Golden Gate Theatre
5176 Whittier Boulevard,
East Los Angeles,
CA
90022
5176 Whittier Boulevard,
East Los Angeles,
CA
90022
22 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 157 comments
Many,many good memories of this theatre, we lived not far away on Clela St. right across the street from Winter Gardens Elementary School. Teachers were Mr. Winkler and Mr. Shimabukuro. I sure would like to hear from old school mates
I had a friend named Ricky Cortinez his brother played bass for Cannibal & The Headhunters, they played at the GG and we sat behind the drummer looking out into the audience as they played Land Of 1000 Dances,it was my first concert and a very exciting event for me, girls were screaming! Does anyone else remember that day?They later opened for The Beatles in NYC.We went to Winter Gardens Elementary Mr. Shimabukuro’s class must have been around 65or66
I first went to the Golden Gate about 1949, I was about 7. I went to Garfield HS and we would go to Stans Drive in diagonally across the street and have chicken in the basket from a waitress on roller Skates. We also ent to the soda shop a few doors west of the GG. Does anyone know the name of it. We would sit at long counter have root beer floats and other great deserts.
I first went to the Golden Gate about 1949, I was about 7. I went to Garfield HS and we would go to Stans Drive in diagonally across the street and have chicken in the basket from a waitress on roller Skates. We also ent to the soda shop a few doors west of the GG. Does anyone know the name of it. We would sit at long counter have root beer floats and other great deserts.
WOW Insane I grew up right down the street from the golden gate, Im in my 50’s now but I used to shine shoes right infront of the golden gate theater wow….It was 1969 what a year I would go down to the blvd ask the manager of the theater if me and my brother could clean the theator after the movie ended and he would let us watch a movie for work done..geat times… we would wonder all threw that building in was in great shap back then… I was also right infront of the theator when the whitter riots broke out.. Tell you about that next time i sighn on… thank you for the great pics. Gabriel Soto
Broke my heart when they tore down the retail space around the theater. At least the building is still there. but of course the beautiful box office and the refreshment stand and stairs are gone. in the forties the stage had the most beautiful curtain that rose up in scallops. So sad.
Article about CVS opening http://www.theeastsiderla.com/2012/08/former-east-l-a-movie-palace-debuts-in-new-role-as-drug-store/
http://laeastside.com/2011/07/a-sad-farewell-requiem-for-a-palace-the-golden-gate-theater/
Bad shape, but we knew this, and ones in much worse condition have been restored. Hope CVS keeps its promise to not do anything that can’t be reversed, and hopefully clean things up a bit first.
Wow … I Used To Come Here As A Child With My Parents And Later Brougt My Oldest Son A Couple Of Times To Watch Movies Before It Closed … Nice Memories .
I drove past the site yesterday. The building just sits there, waiting for something to happen.
I made it a point to visit as many old movie theaters in LA-Orange County before they closed and managed to see “Top Gun” at the Golden Gate in 1986. The long walkway from Whittier Boulevard to the box office was reminiscent of the Egyptian in Hollywood.
There was an old stationery store nearby that I used to patronize.
The Theatre is still there and here are photos of the interior from last year, plus some old photos:
http://tinyurl.com/eastlagoldengatetheatre
We at the LAHTF hope we can get inside and get current photos and video of the theatre before the CVS moves in, but no promises.
i live not far from this historic theater. i grew up in echo park (Los Angeles) but remember that theater well. someone mentioned another theater further down whittier blvd. that would be the garmar theater in montebello, also closed down. today – may 2010 the garmar is now a bank; sprctrum bank but it too is a local community landmark. i believe the community must rise up like in the days of old to restore these iconic places like the golden gate and put them to good use.
Sorry, Shilo, William is correct. The retail surrounding the theater was torn down; the theater remains. CVS is planning on opening a drug store in there.
ipassed by the theatre in 2004 and it was torn down and there was a sign saying comming soon discount shoe warehouse
The Golden Gate Theatre is still standing. The outer part of the building where the marquees were has been torn down. The above link for Google maps still shows the theatre fenced off and still standing.
the theatre was torn down in 2000. they built a discont shoe warehouse there.
Very nice,I like the double Marquees and verticals.
They are meeting gin about the Golden Gate Theater so there is still time to get letter written. The Commission is not very happy to alter the interior of the theater BUT would rather do that then see it sit empty for more years to come. We at the LAHTF hope the owner will get a renter in there that will turn in back into a theater again not a CSV. More info View link
Please write to and we will take your letters to the Planning Commission personally on Nov. 4th.
My father worked there as a teenager so I grow up with many stories about the place but never got to go myself. It was a church by the time I was around then empty for to many years.
Want to help save the GG? Have personal history with this gem that you’d like to share? Want to see any changes made to the building be reversible?
Write your support for the sensitive adaptive re-use of the Golden Gate ASAP. The Planning Commission is meeting TOMORROW.
Address your email to: .gov, .gov, and
Well, the planning commission will decide on October 21st whether to approve or deny the CVS going into the theater. Basically the Charles Company want to build a box within the theater stating they will not threaten the theater’s architectural features. If the Planning Commission approves the CVS, the Vega building which once wrapped around the theater will never be rebuilt. East Los Angeles deserves their theater back and needs a cultural landmark to revitalize the area. A drugstore will do the opposite. We need as many people as possible to show up on October 21st to voice their opinion. The location: 320 West Temple Street, rm 150, LA, at 9 am
Los Angeles, California 90012320 West Temple Street, 13th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90012320 West Temple Street, 13th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90012320 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
Here is an undated photo:
http://tinyurl.com/nklrn8
I read that LA Times story today, a couple of days late. I was logging on to the site about ten minutes ago when we had a pretty good earthquake. A strong jolt that lasted about ten seconds.
If a CVS can “help revitalize the area”, it must be a rather strange place indeed, no disrespect intended to CVS, or Walgreens. The explosion of chain pharmacies in this era is rather reminiscent of the cinema building craze of the 1920’s and doubtless future generations will look back at it in wonder. I have nver been to East LA, but have much enjoyed the posts.
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[quote]Future of 1927-era East L.A. theater in question
8:00 AM | May 14, 2009
Preservationists and developers are wrangling over the future of an abandoned theater in East Los Angeles that is historically significant and represents a Spanish-baroque style rarely found in the city.
Activists, developers and local business people presented two starkly different visions Wednesday of what could be done with the abandoned Golden Gate Theater near Whittier and Atlantic boulevards.
At a hearing before the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission, some advocated converting the building into a CVS pharmacy, complete with alcohol sales and a drive-through pharmacy window. Others want to return the theater, built in 1927, to its original purpose.
The theater’s entrance replicates the portal of the University of Salamanca in Spain and is built in the Churrigueresque style, a Spanish baroque form of architecture. The theater is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“We don’t want to see the building torn down or changed,†resident Mark Martinez told the commission. “It would be a shame if they did this to this building.”
Martinez, who lives near the theater, attended the hearing in downtown Los Angeles to protest the proposed pharmacy.
Officials with the Charles Company, which owns the property, said they would not demolish the building and they would preserve its architectural elements if they were allowed to use it for commercial purposes.
“We specialize in very challenging sites,†said Sarah Magaña-Withers, a spokeswoman for the Charles Company.
The Golden Gate Theater has been “vacant for more than 20 years,†she said, and a CVS could help revitalize the area.
County staff members were directed to conduct more research into the matter and include more information in an environmental impact report on the pharmacy proposal. Anita Gutierrez, a regional planning assistant, said staff would present a final report to the commission Aug. 19, when the panel could vote on whether to approve or deny the pharmacy project.
— Ari B. Bloomekatz[/quote]
Photos:
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