Montclair Theatre
4377 Holt Boulevard,
Montclair,
CA
91763
4377 Holt Boulevard,
Montclair,
CA
91763
6 people
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A chronology of the Inland Empire’s 70mm presentation history has recently been published. The SRO/Pacific Montclair is mentioned numerous times.
A 1968 ad for the Montclair Theatre shows the address as 4377 Holt Boulevard.
THE MONTCLAIR THEATRE — My Favorite Movie Theatre when I was growing up in the Inland Empire …..
Pacific Theatres kept it as a triplex for a little while before turning it into a five screen multiplex until they eventually closed it.
Opening day ads of its expansion to a triplex on March 25,1977 posted in the photo section. Taken from the Los Angeles Times:
Yes we did, Tim…yes we did, indeed!
Aerial from 1980 http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=6.4560308924945E-06&lat=34.06251&lon=-117.709929&year=1980 you may have to zoom in to see the building.
I worked at this theater while I was in high school as did my brother and sister (my brother is dmann7757 above). I had just turned 15 when I was hired and could only work on staurdays and sundays until I turned 16. I worked as an usher, ticket taker, snack bar and sometimes even in the box office…I remember “tammi” listed above as a fellow montclair high student as well as being one of our box office girls. After I started working there it seemed as though many of my friends were hired as well, Tarik, Rod, Russ, Frank, we had some great times. I also did the “movie swap” on Thursday nights before the Friday primers, this included changing the letters on the marquee that was out over the sidewalk on Holt Blvd. The front marquee with show times, change out the now showing and coming attractions posters in the front and in the lobby, The box office girl would change out the movies and times on the window dosplays and the manager would record the answering machine message. To those that I worked with Mark, Bart, Big Jim, Mike, Phil, Dennis, Tarik, Rod, Russ, Karen, Kim, Julie, Wendy, Dee, Debbie and any that I have not listed…we had some fun, didn’t we?
Worked at SRO on Holt in the 80s.. fun times…
According to IMDB.com,THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME was presented in 35mm 4-track stereo(magnetic prints) and Dolby Stereo(optical prints). Never in 70mm or with 6-track stereo.
LA Times ads in 1969 list the Montclair at 4377 Holt Boulevard. Whatever was at that address has now been razed, according to the map view.
Meredith you most mean 4-track for “The Song Remains the Same”.
Does the theatre still stand?
I remember running “Rocky Horror” and “The Song Remains The Same.” Good Gosh, the six-track was awesome! Everytime I had projected a midnight show here, I would go home and eat a cherry pie. Umm, wonder why?
Sterling Recreation Organization (SRO) owned the Montclair Theatre until they sold it to Pacific Theatres in 1984. I worked for SRO nearly 10 years, and was an Assistant Mgr. at the Montclair Theatre, before transferring to other theatres owend by them. The Montclair Theatre originally had one screen and sat approximately 1,250 patrons. It had a “cry room” (a glass enclosed room at the rear of the theatre). The room sat about 12 people so families with infants and young children could watch the movie without disturbing other patrons. In about 1977, it was expanded by adding an additional 650 seat house and a 250 seat house. The name was changed to the Montclair Triplex. This was done in part to compete with the Montclair Cinema, which had two movie screens located at the Montclair Plaza. At the time executives felt the city was saturated with movie screens, and that theatres would not want to compete with each other by showing the same movie, which is now commonplace. A third Multiplex movie theatre opened on San Bernardino Road, and incorporated “lodge seating” for which they charged more money. After Pacific Theatres bought out SRO’s theatres in California, they divided the large house, which was one of the last theatre houses in the area capable of seating that many people. Shortly thereafter, the theatre was closed.
I saw Amittyville 3 in 3D, Decline of Western Civilation Part 2: The Metal Years, The Jazz Singer, and many others at this one. Sad that Montclair had three indoor theaters and 2 drive ins and now only there is only the one drive in (Mission Tiki Drive In).
Boxoffice Magazine ran an item about a proposed theater in Montclair in its issue of August 15, 1966. The Montclair Theatre was to be built by Sterling Theatres (later called SRO Theatres), and was designed by Roland Decker Pierson, the South Pasadena architect who had designed Sterling’s Rolling Hills Theatre in Torrance. The item was illustrated with an architect’s rendering of the exterior.
Later issues of Boxoffice, published after the house opened, mention that Pierson designed the Montclair Theatre.
Forgot to mention that this was the original home for midnight showings of “Rocky Horror”,“Dawn of the Dead” and others until the Montclair Plaza GCC 8 took over after this place closed
I saw the original “Raiders of the Losr Ark” here in 1981 in 70mm. I also saw “Victor/Victoria” with Julie Andrews here in 1982.
Not sure if SRO owned it first(i knowthey did when i saw the above mentioned titles)but i do know that when SRO left Southern California in 1984,Pacific Theatres took over and added two screens before closing it by the end of the decade.