions are simple and modern, but subtly continue the feel of the monumental historic facade without detracting from it.
The new Market Street extension facade and entrance is nearly complete, having been clad in stone and tile. There is an obvious and, I believe, successful attempt to harmonize with the facade of the adjacent Sainte Claire Hotel. There is a nice exterior balcony on the second floor which will enable patrons to stand outside and watch passersby and theatre patrons coming and going via the Market Street entrance. The very simple marquee over said entrance has an LED reader board. This new entrance is equipped with its own box office window and two pair of doors.
I spoke briefly with one of the construction workers there, and he was clearly proud to be working on such a high-profile and beautiful project. He profusely praised the decorative painting of the interior.
I saw the outside of this theatre in 1981. It was closed. What impressed me at the time was that not only were both original marquees (there were two—one over the main entrance and one over a side entrance)intact, as well as the vertical sign, but the changeable letters on the marquee were the original milk glass and sheet metal kind. The milk glass was white, and the sheetmetal “background” surface was dark green, as was the background of all the signage.
This theatre dates back to the ‘Teens. Some of the building’s original look is still evident along the side street. The facade and neon signage date to the 40s. A nice touch are the four etched stars on each blue glass pane of the entry doors.
The interior of this theatre viewed from the balcony, showing organ grilles, screen, and an unoccupied but illuminated organ console, was used to play the part of an anonymous LA-area theatre in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” “Grays State Theatre” is listed in the locations in the end credits.
Yes, that is the theatre that is now the Guiness Museum. The theatre was built in 1919 and is said to be the first movie theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. The facade and signage shown in the above image (which appear almost the same today) are from a 1930s remodeling designed by S. Charles Lee.
I was in Rochester in 1999, and enjoyed a movie at this great theatre. The cafe had a very arthouse-y hip look and atmosphere, yet comfortable, and the original theatre’s integrity has been completely respected, though it is clear that at one time the auditorium had been redecorated very plainly, as hinted at in the above description.. The facade is a wonder to behold at night, with the neon of the vertical sign reflecting in the shiny black terra cotta of the facade.
It’s been renamed again. It is now Pete Escovedo’s Latin Jazz Club. Other than the signage, the building appears the same on the outside.
To set the record straight: What is listed here as State Theatre IV is the former Strand/Rio/Regency, built in the Teens—always and still a single screen—across the street from the State (former Golden State) opened in 1926. In the photo above, the Rio is just out of view to the left. The State is obviously on the right. The State is currently a triplex, hence the appelation of the theatre covered on this page as “screen IV” of the State. It ceased being the Regency circa 1994 and became “State screen IV” so that movies could be moved over across the street (and vice versa) without having to go back out to bid.
The “tacky grey box” mentioned above is the plain concrete shell of the auditorium, with the Hollywood Video neon logo applied to it. I agree that the vertical sign was applied to the building without any attempt to tastfully join it to the surface. However, had the city and other concerned citizens not fought to save the sign—with the idea that it was good advertising to have a landmark sign proclaiming the name of the city visible from both El Camino Real and the new transit station—all the property owner would have saved was the “grey box.” From what I understand, the city maintains and operates the vertical sign, with no involvement from the property owner.
I drove by the Mexico two days ago. The marquee is now blank, as are the poster cases. It looks obviously unused now.
The Melody/Marina was a Quonset-style theatre with a very simple Moderne facade which followed the arched profile of the Quonset. The marquee was semicircular, horizontally echoing the arch shape of the facade.
This theatre has been an office building for quite a while. The upper half of the facade, with a Moderne interpretation of a Greco-Roman arch with a circular window in its center, still survives as originally designed.
In this theatre’s later years of operation, when so many theatres were losing their neon marquees in favor of plastic ones in the name of maintenance, this theatre preserved its neon-bedecked marquee because the manager at the time took care of it himself.
A friend of mine once worked for the demolition company who gutted the Manor when it was undergoing conversion to offices. He remembers operating heavy equipment in tearing up the auditorium floor. He remembers murals on the walls in what he recalls as an undersea motif. Ironically, this friend later grew to love old theatres and is now a fellow old theatre fan.
Diane, I lived in Fremont in the mid-1980s. At that point there was still a mural on the auditorium ceiling. It was of a pair of flying nude nymphs or goddesses with blue-greyish skin against a deep red sun, with a sort of mustard colored background. The mural was in excellent shape then. I did a colored pencil rendering of it at that time which I still have. The rest of the auditorium was plain, obviously painted-over, with dark blue walls and plain light fixtures along the walls (not original). At the time I lived in Fremont, the Center was a $2.50 double feature house. Immediately before that, it was briefly called the Azteca, and ran Spanish-language films.
I saw the United Artists Building in 1995. It was in bad shape then. So sad to see that it is being further abused.
Re. graffiti. Much if it is indeed art of a sort. This does not excuse it being put on any surface without the owner’s permission. This is indeed vandalism. Just like any other artform, there is graffiti muralwork which I find attractive, and work which I find ugly. As for the simple tagging…it is basically the human version of a dog lifting his leg on a fire hydrant or tree.
At least these graffiti artists seem to be studying history somewhat—seeing that they are using Maya heiroglyphs to inspire some of their work. That’s more than one can say for some of their contemporaries, who have no regard whatsoever for learning history or art. This does not excuse the vandalizing the UA Building, it’s just an observation.
As I too have been involved with the State Theatre for over a decade, I would simply like to add my hurrahs for this new development. These plans fully respect the theatre’s history and aesthetic integrity, while providing practical plans for its continued operation.
I have recently confirmed my Dad’s use of the posessive “Poli’s Palace” rather than “Poli Palace” by the discovery of a 1920s postcard which was on ebay recently which showed a vertical sign on the theatre which used the posessive form. I didn’t bid on it, and don’t know who won it. The sign was definitely before the Loew’s acquisition, and likely the theatre’s original sign.
It should also be added that the part of the tower that had the FOX lettering used to turn.
While I’m not in the market for theatre seats (I already have a dozen from San Francisco’s Harding Theatre in storage waiting for when my wife and I build our home theatre), you may be interested to know that the end standard design seen here was known as the Wheat motif, owing to the stylized art deco pattern’s resemblance to an inverted piece of wheat. Check out an old “wheat” penny and you’ll see a similar stylization of wheat. Two theatres which come to mind which have this style of aisle/end standard are San Francisco’s Castro, and San Rafael’s Rafael.
Ah yes, they Grey Paint Craze of the 1980s, actually the Grey-and-Blue-Grey paint Craze. The Burbank Theatre in San Jose was a late victim of this as well. Really not an improvement over the Brown-and-Tan Craze of the 70s.
Kudos to the operators of the Palm for having such a terrific little sign!
The Fox was formerly known as the Hi-Ho Theatre. As the years have gone by and the red paint in between the FOX letters has continued to fade, outlines of the old HI-HO letters and the patched holes for neon have become more visible. When named the Hi-Ho, the present vertical sign was crowned by a rainbow-like top with concentric half-circles of neon.
I am told that the Fox appears in one of the Disney “Witch Mountain” movies from the 1970s.
Paso Robles also once had the T&D Theatre, further downtown.
I’ve passed by this drive-in along Highway 101 for decades. I noticed not long ago that the red neon SUNSET sign tower sign is much better maintained these days. The fact that it’s run by a drive-in buff explains this. I have gone off the highway to find the entrance and marquee sign. There’s nice neon on it as well, and is worth a look.
I drove by this theatre about ten years ago and photographed the sign. I don’t typically photograph drive-ins (I love them, but, one has to specialize sometimes). I’m glad to know it is still open and appreciated. Santa Maria lost all of its old downtown theatres, including the large Fox Santa Maria, which was demolished for a mall because Mervyn’s department store, one of the prospective anchor tenants, didn’t want to be located next to a movie theatre (Thank you, Mervyn’s, we all know how badly we need more of YOU!!)
At least there is the Hi-Way Drive-In, and, if you head a few miles West across flat agricultural land to the tiny town of Guadalupe, there is the little Royal Theatre, now used for town meetings and events, but with a nice restored neon marquee and sign.
To correct Mr. VanBibber’s assertion that the Jose was also known as the Victory and Crest…Sorry. Incorrect. The Victory was on North First Street. It became the Crest in the 40s. When it burned in the 1960s, its vertical sign was salvaged, given new letters reading JOSE, and installed on the Jose, where it remains. At the time General Theatrical Co. operated both the Crest and Jose.
This theatre still has its original organ.
Update from a walkby the other day:
The ticket lobby is nearing completion and is looking beautiful. Marble cladding of the columns is complete. The multi-paned arched windows and doors of the entrance vestibule are in place. Exact replicas of the original poster case frames are in place. Lantern-style wall fixtures replicated from photos of the originals are in placde. The ornamental plaster of the false balconies overhead have been brought back to their original dark faux woodgrain coloration. The marquee has been finally trimmed out and completed. Work is still in progress on installing the poster cases and the marble slabs to the surfaces which frame the entrance and face the street, and the floor of the ticket lobby has yet to be tiled. The vertical sign still has yet to arrive for installation. Preparations were underway for a new sidewalk surface in front of the entire South First Street frontage. The new structures adjacent to the original facade appear to be all but complete, from what I could see beyond the construction barricade. These additions are simple and modern, but subtly continue the feel of the monumental historic facade without detracting from it.
The new Market Street extension facade and entrance is nearly complete, having been clad in stone and tile. There is an obvious and, I believe, successful attempt to harmonize with the facade of the adjacent Sainte Claire Hotel. There is a nice exterior balcony on the second floor which will enable patrons to stand outside and watch passersby and theatre patrons coming and going via the Market Street entrance. The very simple marquee over said entrance has an LED reader board. This new entrance is equipped with its own box office window and two pair of doors.
I spoke briefly with one of the construction workers there, and he was clearly proud to be working on such a high-profile and beautiful project. He profusely praised the decorative painting of the interior.
I saw the outside of this theatre in 1981. It was closed. What impressed me at the time was that not only were both original marquees (there were two—one over the main entrance and one over a side entrance)intact, as well as the vertical sign, but the changeable letters on the marquee were the original milk glass and sheet metal kind. The milk glass was white, and the sheetmetal “background” surface was dark green, as was the background of all the signage.
This theatre dates back to the ‘Teens. Some of the building’s original look is still evident along the side street. The facade and neon signage date to the 40s. A nice touch are the four etched stars on each blue glass pane of the entry doors.