Mann 9 Theatres
1315 Del Amo Circle East,
Torrance,
CA
90503
1315 Del Amo Circle East,
Torrance,
CA
90503
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This opened on March 22nd, 1991. Its grand opening ad can be found in the photo section for this cinema.
Hi, my name is Tony, i worked for the construction company (SLP Inc.)that gutted an old Ralphs grocery store and turned it into the Mann 9 theatre in 1991, I was there from project start up to grand opening, it was a fun job, Meeting the Ninja Turtles was cool,I see the Gym decided to keep the skylight we put in, a lot has changed since 1991.
As seen by the Street View, this theatre is now an LA Fitness gym.
Hi I’m Ann… I also used to work at Mann9 back in the days.. I remember I’m one of the girls who works at the concession stand and I’m the one who always get the Top Seller of the Week Award who always sells the highest amount of popcorn, super big deals- buy a Large popcorn you’ll get a free drink with free refills..which I think one of the best deals back then. Niel the manager and the rest of the team Mann 9 are all nice people!! I had so much fun working with great team of people! Btw, can anyone tell me how can I reconnect with them? I remember Grace, Carmen, Robert, Mayann, Cris, Mark, etc.. Anyone wants to drop me a message feel free to email me . I would love to see how’s everyone are doing.. Thanks!! :–)
There is a shot of the Mann 9 about a minute into this video:
http://tinyurl.com/ngh29p
omg hi Beth, The best ticket taker in the world! yup, i still have a copy of the mr.p video. I posted my email addr. from previous post, if u have time email me and we can catch up some more!
Hi, my name is Beth and I worked at Mann 9 Theaters from the day it opened in March 1991 till the day it closed, December 2000. I remember going on the interview carrying my 9-month-old son, Joey, in his baby carrier. For all that remember him, he is now almost 19 and going to college. In the very beginning we were trained as ushers at the MB Mann 6. Our first big movie was “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.†We had contests for the Academy Awards. We even had a few movie stars come for private screenings. We also had a softball team for a while. We were so sad when Mr. P left, we made him a movie of all of us. Do you remember that Dhel? And I will especially miss Mr. U, may he rest in peace. I also believe one of the theaters was haunted. I hope L.A. Fittness isn’t too scared of ghosts! I started out as an usher and eventually became permanent ticket taker until the day it closed. I loved my job. It was the best theater EVER. It’s been a lot of years now, and there’s too many names to mention of the people I worked with, Security included, but I just want to say it was fun and I’ll always remember the good times.
Wow— I saw only one movie there, and at the time thought it was the next generation of theaters, taking over for the old UA Del Amo and Mann Old Town theaters.
And then in a blink of an eye it’s gone, too.
Nothing like the life cycle of movie theaters to give you some perspective.
The AMC at Del Amo is doing well. This is across Carson from the former Mann 9. There is a new BJs Brewery and Jerry’s Deli along with PF Changs and the rest. This area has grown considerably from when the two choices were the Mann and the UA on Hawthorne.
Hi my name is Dhel. I was one of the assitant manager there as well. I was hired there 5 months after it had opened. I also came from GCC or the Galleria Cinemas at the SouthBay prior to Mann Del Amo 9. I left around the latter part of 1994. Sorry DeShaun your more likely hired after me. Wow this is a good flashback from the past. I was hired there by it’s first GM, Mr. Rick Pulsipher a.k.a Mr. P. He loves his Gypsy Kings CDs that it’s blasting loudly from the atrium lobby speakers. Yup, Neil Underweiser was the next GM which usually parks his Red Saleen 5.0 Ford Mustang in the front of the box office afraid it of being stolen. Oh and Kevin Webster another assitant manager the one w/ jerry juice curls (lol..)and collects comics. Those Tuxedo uniform is such a drag. I also remember after work my colleagues and I would go to the park by the del amo park, buy a big block of ice and slide over the grassy slopes while intoxicated. Or go to redondo or hermosa beach at night and get wasted. It’s sure was one of the best times of my life! And the other best thing there was that I met the love of my life and future wife, Pearl(also an asst.mgr). I have so much great employees that became great friends there. Hey if anyone of those friends or alumni from Mann like to reminisce and catch up, you can email me at
Thanks! God Bless!
This is my gym now. No trace of the theater remains. I saw JFK there (the Oliver Stone film) as well as the Sixth Sense.
The building that Mann 9 was in was previously a SportMart (or some other sports equipment chain.) The reason why the front of the theaters felt like the back was because it was the back of SportMart and the drive up lane that went under the marqee was the delivery alley. I assume that they put the entrance on that side to give the theater more street presence on Del Amo Circle. It was weird because there was no parking directly in front. Mann 9 closed right after AMC expanded the nearby Rolling Hills Plaza complex to 20 screens. BTW, I saw Titanic there 5x.
I think this was the first theatre in the South Bay to have stadium seating. They had warning signs telling you to watch your step on the stairs leading down the aisles since the incline was steeper than a normal theatre. This was the best theatre in the south bay area, even better than the horrendous new AMC theatres in the Galleria (which used to be General Cinemas before the merger or whatnot). I think it opened in ‘89? The stadium seating was such that you were guaranteed a clear view of the screen, even if a ridiculously tall guy sat right in front of you. And that sound system was top notch for its time. I don’t know why this theatre shut down so quickly. I think Mann wasn’t in good shape financially and had to shut down a lot of their theatres. It was really nothing to look at from the ouside or the inside. It had some ugly pink and blue neon around the marquee out front. I guess it was eye-catching. There were also some weird pyramid shaped(?) skylights above the main lobby. I’m not sure if these are still there. Oh, and I remember one of the weirdest things about the theatre was that right in front of the theatre, right in front of the box office there was a driveway that connected one side of the big parking lot to the other, so people could drive right in front of the theatre. There were even a few parking spots right in front of the theatre along this road. A lot of kids would drive through this driveway with their loud stereos and their lowered cars, showing off to the people lined up to buy tickets. I always thought they were ridiculous. Also this contributed to the overall ugliness of the theatre, since it made the front of the theatre feel like the back alley behind a building. In fact, it sort of was the back alley, since the other side of the building had little shops that faced the parking lot to Del Amo mall. I’d be very curious to see if that theatre was actually supposed to be in that building, or if it was sort of shoehorned into that building because there was space left over. It was all very weird. But the theatre was awesome. Good times.
Awesome Awesome Theatre! Helped to make the letters THX a household name. Sad that it’s gone.
It’s unreal how quick some of these are built and then go.