Ponderosa Theatre
340 Mobil Avenue,
Camarillo,
CA
93010
340 Mobil Avenue,
Camarillo,
CA
93010
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Opened July 28th, 1964.
Ponderosa Theatre opening 24 Jul 1964, Fri Camarillo Star (Ventura, California) Newspapers.com
We went here for years in the 60s — saw all the James Bond films and Saturday afternoon matinees. Also saw ‘A Hard Days Night Here’ when I was 6 years old. Howard and his lively crew only charged $1 back then — it was the place to be every Friday and Saturday night. We used to joke about Howard’s toupee flying off one day — it never did. Can still hear his voice and how he phrased movie titles on the theater’s telephone recording!
Thanks so much for creating this page and for the info about The Ponderosa’s history. I went to quite a few movies there from 1974 – 1976. For the size of the building, they had a very large screen. Among the films I saw there were: The Sting, What’s Up, Doc?, Paper Moon, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, The Duchess and The Dirtwater Fox, Mame, The Great Gatsby, Earthquake, Airport 75, The Sound of Music, and The Poseidon Adventure. They usually showed double features. Sometimes they were strange. After Mame played with The Great Gatsby, which made sense, Mame played with Airport 75. I heard someone comment after that one: “Helen Reddy in that musical was alright, but Lucy in that disaster pic – sheesh!” The last time I can say I am sure the theater was open was Summer 1976. I remember, because they had a series of “Musical Mondays”. On about 6 successive Mondays that summer, they played a musical on Monday afternoon. I recall seeing Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, Carousel and The King and I. It was a treat to see them in widescreen format, as this was long before widescreen home video. If anyone has a vintage pic, please post it! My Dad is an avid photographer but I have looked through all his pics and there is none to be found of The Ponderosa. I would love a reminder of what it looked like in the day. Thanks again!