Montrose Theatre
2226 Honolulu Avenue,
Montrose,
CA
91020
2226 Honolulu Avenue,
Montrose,
CA
91020
1 person
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The Montrose Theatre was a small independent theatre which opened on October 16, 1924 and operated until March 22, 1987, when it was destroyed in an arson fire which started at the rear of the stage house. A parking lot is on the site today.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 15 comments)
Here is a short account of the fire:
3/24/87 Daily News
The Montrose Theater was destroyed by fire early Monday morning in what many longtime residents called a sad end to what had been an important part of the community for more than 60 years. The fire erupted at 4:22 a.m. in the stage area — a remnant of the days when the theater hosted live vaudeville shows as well as motion pictures, said John Orr, a fire investigator with the Glendale Fire Department.
Here is a photo, circa 1959:
http://tinyurl.com/2uzlgk
Ken, Glendale fire inspector John Orr was convicted of numerous arson fires in Glendale and surrounding areas in the middle 80’s. I wonder if the 1987 fire at the Montrose was part of his handywork?
Here is an excerpt from the LA Times dated 3/24/31:
MONTROSE THEATER SOLD
Announcement is made here of the sale of the Montrose Theater to B.G. Meyers, formerly of St Cloud, Minn. Meyers is the son of M.P. Meyers, pioneer property owner in the Montrose area.
I saw Meatballs there in 1979
I am writing an article on the theater for Montrose-La Crescenta Patch. If anyone has any memories of the theater to share, I would love to incorporate them. Please contact me.
Hey, Matt – I used to go to the Montrose Theater every Saturday morning I could when I was in the 5th grade (Dunsmore) – about 1956-57… It was a significant event with the Manager actually turning up the house lights and walking onto the stage to have us kids look at our ticket stubs for the Prize Raffle!! Popcorn was about 15 cents and dime candy bars (like Mounds, 3 Muskateers and Butterfingers) were actually 10 cents. A nickel bought a box of “Dots,” “Black Crows” or “Juju Bees.” Admission was 35 cents. The morning event featured a couple of cartoons before a serial showing of my favorite (the real draw after all) “Flash Gordon.” Boy was that a morning we looked forward to!
I lived around the corner off verdugo and shot video of the fire.just found it and is the only video of the blaze . I will upload it soon
Freddiecar, can you post the link to your rare Montrose Theatre fire footage once it’s posted? Thanks.
This is a first…apparently this should read “demolished…showing movies!” In August 2016 the Montrose Film Festival screened two movies in the parking lot where the theater once stood. Pretty cool!