Needles Theatre
823 W. Broadway Street,
Needles,
CA
92363
823 W. Broadway Street,
Needles,
CA
92363
3 people
favorited this theater
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Yeah, Trolleyguy, I also recently looked up the Friends of Needles and found all the links dead. I wanted to donate money or help them out in some way. This theatre should certainly be saved. They just finished with the Needles Route 66 International Film Festival. They had the screenings at the old train station, the Garces Theatre. It would be great if the festival could morph into a “Coachella” sized festival, for film. And the Needles Theatre would be an essential part of this.
The Friends of the Needles theatre website is dead. No further information is available anywhere on the internet. Google Streetview of November 2022 shows no renovation activity and the entrances boarded up.
I wonder if they ever found where the blueprints are located. Also, does anyone know who the architect was?
The Needles theatre opened on March 14th, 1930.
Needles theatre opening 14 Mar 1930, Fri Needles Desert Star (Needles, California) Newspapers.com
The arrival of the guy who later opened the Sands Drive-In. Boxoffice, April 7, 1951: “E. R. Couch has taken over as manager of the Needles Theatre, Needles, operated by the Midwest Amusement Co. He succeeds Chester Bostick, who has been transferred to the circuit’s showcase in El Centro. Couch hails from Kansas City.”
Uploaded a photo when it was called the Masonic Temple Theater.
The theatre exterior is pictured in a December 2018 story in The New York Times about efforts to develop a legal marijuana industry in Needles. No apparent relation between theatre and pot; I think the photo is just an illustration of woebegone conditions in Needles today. https://nyti.ms/2SJDefN
The address should say 823 West Broadway.
The Needles Theatre housed a Masonic Temple in the front upper portion of the building while the theatre occupied the lower portion. Since the temple portion didn’t use the full length of the building, the theatre occupied the full height in a large portion of the building. I was informed many years ago the screen was moved forward (perhaps do to the installation of a new and larger screen?)
so that many seating rows and the original stage are actually behind the screen. Sadly, I was informed that nothing much is going at the Needles and that it is again for sale. A fire many years ago forced its closure and it never re-opened
b
Here’s an old postcard
View link
What’s the current status of this building?
Hi Lost Memory… I visited once in 1967 enroute to Miami from San Francisco… can’t remember what I saw.
It’s always good to see any theater photo but it’s a shame there’s a car blocking the view and other distracting “stuff” in the picture.
Personally, I like to “crop” my picture view finder by ONLY having the actual subject in the frame and nothing else; like other buildings or people walking by!
does anyone know where the blue prints are held?
contact me
Chris Hammontree
928-565-1659
m-f 10am-1pm Arizona time
Thank You
Chris
It doesn’t appear to have changed much in 65 years, at least from the outside.
The banner headline on the front page of the Needles Nugget newspaper dated Friday, February 15, 1929 read, “New $60,000 Theatre Bldg.†The accompanying article related that the new building, at the corner of F Street and Broadway will house a Theatre with the most modern “talkie†equipment of the age. The plans also include a pipe organ, the “latest†stage equipment, and the “smartest†of furnishing. The Masonic Temple occupied the 2nd floor.
In early March of 1929, the Masons led a five-day stock campaign that closed with $72,550 in signed applications, a truly amazing feat for the time period, and for a town the size of Needles.
The final building contracts were signed in late July of 1929, and the Theatre opened for business on March 1, 1930. Total cost of the building was estimated to be $120,000.
Mr. C.A. Simons, the proprietor of the Liberty Theatre, was given a long-term lease of the 1st floor. Mr. Simons also sub-let the two downstairs shops. The shop on the east side of the Theatre housed Simons Real Estate and the west side housed The Sweet Shoppe.
The history of the Theatre is being developed and cataloged on an ongoing basis. We know that the building had a water based heating and cooling system that was very modern for the day. Not only did the Theatre have a nice sized cinema screen, but it also included a full stage with orchestra pit. We know that in the early years that several performance troupes of the day appeared at our Theatre. The Theatre showed 4 single movies a week, and they were all first run. Occasionally a short film or cartoon would be included. The cost of a child’s admission was 15 cents, with adult tickets ranging from 35 to 50 cents. The Miss Needles contest was held at the Theatre in later years, and community-based music and dance recitals were held there. The Fort Mohave Indian Band performed on a regular basis on the weekends on a bandstand located in the street outside of the Theatre. One long time resident recounted the story that when Gone With the Wind showed at the Theatre, the line to buy admission “went way up around the block!â€
At some point in time, the stage was extended out over the orchestra pit, and then a false wall was built to hold a much larger cinema screen, and at least 1/3 of the seating capacity was reduced.
The Theatre closed its doors sometime in the early to mid 1980’s. Heavily damaged by fire in the 1990’s, the building was donated to the Needles Chamber of Commerce by the Masons. The fire insurance policy held by the Masons secured a replacement roof, and the Chamber took steps to exclude the roosting areas set up by multiple pigeons.
Rodney and Kirsten Mouton purchased the property from the City of Needles and escrow closed on 2-20-06.
At the present time, debris is being hauled away, and a general clean up of the inside of the building is taking place. The extension built out from the stage has been removed and the old orchestra pit has been uncovered. The room has been returned to its original full dimensions. The original stage and surrounding artwork is intact but it has suffered smoke damage. The overall integrity of the structure is good as it is constructed of concrete and steel. The construction was quite a marvel in 1929.
The outside of the building has been repainted and the original ironwork reinstalled. All of the original window casings are intact.
Fund raising events are being held by the Friends of the Needles Theatre and it is anticipated that the marquee and the neon theatre sign will be restored in the near future.
Yes, it does sort of look like a temple or mosque or something doesn’t it!
It looked empty when I went by several months ago. I don’t think it’s being used for anything.
Here is a photo I took in July 2006:
http://tinyurl.com/y4wssb
What is the Needles currently being used for?
Here are two recent photos from Cinematour:
View link
View link
I passed through and past this theater a bout a year or two ago when I was in the Las Vegas area. It’s a small little town in what seems like the middle of no where.
A recent photograph of the Needles Theater:
http://rushcreekeditions.com/lfop/
Here is a picture of the Needles Theater in 1940, from the Pomona Public Library:
View link
The Needles Theatre seated 700 people.