Mann Torrence Promenade 6
19800 Hawthorne Boulevard,
Torrance,
CA
90503
19800 Hawthorne Boulevard,
Torrance,
CA
90503
8 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 34 comments
It became the Mann Torrance Promenade 6 on January 17th, 1991 and its final day of performances was May 14th, 1994.
Expanded to 6 screens on May 26th, 1978. Grand opening ads posted.
My favorite mall and favorite multiplex of childhood. Saw so much here: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Trek the Wrath of Khan, Goonies, Return of the Jedi, etc. etc. I also remember the HUGE marquee out in the parking lot advertising midnight movies like A Clockwork Orange. The mall was a staple of childhood, too, esp. the carousel, the food court (Mama Pisano’s Pizza!) with that gazebo, the Artists' Alley, the lemonade stand near the carousel, and of course Federated Group.
@dimensionsinstereo: You must have known MarkB, LaurenB , Don and Ike. I worked there for several years in the late 70’s.
Chill Wills also opened the NGC North Hills Cinerama in Calgary, Alberta on December 21st, 1967. The 1976 grand opening for this cinema can be found in the photo section for this theatre.
Howdy “ChasSmith” loved good ole Dimensions In Stereo! I used to be a Tech at a shop called: Sound Eye. Do you remember that repair shop? The head tech that used to be at Dimensions moved over to our shop. We did a lot of service for Dimensions. I was introduced to B&O at Dimensions! I remember the B&O 2400 Receiver! First time seen remote control on a piece of stereo equiptment. If ya ever wanna talk bout the good ole days of Torrance, especially Dimensions, etc?! Drop me a line…
I saw “Beverly Hills Cop” here, not sure about anything else, but the mall itself was unique (as you all know) and I wish I’d discovered it earlier, but in the early 1980s, my interest in decent stereo equipment led me to a wonderful high end shop there (which I believe was called Dimensions in Stereo), and I owe them much for introducing me to what I now know were some great components. Also recall the Federated Group store there, where coincidentally I was also pointed in the right direction — toward the new Toshiba BETA Hi-Fi — when I went shopping for my first VCR.
Status should be CLOSED
Here is a December 1975 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/ye62olq
I was confused by the location of this multi-plex because there was a second Mann’s Old Town (no E) 6 plex in Reno NV. It was small, boxy, and the auditoriums were strictly shooting galleries. Lobby was strictly functional with no personality. This theatre was supposed to be the “replacement” for the demolished CREST THEATRE downtown. It was no match, and did not last long. This was the end of Mann Theatres in Northern Nevada.
Status should be closed.
Wow! My parents took me here all the way from the Westside, back in the mid to late 70’s, when I was a little kid, and we went there quite a few times. I honestly don’t remember the theatres though, because we never saw any movies there, but I remember just about everything else that everyone here on this site is mentioning, the rides, the great places to eat. I remember a GREAT pizza place, in the food court, by the front entrance. I remember buying a couple of the old 45 records here. Or maybe, it was at the K-Mart(or was it a Zody’s?)next to the mall. I could swear they had a record store in the mall in the mid to late 70’s though. I remember the Haunted House Ride being there in the mid to late 70’s. Wasn’t there also a spinning ride, like the tea cups at Disneyland? I think it was near the carousel, or it may have been part of the carousel itself. Wow! Great, great memories!
I moved here, Torrance, in 1972 when I was 8 years old. Growing up we had the South Bay Center Cinemas, Del Amo 6, Rolling Hills, UA Torrance, Marina, and the Cove. Old Towne was so fun for the overall experience. It was always getting dropped off by the parents and then ‘doing’ the mall either before of after a movie. One of my first multi-plex experiences of buying a PG ticket and going to an R film. I did this for The Jerk, 10, Friday the 13th, etc… Also that back door at the south end where you could always sneak people in to when their wasn’t an usher. The mall itself was fun too, from the two tacky rides, the pot lover’s haven of the Scorpio Shoppe, Leyland’s Gifts, and the arcade, Kingdom of Oz I believe. Old Towne was a true growing up experience for kids in the 70’s and early 80’s.
Ha— I was also born in 1970 and remember the haunted house and some other rides.
Also remember seeing Jaws 3D, Fright Night and Weird Science in the theaters there.
Great time of life…
I was born in 1970, I remember going there around the age of 10-11 quite often, my favorite ride was the Phantasia ride, I remember very little of it, it was very surreal, I remember the mall was beautiful when you look at it now compared to the bland decor of modern day malls, the mall had personality… I don’t remember the movie theater, I remember a toy store, I wish I could find more pics of that place especially the Phantasia ride. I remember 2 large wood like toy soldiers in it, a purple spinning thing, damn, I wish there was some video of the actual ride… I am sure it is somewhere in someones 16mm box of films collecting dust.
RIP Old Town Mall.
BTW I can’t remember when I went back, some years later, and most all the stores were boarded up, that was sad and the demise of a great mall.
Man, I haven’t thought about this place in years. For a while in the late 70s and early 80s, I used to go to the Old Towne for movies. I know I saw many movies there, but the only two I definitely remember seeing at that specific location are 10 and Meteor.
heather…you’re in luck…check this out:
View link
Bob has a great blog and a few people have responded to the Olde Towne Mall topic. Pics are there….feel free to reply on the latest pic to share more memories.
nice pics here (thanks to Bob)
http://www.nths-saxonalumni.org/memorylane/
Wow! I just googled “old town mall” and found all this. Totally awesome. I grew up in Torrance and the So. Bay area. My mom worked at the Scorpio Shoppe with Jerry Mirror from about ‘74-'77. I loved that mall. The cheezy rides, the merry-go-round, the pizza place and the movie theatre. I saw the first Nightmare on Elm street there and so much more. I got my ears pierced at the mall when I was 3. Lots of good memories shared. Thanks everyone. I would love to have some actual photographs of the mall “back in the day” for a memior I am compiling. If anyone has old pictures to share, please e-mail me. Thanks
I remember seeing 2 horrible films there John Beluchi’s “1941” and “Howard the Duck.” Three other memories from the olde town mall. I remember the Shady Lady dress shop. The band shell in the north food court. I remember that played alot of rag time/dixie land music. One group I remember was an all women band that played washboards, kazoo’s, etc. I also remember very early in the mall’s history that a place called the “Artesian Way” (i think it was called that.) it was at the south end of the mall and feature arts and crafts from people who would bring there stuff to sell.
I too saw Pretty in Pink, The Lost Boys, and Some Kind of Wonderful on opening night there. That was probably the theater that I visited most when I was a teen. But I never knew all this about the mall. By the late 80’s all we went there for was the pet shop (where we got our toy poodle that lived for 17 years) and the beauty supply store for my beauty school drop out sister. The majority of the storefronts were vacant. Oh and Federated whose commercial had that annoying “Fred Rated” (Shadoe Stevens) sledge hammering electronic devices.
Hi SocalNative! I grew up in El Segundo (HS Class of 88) but now live about a mile behind (West) the South Bay Galleria near that park w/ the basketball court, rec center and baseball field. Nice area.
The Old Towne Mall looks so horrible now…what a sad site. I drove around the parking lot today just to check it out…hey at least the parking lot is still there! LOL
SCN and others….if anyone stumbles upon more Old Towne mall pics I’d LOVE TO SEE THEM—especially that Ghost Ride and Carousel—That classic Carousel.
Take Care SoCalNative!
Hey Steelerb!
Thanks for sharing your cool “Old Towne” experiences. Thanks also for the links. I have some friends who may want to see those… Wow, thank goodness for the Internet! I love seeing those old pictures of that great mall. I totally remember bad mouthing the mall as I got older. It’s sad that all the current shopping malls have become so cookie cutter and “corporate”. I love the cheesiness of the 70’s now that I look back on it all. I’m still living in the neighborhood, and it’s sad to see how little has been preserved from my childhood.
Take care!
Hello SoCalNative! Your post is the first one over a year in here….very interesting comments,
I’ll never forget the image of the carousel inside the mall (in the middle – the 2nd entrance I believe) looking in from Hawthorn Blvd on my many journeys w/ my mom or dad around the SouthBay during the late 70’s and early 80’s…for some reason that image never left. I always looked for that when I passed by.
I remember seeing Apocalypse Now in 1979 as a 9 year old, and saw the cheesey film “Meteor” on a Friday night in that same year with a friend from school and his mom. I also snuck into “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” in 1986 and watched the movie in a packed house, sitting on the carpet in the back… I can even remember which theater—as you walk in and pass the snack bar you make a left and go up the ramp….it was the last one up to the right. Sneaking in was fun…we usually did it in the back (across from the Music PLUS record store)…“Summer School” was another movie I saw there,,hahah
Years passed the mall obviously got worse and then CLOSED….I remember talking bad about it ..we all did in the mid 80’s or so like, “why was it still around. What a boring mall.” Hey we were in highschool… Boy was I wrong. It was CLASSIC!
My last memory is when they moved the carousel at the south end and closed off the mall…In college at the time , I took my girlfriend to see “Goodfellas” there for $3(big spender, ey! LOL) ..I raved about the movie and it was the only place where it was still showing…I think there was an arcade there too…all near the food area. WOW….kind of sad looking back and at the time I could care less…. Now I’m curioius to see pictures of the interior and exterior of the mall during the 70’s.
I came across this niceblog from a guy named Bob
View link
Looks like a picture from the early years….I wish there were more!
and then I came across this:
View link
Old Towne Mall was an awesome place for us kids growing up in the 70’s! Back in the day, when our parents thought life was safe, they would drop me and my friends off there so that we had a place to hang out and be cool and not pester our parents. I remember getting the lemon/salt cucumbers on a stick; the very cool poster shop; the pet shop where I bought my first hamster; the magic shop; and the roller skating shop. I think there was some killer spaghetti/pizza restaurant at the main entrance. I do remember that there was a ton of food! I loved the arcade and the tacky rides: those would kill time before seeing a movie. I remember seeing “Jaws III” and “The Jerk” at that theater, as well as countless other gems. I need to go see the postings about the old South Bay Center, the other “neighborhood” theaters that were located at Artesia/Hawthorne. Wow, alot has changed in our area… I’m feeling so OLD!
Believe it or not, the Mann Old Towne 6 was a cash cow for Mann Theatres. I was working at the Village in Westwood around 1981/1982 and they bragged all the time that it was their highest grossing theatre in the entire chain. Go figure.