El Rey Theatre

1649 N. Main Street,
Walnut Creek, CA 94596

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Renaissance Rialto, Robert L. Lippert Theatres Inc.

Architects: Alexander Aimwell Cantin, Alexander Mackenzie Cantin

Styles: Streamline Moderne

Previous Names: The Cinema

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The El Rey Theatre opened on July 30, 1937. In 1941 it was refurbished by father & son architects Alexander Aimwell Cantin & Alexander McKenzie Cantin, who, in 1945 former the architectural firm Cantin and Cantin. architectural firm Cantin & Cantin. Although I only attended the movie house a few times in the mid-1970’s, I believe (if memory serves me right) the theatre was located on Main Street at Civic Drive (or in close proximity). I also have memory of the old Greyhound bus terminal maybe being a block or so away from the theatre.

In the mid-1970’s it operated as an adult movie theatre. What I can say with more certainty is that in its closing years, the El Rey Theatre became an art house playing such foreign films as “City of Women”, “Voyage en Douce”, and “La Cage Aux Folles II”. It was also around this time that the theatre began running Saturday midnight showings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”.

The El Rey Theatre closed its doors on Tuesday July 28, 1981. Their last feature was “Cocktail Molotov” starring Elise Caron.

For the week prior, the San Francisco Chronicle ran “Farewell Week for the El Rey” in its movie listing pages allowing Bay Area residents one last chance to visit their 44 year old movie house. It was demolished in December 1983.

Contributed by Robert Merk

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Recent comments (view all 18 comments)

stuberman on February 17, 2007 at 10:57 pm

Yeah – last time I was in the area it looked like Walnut Creek had grown up to become quite the financial center.

I have lost touch with all of the folks I knew there glad you are still around.

kencmcintyre on May 27, 2007 at 11:12 pm

Demolished in December 1983. There is a photo on this page:
http://tinyurl.com/2lo7ft

sandybeach on June 30, 2007 at 10:21 pm

hiya! i had the blessing of working @ el rey at the ripe age of 21 in 1980. anybody remember the spookys"? wierd noone talks about that.they had and el rey had some spooky shiznit goin on. ask terry and stuart. they know. in fact worked for both of them. have great memories of both terry and stuart and hope to hear from them sometime soon. history is a wonderful thing…………..

trainmaster on April 27, 2008 at 9:14 pm

To the post of Mr.Robert Merk:

You are correct, sir about the El Rey being close to the “Creamery” as the old Greyhound Station was known. I took a few pictures of the place before it was demolished in 1974. It was not aross the theater, but from the El Rey, a couple of buildings north to Civic Drive (which was the ONLY way to get do downtown Walnut Creek in the 1940/1950’s area) and across the street.

Does anyone know when the lovely marquee/facade was ruined by that flat front similiar to the fate of the Enean? Also, is anyone aware of pictures of the auditorium of the El Rey? That was a nice theater. I have a couple of photos of the exterior.

trainmaster

trainmaster on April 27, 2008 at 9:16 pm

Oh, one more thing:

I videotaped some sort of “Festival” on Main Street in 1982 and remember a Radio Shack being close to the former El Rey. I could swear the name of the theater then was “Main Street Cinema.”

Comments, please?

Thanks

trainmaster

kencmcintyre on May 21, 2009 at 6:28 pm

Here is a 1981 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/qt9bve

trainmaster on February 5, 2011 at 12:18 am

The El Rey was operated by the Bloomburg Brothers along with the Oaks in Berkeley, the Cerrito in El Cerrito and a Drive-In theater in San Rafael.

I don’t know when the El Rey was sold. I have an idea that the marquee was demolished in the remodling which took place in the mid-1970’s, as I attended a showing of “First Love” starring Susan Dey
in 1977 and the front was altered. They wanted a larger lobby, like the Enean in Concord. Fortunately, the auditorium was left intact -
they already had a widescreen installed.

The City of Walnut Creek wanted that whole block for its new city hall and other buildings, so it was curtains for the El Rey. It was destroyed by the bulldozers about 9 years after the Creamery and Greyhoud Bus Station. Today, Walnut Creek hardly looks like it did even some 38-40 years ago.

Trainmaster