Temple City Cinemas

December 17th, 1982 grand opening ad in the photo section.

I saw “Rebel Without A Cause” when it was first running back in 1955 at this theater. I was in 3rd grade…what were my parents thinking? I also saw the film “Tarantula” there! Not quite the classic that Rebel was! It was a grand old theater! I lived on Live Oak next to the dry river wash and was attending school on the San Gabriel side of the river.

Theatre info needs updated to Closed/Demolished. The original S. Charles Lee-designed Temple Theatre that James Edwards had built on this corner in 1940 lasted more than forty years, but this four screen theatre he built to replace it in the early 1980s survived only half as long. Temple City is now without a local theatre.

I loved this place!!
I hung out here alot with friends when we were 15 (1985)
We would get our money together, get 1 person in, open the exit, put a lighter to keep the first door open, and open it for us outside, then we would rush in and find a seat, they had an alarm up front so it was usually a 50/50 chance depending how quick we were or them.
I liked this place alot, they didnt kick us out, we would watch a film, sit on the stairs, talk and smoke and make way for people going up and down the stairs to the bathroom and arcade, then see another movie, we could be there from open till close. For being bad 15 year old kids, they were always oblivious to us.
The movies that stand out here seeing was Return Of The Living Dead, The Goonies, Gremlins, Break Dancing.

Whoops! I meant Regency

ken mc: Your photo link of November 30th actually shows the original Temple Theatre, which was demolished to make way for this (now doomed) 1983 fourplex.

Though I went to the old Temple Theatre many times, I only saw one movie at this fourplex. It was Superman II, so it was in the one of the two larger auditoriums which had the 70mm projection. I was surprised to find that this room was not too much smaller than the old Temple Theatre had been. The old theatre had more seats, but the seats in the new house were a bit larger, and there was more leg room.

The new screen was almost wall-to-wall, so it was actually a bit bigger than the old theatre’s screen had been, even though the new room was a few feet narrower. The new lobby and restrooms were much larger, too, but the new building didn’t have anywhere near the character of the old one, which had an open loggia entrance and a high, beamed ceiling in the auditorium.

From the LA Library:

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics10/00024704.jpg

Yes, as stated in another message, the Theatre is now open again, and is going by the name of “Temple City Cinemas.” Haven’t been inside yet, but will soon.

In answer to an earlier question about who runs the Regency chain. I’ve been to the theatre to catch some movies and noticed the last time that signs in the parking lot refer to the property being owned by the Manhattan Acquisition Corp. Tried a cursory internet search and only came up with change of ownership record but no other info. The Regency chain also owns a theatre in La Canada. Anyway, really glad to see this theatre up and running again – it’s nice to have a local theatre in the area again; sometimes you just get tired of the megaplexes. Besides, this side of town is sorely lacking in movie theatres. Kudos to whoever/whatever bought the Temple —-great timing since that intersection is being revitalized and redeveloped with new businesses and restaurants – it’s about time!

When Edward’s opened this theatre, theatre #1 was equipped to run 70MM prints. The last time I was in the booth in the ‘96 it still was equipped for 70MM.

This is no longer an Edwards, it’s a Regency. It’s the same building, not a new one. It’s on the NE corner of Rosemead and Las Tunas. They’ve upgraded, at least, the lager two theaters sound systems. Both list with Dolby Digital. They’ve done a nice job at cleaning it up as Edwards had let it degrade. They’re adding an arcade upstairs soon. Good selection of candy, decent prices, & good service. They do have some ice cream already. Frozen Lemonaides & Bon Bons. They are going to add hot pretzels soon too.

Yes, this weekend is it’s Grand Opening. Free small popcorn with ticket, small drinks & hotdogs are $1 each. Going to see Troy there today. I saw Van Helsing earlier this week & the new sound system definately sounds better.

It looks like they are building a Regency theater where the old Edwards used to be. I hope everyone can come out to see what the new place looks like. Can anyone tell me who runs the Regency chain?

Well, this theatre is now dark, and been that way for at least a week. We’ll see what happens.