Center Theatre
4760 Whittier Boulevard,
East Los Angeles,
CA
90022
4760 Whittier Boulevard,
East Los Angeles,
CA
90022
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Opened in 1926, the Center Theatre was remodeled and reopened on May 31, 1939. It had push back seats, and frosted glass running lights which were over six feet tall on the side walls. The upstairs lounge was modeled after a large European drawing room. Painted scenes of gardens could be seen behind tall decorative windows.
By July 1969 it was screening adult male porn movies. It was closed later in 1969, but reopened on November 24, 1971.
Contributed by
Jim Lytell, William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 11 comments)
The Center Theater was the first movie house I ever went to. The first movie I ever was Godzilla.
What I remembered most about the Center was there was a hotdog stand attached partly to the lobby and part of it outside to the street. This allowed patrons to buy hotdogs or hamburgers from inside or out outside the theater. I never saw anything like it again.
Advertised at 4762 Whittier Boulevard in the LA Times on 7/16/69. Featured films were “All Male-All Gay-All Color, continuous from 10 a.m.”
Maybe demolished, maybe not. The back of the building looks old. The front looks like possibly wooden paneling covering the old exterior. Maybe the theater portion in the front was demolished for retail and they left the rest of the building intact. I took some pictures which I will post later.
Here are some photos from June 2007:
http://tinyurl.com/2l8u58
http://tinyurl.com/3dxtq3
http://tinyurl.com/3c4nu2
http://tinyurl.com/3cqk2b
http://tinyurl.com/2n8zl2
http://tinyurl.com/365pfk
http://tinyurl.com/2teqq9
http://tinyurl.com/3dwqvy
I used to go to the Center when I was young (9-10 years old) in the late 40s. They used to have contests for kids on the stage on Saturdays before the movies started. The last movie I saw there was East of Eden. I also went to all the other theaters on Whittier Blvd., including the Jewel and Garmar.
Here is a May 1969 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/545wha
The last ads in the LA Times for the Center are in early 1971.
My Dad just told me, that while he was working as an usher at the Golden Gate Theatre in the 1940’s, sometimes the Center Theatre needed ushers and would call up and borrow a few of the young men & women for the day. That was the practice for several of the theatres up and down Whittier Blvd even though they had different owners. I take this Fathers Day tale with a grain of salt but it sounds good. He worked for $.50 per hour back then.
This opened (or reopened) on May 31st, 1939 as an $85,000 Ultra Modern CENTER Theatre. Grand opening ad posted.
Closed in 1969 and reopened on November 24th, 1971. Tiny grand opening ad posted.