Memories Of A Lost Boulevard: The Golden Gate Theater
by AlDesmadre
Memories of A Lost Boulevard, A Tribute To Whittier Boulevard
Whittier Boulevard Movie Theaters, Part 1.
THE GOLDEN GATE THEATER
5176 Whittier Blvd. & Atlantic Avenue
East Los Angeles, CA.
Oh, what a wonderful place it was! Growing up, I had inherited my Dad’s passion for cinema and so going to the movies was for me, a much anticipated and sublime experience. We were a movie going family and I often indulged my cinema hunger by visiting all of my neighborhood theaters as often as I could. Among those cherished trips, my visits to the Golden Gate Theater stand out as the most treasured. The sheer joy of going to that temple of flickering images began as you stepped from the sidewalk….
After buying your ticket at the delicately ornate domed ticket booth, you were treated to the “red carpet” softly under your feet as you strode through the enclosed arched gallery promenade, fine little shops on either side of you. When you reached the open courtyard you were always greeted with splashy billboard sized posters of coming movie attractions, all framed by the Spanish colonial Churrigueresque style carvings adorning the handsome two-story walls and flower wreathed balconies. Entering the lobby you’d pass by the giant clam shell concession stand before slipping into the dim, velvety coolness of the theater itself. Instantly you’d be led by mysterious ushers in dark garb wielding guiding beams of light towards your seats for the night’s show. You’d bask in the soft glow of the majestic proscenium and soon the screen came alive with color and light. Suddenly you were floating somewhere in Hollywood’s celluloid dream world.
My personal list of cinematic memories born at the Golden Gate Theater include:
PLANET OF THE APES
THE WILD BUNCH
BONNIE & CLYDE
M*A*S*H
BARBARELLA
BULLIT
GOLDFINGER
FANTASTIC VOYAGE
And so many more………
Walking home afterwards, I’d relive images of drama, action and suspense within my young, impressionable head as I’d head west along my sidewalks. I knew every crack and every stain of that concrete path that took me home. On those warm, noisy nights, Whittier Boulevard always seemed to vibrate with color and sound and to live by a heartbeat that pulsed with the same blood as my own. As that kid, in those days, I never realized that Home was actually all around me. Those streets, those people, those cars, those storefronts so familiar, like old familiar friends. And, oh, those wonderful old theaters! They remind me of who I was, and who I would forever be.
Opened in 1927, the original design called for the corner to include Businesses, Multiple Dwellings, Professional, Specialty Stores, and Theater. A news clipping from that era describes a nefarious scenario involving a quaintly named suspect. “Mr. Walter H. Tinklepaugh was named yesterday in a complaint charging robbery of the Golden Gate theater at Whittier and Atlantic Boulevards. Mr. Tinklepaugh was identified by Helen Weddle, cashier, as the man who robbed her on September 3 and 11th inst., of $102 and $23, respectively”.
The main exterior structure was badly damaged in the Whittier Earthquake of 1987 and was razed. Preservation efforts managed to save the structure housing the movie theater itself where it remains to this day with an uncertain fate. The building was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1982. These are some images from a recent visit to my old friend; The Golden Gate Theater.
Next in this series: The Center Theater, The Boulevard Theater, The Alameda Theater, The Garmar Theater, Floral Drive-In, Pico Rivera Fiesta 4 Drive-In
The exterior structure was definitely what made the movie going experience so unique; walking up to the doors, seeing the posters, the huge ceilings, it got you ready for the entertainment. They used to run a funny promo where some lil’ corn chip dude named Rico would try and get you to buy nachos out in the lobby. It was a good place to waste a summer day.
Did you ever go to theaters on Brooklyn/Cesar Chavez? When I was a wee wisp I would accompany my grandmother on her trips to watch “scary movies.” It was nice to have theaters in the neighborhood we could walk to.
I like the term movie palaces. The structure truly added to the experience, you went into something surreal to view the surreal.
I grew up going to the downtown movie palaces: The State, Orpheum, Tower, Palace, Los Angeles and the Million Dollar. I would beg my dad to take me. Later I would ditch and make out in their vastness.
Every time I’ve driven by there, I’ve wondered what had been in that building before. In Alburquerque, I didn’t grow up going to old theaters like that. We didn’t have many that I remember. And the ones we had were were designed for tourists with kitschy romanticized cartoon versions of indigenousness along “Route 66″. Anyway, I really enjoyed your story. Thanks.
SORRY- SOME IMAGES WERE CUT-OFF. IF YOU CLICK ON SOME OF THE PHOTOS YOU’LL GET A FULLER PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE BUILDING.
Great story.
I can’t wait for your story and pictures of The Garmar in Montebello.
I did a short story on my blog and have 3 pictures that i got from the internet.
http://loveandhatela.blogspot.com/2008/03/then-and-now-garmar-movie-theater-in.html
And i still haven’t taken a picture of the strip mall now there.
Chimatli, No, I never got to go to any of the theaters on Brooklyn. Although, my
parents would tell me about the time they went to a movie theater on First Street
called the “COZY”. “UUUYYY!”, my mom would say, as she described the sensations
of sitting in the dark watching the movie when suddenly she could feel the Rats
scurry over her feet. And this was no William Castle flick or “Sensurround” presentation they were at either. Needless to say, my parents never went back there.
In San Pedro they restored the Original Warner Grand Theater it is awesome because it also have the beautiful art deco design and the red interior with the grand staircases and balconies. I remember walking by as a kid after it had been shut down for years, I would peep though the dusty doors imagining what it was like inside. I am glad they got a chance to restore it to its original state. I like to go there now and check out old classic movies viewings or an events, but it’s nice I get a chance to experience what it was like to go to them old theaters it is pretty nostalgic just sitting in the seats watching a movie.
Yeah- That Warner Grand Theater is truly majestic. Thanks to some great efforts by
orgs like the L.A. Conservancy, we can still enjoy and experience what it’s like to see
a film in a “Palace.”
Check this out:
http://cinematreasures.org/theater/1965/
A whole site about old theaters. There are some really old folks posting stories there!
Fifteen years ago the MTA had originally conceived that the Eastside Extension would be a subway route going under Whittier Boulevard and ending at Whittier & Atlantic. The MTA had begun studies that went as far as the Planning Committee to purchase the Golden Gate Theater structure and use it to house the new terminal station in 1994. When that route was scrapped so was the MTA plan to retrofit the building. Nowadays, we hear tell that the building will one day house a Walgreen’s drug store.
I heard on the news today they just reopened the Million Doller Theater, that is pretty cool I am not sure if they will show movies, they did mention Spanish acts I guess it must of been known for that.
Indeed, the Million Dollar Theater is back in business and last night it was sold out for a showing of the Tin Tan classic pelicula, “El Rey del Barrio”. The new owners plan to present movies, nightclub acts and revues in this glorious venue that has played host to acts as diverse as Billie Holiday and La India Maria. One small step towards the revivification of night life on Broadway.
I’m sure that many of us have some wonderful memories of the Old Movie Houses on Broadway like the Million Dollar. I’d like to put out a post about it after my ELA series. If anyone has any thoughts, memories or images on the Downtown Movie Theaters,
send them to me and I may include them in the upcoming post. Thanks in advance!
aldesmadre@gmail.com
Dennis, I heard the same rumor about MTA and the Golden Gate. Are they really going to turn it over to Walgreens? There’s a Rite Aid just up the street. I wish someone would restore the theater and make it into something lovely and useful. I suppose that’s asking too much though.