Red Lantern Theatre

Joe Vogel on December 31, 2013 at 1:11 am

I believe the Brea Theatre in the Boxoffice photo Tinseltoes linked to is this one. Despite the impression the caption gives that it was new construction, nobody was building theaters that looked like that in 1964, and they certainly weren’t making neon Art Deco marquees like that anymore. The Brea must have been closed for a few years, and Mr. Goodin must have renovateded and reopened it.

Although Google Street View shows the Improv comedy club with a marquee very like the one on the Brea Theater, I’m not sure it’s the same marquee. The aerial view shows that the building the Improv is in is not as deep as the theater must have been. It might be entirely new construction, though the Brea’s marquee might have been saved, reconditioned, and attached to the new building. I’m not even sure if the Improv’s entrance is in the same location the theater’s entrance was. The whole town has changed so drastically that it’s unrecognizable.

kencmcintyre on January 2, 2009 at 1:54 am

Here is part of an LA Times article dated 10/26/76:

The old Brea Theater apparently will be transformed from an adult movie house into a house of worship. Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa and the lessee have worked out preliminary arrangements by which the church will acquire the building lease next Monday.

Calvary Chapel would require a conditional use permit to use the theater for church services. However, the use permit probably would be granted by the city, even though the chapel would be next door to the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Joe Vogel on August 7, 2008 at 11:14 pm

I remember passing by the Brea Theatre a couple of times in the 1950s. From the outside it was quite unprepossessing, and I never would have guessed it had the ornate interior described above. All I recall is that it had a tiny marquee and a somewhat shabby facade.