Trona Theater
13323 Main Street,
Trona,
CA
93562
13323 Main Street,
Trona,
CA
93562
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Fox West Coast Theaters Corp., Mann Theatres
Functions: Restaurant, Storage
Previous Names: Fox Theater
Nearby Theaters
The Trona Theater opened in November 18, 1954 as a Fox West Coast Theater. Fox eventually sold the theater to the Mann chain, which then sold the theater to a third chain. At that point, the name was changed from Fox Theater to Trona Theater.
The last chain closed the theater in 1984. There were sporadic attempts made by subsequent lessees to re-open the theater, but it closed for the last time on August 31, 1991. The building is now owned by a chemical company, which leases out the front of the space to a restaurant. The rest of the building is used for storage.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
Not to be confused with the Trona Theatre, Trona, CA (800 seats), which is listed in Film Daily Yearbook’s from at least 1941 thru 1952.
No. The theatre I wrote of was new at the time. 1954. A Fox West Coast Theatre.
So there were two theaters in Trona in the 1950s? Seems like kind of a small town for that. This article mentions a theater in 1948:
http://www.trona-ca.com/1948.htm
An illustrated article about the Fox Theatre in Trona was published in Boxoffice, April 2, 1955. The new house had 648 seats and featured a curved screen 19x45 feet. No architect is named, but it was most likely designed by whoever the Fox West Coast circuit’s in-house architect was in 1954 (Carl Moeller, perhaps?)
Photos with the article show some art moderne touches in the lobby and the wall murals in the auditorium, but the auditorium ceiling showed exposed steel beams and the walls were of exposed concrete block. The facade was basic 1950s modern. The booth was equipped for CinemaScope, VistaVision, Magna, Todd-AO, and large screen television projection.
Link to article.
Here is a fresh link to the 1955 Boxoffice article about the Fox Theatre in Trona.
The Box Office article states the booth was equipped with Todd-AO. That is not the case. The booth looks like a standard Fox West Coast Theatres issue. Yes for CinemaScope and 4-Track Magnetic Stereo Sound.
I suspected that the claim about Todd-AO was wrong. There was a lot of hype flying around about the original Todd-AO format in the mid-1950s, and it pretty much all came to nothing.
Was in the restaurant portion today having coffee; and asked about the auditorium portion and if they’d sublease it. The chemical plant owns the building now and as stated above, uses it for storage. The snack bar portion is not original; but the area still has that theatre look. Sept 26, 2017 (btw… Coffee is only $1. there).
Briefly closed on February 27, 1984, later reopened and closed on August 31, 1991.
Actual opening date is November 18, 1954.