I grew up on HBO and was used to watching movies at home. I remember them holding a contest to see who would name the new theatre coming to Placerville and I sent in 50 submissions thinking that my incredibly creative names (Dream Palace I think was one of them) would be a shoo-in. It never even occurred to me to think of something as mundane and pedestrian as Placerville Cinema 4. I was crushed. Still, once the theatre opened, my movie-going increased dramatically. In the 80s, going to the movies regularly was a treat. There was no streaming competition or even cable competition to speak of and everyone truly was talking about the same thing.
Then I landed my first job here. Okay, maybe not my first job. That dubious honor goes to the month I worked at Burger King. As far as I’m concerned, though, this is where my working life began.
I was a junior in High School and I started here just a couple of weeks before Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home opened. The thrill and energy of the crowd stuck with me and made me a lifelong cinema fan. The first movie I ever saw here for free was Crocodile Dundee. I was thrilled at being able to watch any movie playing for free and I made an effort to watch them all, good or bad. Nothing creates a cinephile quite like working at the movies.
I worked here until the end of 1987 when I started working at the Empire Theatre. Up until 1982, the Empire was the only place you could watch movies and when I started working there it was still a single-screen house. Sadly, just before the summer of 1988, the owner of the Empire converted it into a two-plex, stripping it of all of its charm. Today it is an antique store. When I visit Placerville, I go into the store not to shop, but with melancholy I take in what remnants there are of the old theatre.
The Placerville Cinema 4 is where I learned to be projectionist and at that time it was my greatest wish to be in the union. That dream never came true and projectionists are now a thing of the past, unless you’re working somewhere like the New Beverly or one of the American Cinematheque theatres, where they still play Lawrence of Arabia in 70mm.
I took my projectionist experience to every job after that, circling back around to the Placerville Cinema 4 in 1990, where I was assistant manager for a time.
I moved to San Diego not long after and worked at Mann Hazard Center 7 for about two weeks before hanging up movie theatre work for good.
I worked here for a few months in the late ‘80s. My starkest memory is of the audience love for Scrooged.
This was my first job away from home. I was 18 and had just moved to Valencia. The theatre was close enough for me to walk and/or ride my bike and I really enjoyed doing so, especially since I still didn’t have a car. It snowed that winter. For those unfamiliar with Southern California, snow is VERY rare in the Santa Clarita Valley (or in the entire L.A. region for that matter).
So, I can honestly say, while working in Southern California, I had to walk to work in the snow.
Thanks, Joe! That’s good information and I’ll check out that Google Book.
Mike, I probably should have been more clear. Yes, of course it’s a different building. I assumed from the photo that the Empire Theatre, in one form or another, had always been with the town.
I worked there during its conversion from a single screen to a twin screen. This was in the early summer of 1988. It was nothing short of butchery.
I’m surprised to hear that the theatre was built in the 1929. The following picture makes it seem as if it was there at least in the mid to late 19th century.
I grew up on HBO and was used to watching movies at home. I remember them holding a contest to see who would name the new theatre coming to Placerville and I sent in 50 submissions thinking that my incredibly creative names (Dream Palace I think was one of them) would be a shoo-in. It never even occurred to me to think of something as mundane and pedestrian as Placerville Cinema 4. I was crushed. Still, once the theatre opened, my movie-going increased dramatically. In the 80s, going to the movies regularly was a treat. There was no streaming competition or even cable competition to speak of and everyone truly was talking about the same thing.
Then I landed my first job here. Okay, maybe not my first job. That dubious honor goes to the month I worked at Burger King. As far as I’m concerned, though, this is where my working life began.
I was a junior in High School and I started here just a couple of weeks before Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home opened. The thrill and energy of the crowd stuck with me and made me a lifelong cinema fan. The first movie I ever saw here for free was Crocodile Dundee. I was thrilled at being able to watch any movie playing for free and I made an effort to watch them all, good or bad. Nothing creates a cinephile quite like working at the movies.
I worked here until the end of 1987 when I started working at the Empire Theatre. Up until 1982, the Empire was the only place you could watch movies and when I started working there it was still a single-screen house. Sadly, just before the summer of 1988, the owner of the Empire converted it into a two-plex, stripping it of all of its charm. Today it is an antique store. When I visit Placerville, I go into the store not to shop, but with melancholy I take in what remnants there are of the old theatre.
The Placerville Cinema 4 is where I learned to be projectionist and at that time it was my greatest wish to be in the union. That dream never came true and projectionists are now a thing of the past, unless you’re working somewhere like the New Beverly or one of the American Cinematheque theatres, where they still play Lawrence of Arabia in 70mm.
I took my projectionist experience to every job after that, circling back around to the Placerville Cinema 4 in 1990, where I was assistant manager for a time.
I moved to San Diego not long after and worked at Mann Hazard Center 7 for about two weeks before hanging up movie theatre work for good.
I worked here for a few months in the late ‘80s. My starkest memory is of the audience love for Scrooged.
This was my first job away from home. I was 18 and had just moved to Valencia. The theatre was close enough for me to walk and/or ride my bike and I really enjoyed doing so, especially since I still didn’t have a car. It snowed that winter. For those unfamiliar with Southern California, snow is VERY rare in the Santa Clarita Valley (or in the entire L.A. region for that matter).
So, I can honestly say, while working in Southern California, I had to walk to work in the snow.
Thanks, Joe! That’s good information and I’ll check out that Google Book.
Mike, I probably should have been more clear. Yes, of course it’s a different building. I assumed from the photo that the Empire Theatre, in one form or another, had always been with the town.
Thanks to you both!
Hi, Michael. I was actually referring to the photo that I pasted the link for. Here’s one that’s dated 1849.
http://eldoradocountyhistoricalsociety.org/images/Placerville1849.jpg
So it has to be as old as Placerville itself.
I worked there during its conversion from a single screen to a twin screen. This was in the early summer of 1988. It was nothing short of butchery.
I’m surprised to hear that the theatre was built in the 1929. The following picture makes it seem as if it was there at least in the mid to late 19th century.
http://yesteryearsnews.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/old-placerville.jpg