Golden Bough Theatre

Located on Monte Verde Street between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue. The current Golden Bough Theatre opened its doors on December 9, 1952 as a performing arts house as a replacement of the Golden Bough Playhouse that was destroyed by a fire on May 21, 1949. A new theatre was built on the site, opening in 1952 and designed by local architect James B. Pruitt..

The Golden Bough Theatre didn’t became a first-run movie house until after the Carmel Playhouse sold their theatre to the United California Theaters chain in December 1964.

On June 4, 1965, the World Premiere of “The Sandpiper” starring Elizabeth Taylor was held at the Golden Bough Cinema, which the film itself was filmed all around the Central Coast.

Later operated by United Artists, the Golden Bough Cinema was a first-run single-screener movie house for almost three decades. It wasn’t until April 30, 1994, when the Golden Bough Cinema ran its last film, “The Hudsucker Proxy” starring Tim Robbins, and United Artists closed the theatre.

The Golden Bough Theatre would then reopen back as both a performing arts and a special events house that same year.

Recent comments (view all 2 comments)

Joe Vogel on October 21, 2024 at 8:44 pm

The 1952 version of the Golden Bough Playhouse was designed by local architect James B. Pruitt. Since being taken over by the Pacific Repertory Theatre group in 1994, the building has undergone two major periods of renovations, from 2008-2011 and from 2021-2024, which have significantly altered the original configuration of the house.

MSC77 on October 22, 2024 at 8:01 pm

“Star Wars” enjoyed a 26-week run here in 1977. Anyone know if 26 weeks is the long-run record for this venue or the Monterey Bay region?