Seeing this Willard page knocked my socks off! Because it closed about 1960 or so, very soon after I’d moved to the new neighborhood, I’d almost totally forgotten this B-I-G gem of a theater.
The guys and I would take the el to Woodhaven Blvd. station, and then it was only a few blocks' walk on Jamaica Ave. Had seen a couple cheezy Hammer films there, “The Giant Behemoth,” with animation by Willis “King Kong” O'Brien, and one called “Horrors of the Black Museum.” Every kid in the neighborhood came back trying to devise a pair of binoculars with needles or sharp nails that shot out directly into victims' eyeballs and blinded ‘em. We were fun dudes.
I think there was a catering hall there that went belly-up prior to being taken over by Le Cordon Bleu. My kid sister had her “Sweet 16” party there in 1973.
One oddity: The next station on the el used to be 102nd St. Now I find that end closed and the station has been renamed 104th St. Did 104th St. have a stronger and more influential block association???
Conceived by architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1866, Eastern Parkway was built in the 1870s expressly for “pleasure-riding and driving,” and as access to scenic Prospect Park. (They had designed that, plus Fort Greene Park in downtown Brooklyn, and Central Park in Manhattan was their crowning achievement.) Years later, as a thoroughfare for autos, Eastern Parkway boasted six lanes across (3 in each direction), plus two side streets, one in each direction. The Loew’s Kameo overlooked this massive parkway.
I “discovered” it in 1959, upon attending high school at Brooklyn Prep in Crown Heights a few blocks away. The Kameo was extremely well-maintained in those days. I even have a fleeting memory of the ushers in uniforms and wearing white gloves, but don’t quote me. Got to see “The FBI Story” in ‘59 and George Pal’s “The Time Machine,” with Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux (AND Whit Bissell!) the following year. Admissions always were reasonablely priced for an A-list theater (60 cents) and made dates for movies and Chinese dinners very affordable in those days, like under $5 bucks. The air-conditioning on hot summer days and nights was a blessing from above. So I’m not totally surprised that it’s currently a house of worship…
My 1935 copy of the Brooklyn “Red Book” (A Complete Guide to Brooklyn Streets) confirms the 327 address given for the Cumberland Theatre. I’ve submitted it to CT after interviewing my mom (92) in Brooklyn and my aunt (90) in Jersey this morning. Their vivid recollections will be incorporated on that page once it’s up and running. Large Thanks to all who assisted.
EdSolero, the old postal zone number for that area was 5. It later changed to 38 prior to the use of zip codes. The cross streets were Greene Ave. & Fulton St., right by the old Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital.
Warren & Ed, “The Hill” was indeed a reference to the wealthy old Clinton Hill section. I used to live at 196 Clinton, between Willoughy and Myrtle, five blocks east of Fort Greene Park.
Appreciated your info, Lost Memory (and also for the TZ/CT gremlins hard at work and play here – LOL!) Somewhere in my files, I believe, is one of those ancient Brooklyn Redbook Street Guides from the ‘40s. Theaters would be listed in the rear. The trick for me is to actually lay my hands on it to snag that info, so I’ll just keep this one on the back burner for awhile. Thx, LM.
To stay somewhat O/T on this ever-burgeoning Ridgewood Theater page, PKoch mentioned on 6/20 his dad’s liking the Myrtle Ave.-Richmond Hill trolley. (I think they were Peter Witt cars.) Recently, I obtained another DVD from SubwayAl (Alan I. Zelazo) over in Morris Plains, NJ, that has extensive color footage of this line in the ‘40s and very early '50s, including shots while passing the Ridgewood, the bank at the corner of Myrtle & Forest, the trip alongside Forest Park and the Jackie Robinson Parkway (the old Interboro), the apartment houses on the far side of Woodhaven Blvd. and finally terminating by the Triangle Hofbrau area of Richmond Hill near the RKO Keith’s (out of view) at Jamaica Ave. My own personal time machine, guys…
Lost Memory, if I can impose on you for a small favor, research-wise, do you have any resources or other ways to locate something about the old Cumberland Theater? (That was its name, according to my mom who attended many times with her sisters in the ‘20s and '30s.) It was located on the odd-numbered side of Cumberland Street, probably in the upper 300s between Greene Ave. and Fulton St. under the el station. Later it became an A&P and was that for many years. Today the area is sealed off as a small park or walking mall diagonally across from the Lafayette Ave. station of the A & C IND trains. I’ve not been able to find it on Google or on this CT site. Thx in advance for any help you can provide!
It was demolished, but uncertain of the exact year in the early 1950s. The “newer” building (now 50+ years old) occupied by Bohack’s and its successors is a low, single-story structure and would never have been conducive for even a local movie bistro to function with any degree of style or comfort.
Two cousins of mine who had lived nearby on Arlington Ave. were Warwick “regulars” during the 1940s. The theater was bordered on Fulton St. by Warwick St. and Jerome Ave., under the shadow of the BMT Jamaica (or #15) El.
After the Warwick was no longer a theater, Bohack’s Supermarket took over and occupied the site. Bohack’s, like A&P, had become a serious threat to mom ‘n’ pop groceries in densely-populated residential areas such as the East New York section. As late as the summer of 1963, for example, price wars were common between Bohack’s and Landro’s Italian-American grocery located diagonally across the street, and a quart of milk could be had for the ridiculously low price of 3 or 4 cents.
Today, the same Warwick site is occupied by a shabby-looking C-Town Supermercado and is heavily patronized by many of the hispanic folks now living on and around Fulton St. and Atlantic Ave.
Yep, you get the prize. It was the Strand in the background.
Cameron Crowe lived in San Diego for a few years, even attended Clairemont High as a “student.” That eventually produced his first instant classic, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” (In a letter Cameron sent me back in ‘83, he’d indicated just how much fun he had with the composite character of Spicoli. Sean Penn was letter perfect: “Let’s party, dude!”)
If you’re ever in an area in which Ray and Sharon Courts has their HCS, drop in, revel in the nostalgia, and meet some of the former legends and stars while they’re still with us…
Losing this theater to “progress” was a heartbreaker. It had been a fixture in the Clairemont neighborhood of San Diego probably since the 1950s or early ‘60s. I’m not sure it was always a twin, but it came to be that during my time here.
The last movie I saw here with my kids was back in ‘94 was “The Little Rascals.” As a family, we always loved the VHS tapes of the original Roach Rascals, and we were even fortunate to meet Tommy “Butch” Bond on several occasions at the Hollywood Collectors Show held then at the Beverly Garland Hotel in North Hollywood. (www.hollywoodcollectorsshow.com) Sadly, we lost Tommy, who lived in Imperial Beach, earlier this year.
I had to eat some crow about this time, as I’d said many, many times in the past that the Rascals' stories could never be remade today, not with today’s precocious, sophiscated and smartass kids. The culture was all wrong for any kind of remake. Impossible.
Bingo – I was wrong. The producers really did it, and it was a delight to view that film (several times) at the Clairemont Twin.
A few years ago, when interior demolition was taking place, I managed to get inside. In the central dark, but highlighted from various openings in the structure, I tried to reassemble in my mind how everything used to be. All the theater seats had been ripped out. The concrete flooring had been demolished, so that there was only dirt on the slope that went from the individual entrances to where the screens were. This area was leveled with fresh dirt shortly thereafter. Not long after this visit, one of the many outlets in the ever-growing 99-Cent Store chain had its Grand Opening. The modern multiplex newly created on the far side of this same Clairemont Town Square shopping mall never managed to possess any of the charm or the character of this beloved twin.
Much appreciated, good sir. Will have some fun rooting through those references. I can certainly appreciate your dissatisfaction with the current scene as it runs pretty deep with me, too. You might pick up on some of that in my Loma Theater post, among others.
CinemaTreasures is a wonderful site, but I have some difficulty with certain San Diego theaters, some of which, like Landmark Hillcrest Cinema, may never have had an entry. The former Guild, a block away on 5th did, but nothing for the Hillcrest. I was there last night to see “An Inconvenient Truth” – don’t miss it, BTW – so I guess I’ll have to contact my friend, regional manager Chris Principio, and see if he can get something going…
A grand old theater, laden with tons of class. Ironically, I never saw a movie here. In early February, 2002, I treated my daughter to Canadian singer Nelly Furtado’s concert and introduced her to Nelly and the band members after the show. My daughter also liked the fact that the tickets I had were in Row 4, floor level, but there really isn’t a poor seat in the house.
A single screen venue tucked away by I-15 in the Kensington area of San Diego, this theater reminds me so much of what I’d experienced in neighborhood theaters in Brooklyn & Queens (like the Peerless) when I was a kid some 50-odd years ago. Landmark is to be congratulated for keeping this gem going, very much like its sister counterpart, the Hillcrest Cinema.
Just recently, I was fortunate to view a wonderfully restored print of “The Fallen Idol,” a British entry made back in 1948. Last year, the folks at the Ken Cinema gave us the delightful “Festival Express,” filmed in Canada in 1970 and featuring the likes of Janis Joplin just three months before her untimely demise, a dark-haired Jerry Garcia, Ian & Sylvia, Buddy Guy and many more colorful characters from that era.
Thx, DanW. When I listed Cass St. in my Google search, the other Roxy popped right up. I posted there yesterday. Hope I can eventually put up a link to that photo of colorful murals on the north wall.
In trying to locate a few other theaters (including an unsuccessful one for the Fox downtown), I spotted your posts (and replies) for a few theaters. It’s refreshing to know that San Diego has someone around like you. Take that as a compliment. Today I’m having difficulty finding the Landmark Hillcrest Cinema. I swear, east coast venues are so much easier to locate.
Restoration work appears exceedingly slow, at least on the exterior. I pass by almost weekly, only to see broken windows, peeling paint, bas relief figures in disrepair or vandalized. Date given for re-opening is 2008.
I jumped over to this site at the request of my dear old aunt and godmother in Jersey (almost 90 now) to say that the old Duffield was a dump in her day, a dump in my day, that it’s always been a dump, but alla you guys beat us to it!!!
For a much more panoramic view of the 3rd pic down (left) on the site Lost Memory referenced, jump to my 6/18 comments on the Amabassador Theater site.
Movie buffs and railfans oftn have a lot in common. Earlier this month, I purchased a 28-minute video on eBay about Chicago Trolleys that had aired on WTV back in 2002. Timeframe stretched from the ‘30s to the '50s, and most of the footage was in color. One shot of the very late '40s/very early '50s United Artists Theater was stunning, with brilliant chase lights doing their job late in the day! This is a tape to get if you wish to see some of the theater’s earlier grandeur.
The folks who market this tape (still not available on DVD, however) are MAHP: Mid-America Historical Preservation and can be contacted at P.O. Box 464, Whiting IN 46394. Cost is low (I won my copy with a single $8.99 bid), and all proceeds fund their other preservation projects. Worthwhile and recommended!
On page 39 of Herbert H. Harwood Jr.’s book, “Baltimore and Its Streetcars” (Quadrant Press, NY, softcover, 1984), there is a wide panoramic shot which features the Ambassador on the left (“Gypsy Wildcat” is featured on the marquee) and the Gwynn on the right. The photo is dated April 1951.
Am posting this in the hope that someone out there with the technical capability has access to this book so that a link can be posted here for everyone’s enjoyment. Good luck!
I disagree with the opening comment above that the Roxy operated only until 1978. I got to San Diego with my wife 12/78 and attended various shows until 1980 B.C. (Before Children).
Located in the city’s Pacific Beach section, the theater split its time between screening art/erotic films and being a live rock music venue (with Fahn & Silva as local promoters). Can’t lay my hands on the photos that I took c. 1979 of the Roxy’s north wall, featuring murals of W.C. Fields, Marilyn Monroe and others, but hopefully some local resident might have saved a postcard copy, regularly sold back then at places such as Sav-On’s, Long’s and Thrifty’s, to scan and post here.
My wife and I attended “Caligula,” a true mish-mash of hype, history and porn. As a couple, it cost us $12 bucks for the privilege! There were lines around the block awaiting the next showing, so I put together a mock cloak, resurrected some of my previously-learned Latin (“Quotidianum da nobis hodie!” and “Mater Caesaris erat meratrix!”), and walked among the eager throng while intoning pompously, “Caesar himself says to save six duckets (or denarii) and go get a pizza instead!” A few listened and actually dropped out of line. Ha!
It was a very sad day in the early ‘80s when the Roxy was eventually demolished, reduced to a pile of chalk-white rubble a mere three blocks from the silver-blue Pacific.
For those of you with access to a well-stocked library, there’s a terrific B&W photo of the Charles at the time of “Star Wars.” It was included in Herbert H. Harwood, Jr.’s book, “Baltimore and Its Streetcars” (Quadrant Press, NY, softcover, 1984). I lack the technical capability and tools to scan and post, so perhaps one of you industrious folks can get it done for inclusion here. Good luck.
Seeing this Willard page knocked my socks off! Because it closed about 1960 or so, very soon after I’d moved to the new neighborhood, I’d almost totally forgotten this B-I-G gem of a theater.
The guys and I would take the el to Woodhaven Blvd. station, and then it was only a few blocks' walk on Jamaica Ave. Had seen a couple cheezy Hammer films there, “The Giant Behemoth,” with animation by Willis “King Kong” O'Brien, and one called “Horrors of the Black Museum.” Every kid in the neighborhood came back trying to devise a pair of binoculars with needles or sharp nails that shot out directly into victims' eyeballs and blinded ‘em. We were fun dudes.
I think there was a catering hall there that went belly-up prior to being taken over by Le Cordon Bleu. My kid sister had her “Sweet 16” party there in 1973.
One oddity: The next station on the el used to be 102nd St. Now I find that end closed and the station has been renamed 104th St. Did 104th St. have a stronger and more influential block association???
Conceived by architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1866, Eastern Parkway was built in the 1870s expressly for “pleasure-riding and driving,” and as access to scenic Prospect Park. (They had designed that, plus Fort Greene Park in downtown Brooklyn, and Central Park in Manhattan was their crowning achievement.) Years later, as a thoroughfare for autos, Eastern Parkway boasted six lanes across (3 in each direction), plus two side streets, one in each direction. The Loew’s Kameo overlooked this massive parkway.
I “discovered” it in 1959, upon attending high school at Brooklyn Prep in Crown Heights a few blocks away. The Kameo was extremely well-maintained in those days. I even have a fleeting memory of the ushers in uniforms and wearing white gloves, but don’t quote me. Got to see “The FBI Story” in ‘59 and George Pal’s “The Time Machine,” with Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux (AND Whit Bissell!) the following year. Admissions always were reasonablely priced for an A-list theater (60 cents) and made dates for movies and Chinese dinners very affordable in those days, like under $5 bucks. The air-conditioning on hot summer days and nights was a blessing from above. So I’m not totally surprised that it’s currently a house of worship…
My 1935 copy of the Brooklyn “Red Book” (A Complete Guide to Brooklyn Streets) confirms the 327 address given for the Cumberland Theatre. I’ve submitted it to CT after interviewing my mom (92) in Brooklyn and my aunt (90) in Jersey this morning. Their vivid recollections will be incorporated on that page once it’s up and running. Large Thanks to all who assisted.
EdSolero, the old postal zone number for that area was 5. It later changed to 38 prior to the use of zip codes. The cross streets were Greene Ave. & Fulton St., right by the old Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital.
Warren & Ed, “The Hill” was indeed a reference to the wealthy old Clinton Hill section. I used to live at 196 Clinton, between Willoughy and Myrtle, five blocks east of Fort Greene Park.
Appreciated your info, Lost Memory (and also for the TZ/CT gremlins hard at work and play here – LOL!) Somewhere in my files, I believe, is one of those ancient Brooklyn Redbook Street Guides from the ‘40s. Theaters would be listed in the rear. The trick for me is to actually lay my hands on it to snag that info, so I’ll just keep this one on the back burner for awhile. Thx, LM.
To stay somewhat O/T on this ever-burgeoning Ridgewood Theater page, PKoch mentioned on 6/20 his dad’s liking the Myrtle Ave.-Richmond Hill trolley. (I think they were Peter Witt cars.) Recently, I obtained another DVD from SubwayAl (Alan I. Zelazo) over in Morris Plains, NJ, that has extensive color footage of this line in the ‘40s and very early '50s, including shots while passing the Ridgewood, the bank at the corner of Myrtle & Forest, the trip alongside Forest Park and the Jackie Robinson Parkway (the old Interboro), the apartment houses on the far side of Woodhaven Blvd. and finally terminating by the Triangle Hofbrau area of Richmond Hill near the RKO Keith’s (out of view) at Jamaica Ave. My own personal time machine, guys…
Lost Memory, if I can impose on you for a small favor, research-wise, do you have any resources or other ways to locate something about the old Cumberland Theater? (That was its name, according to my mom who attended many times with her sisters in the ‘20s and '30s.) It was located on the odd-numbered side of Cumberland Street, probably in the upper 300s between Greene Ave. and Fulton St. under the el station. Later it became an A&P and was that for many years. Today the area is sealed off as a small park or walking mall diagonally across from the Lafayette Ave. station of the A & C IND trains. I’ve not been able to find it on Google or on this CT site. Thx in advance for any help you can provide!
An afterthought: The outline design of Bohack’s is made with blocks of concrete. Back in the ‘50s, it was probably the least expensive way to build.
It was demolished, but uncertain of the exact year in the early 1950s. The “newer” building (now 50+ years old) occupied by Bohack’s and its successors is a low, single-story structure and would never have been conducive for even a local movie bistro to function with any degree of style or comfort.
Two cousins of mine who had lived nearby on Arlington Ave. were Warwick “regulars” during the 1940s. The theater was bordered on Fulton St. by Warwick St. and Jerome Ave., under the shadow of the BMT Jamaica (or #15) El.
After the Warwick was no longer a theater, Bohack’s Supermarket took over and occupied the site. Bohack’s, like A&P, had become a serious threat to mom ‘n’ pop groceries in densely-populated residential areas such as the East New York section. As late as the summer of 1963, for example, price wars were common between Bohack’s and Landro’s Italian-American grocery located diagonally across the street, and a quart of milk could be had for the ridiculously low price of 3 or 4 cents.
Today, the same Warwick site is occupied by a shabby-looking C-Town Supermercado and is heavily patronized by many of the hispanic folks now living on and around Fulton St. and Atlantic Ave.
Correction to the URL I posted 6-17 for Ray and Sharon Courts:
http://www.hollywoodcollectorshow.com
Sorry for any inconvenience.
To Rufus Quail, re your post on 4-27-05:
Yep, you get the prize. It was the Strand in the background.
Cameron Crowe lived in San Diego for a few years, even attended Clairemont High as a “student.” That eventually produced his first instant classic, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” (In a letter Cameron sent me back in ‘83, he’d indicated just how much fun he had with the composite character of Spicoli. Sean Penn was letter perfect: “Let’s party, dude!”)
But, yeah, the O.B. Strand…Good eye, sir!
@%#$!* computers! One more time, one less “s!”
http://www.hollywoodcollectorshow.com
I think I need to post the URL without parentheses:
http://www.hollywoodcollectorsshow.com
If you’re ever in an area in which Ray and Sharon Courts has their HCS, drop in, revel in the nostalgia, and meet some of the former legends and stars while they’re still with us…
Losing this theater to “progress” was a heartbreaker. It had been a fixture in the Clairemont neighborhood of San Diego probably since the 1950s or early ‘60s. I’m not sure it was always a twin, but it came to be that during my time here.
The last movie I saw here with my kids was back in ‘94 was “The Little Rascals.” As a family, we always loved the VHS tapes of the original Roach Rascals, and we were even fortunate to meet Tommy “Butch” Bond on several occasions at the Hollywood Collectors Show held then at the Beverly Garland Hotel in North Hollywood. (www.hollywoodcollectorsshow.com) Sadly, we lost Tommy, who lived in Imperial Beach, earlier this year.
I had to eat some crow about this time, as I’d said many, many times in the past that the Rascals' stories could never be remade today, not with today’s precocious, sophiscated and smartass kids. The culture was all wrong for any kind of remake. Impossible.
Bingo – I was wrong. The producers really did it, and it was a delight to view that film (several times) at the Clairemont Twin.
A few years ago, when interior demolition was taking place, I managed to get inside. In the central dark, but highlighted from various openings in the structure, I tried to reassemble in my mind how everything used to be. All the theater seats had been ripped out. The concrete flooring had been demolished, so that there was only dirt on the slope that went from the individual entrances to where the screens were. This area was leveled with fresh dirt shortly thereafter. Not long after this visit, one of the many outlets in the ever-growing 99-Cent Store chain had its Grand Opening. The modern multiplex newly created on the far side of this same Clairemont Town Square shopping mall never managed to possess any of the charm or the character of this beloved twin.
Much appreciated, good sir. Will have some fun rooting through those references. I can certainly appreciate your dissatisfaction with the current scene as it runs pretty deep with me, too. You might pick up on some of that in my Loma Theater post, among others.
CinemaTreasures is a wonderful site, but I have some difficulty with certain San Diego theaters, some of which, like Landmark Hillcrest Cinema, may never have had an entry. The former Guild, a block away on 5th did, but nothing for the Hillcrest. I was there last night to see “An Inconvenient Truth” – don’t miss it, BTW – so I guess I’ll have to contact my friend, regional manager Chris Principio, and see if he can get something going…
Again, thx, DanW!!!
A grand old theater, laden with tons of class. Ironically, I never saw a movie here. In early February, 2002, I treated my daughter to Canadian singer Nelly Furtado’s concert and introduced her to Nelly and the band members after the show. My daughter also liked the fact that the tickets I had were in Row 4, floor level, but there really isn’t a poor seat in the house.
A single screen venue tucked away by I-15 in the Kensington area of San Diego, this theater reminds me so much of what I’d experienced in neighborhood theaters in Brooklyn & Queens (like the Peerless) when I was a kid some 50-odd years ago. Landmark is to be congratulated for keeping this gem going, very much like its sister counterpart, the Hillcrest Cinema.
Just recently, I was fortunate to view a wonderfully restored print of “The Fallen Idol,” a British entry made back in 1948. Last year, the folks at the Ken Cinema gave us the delightful “Festival Express,” filmed in Canada in 1970 and featuring the likes of Janis Joplin just three months before her untimely demise, a dark-haired Jerry Garcia, Ian & Sylvia, Buddy Guy and many more colorful characters from that era.
Thx, DanW. When I listed Cass St. in my Google search, the other Roxy popped right up. I posted there yesterday. Hope I can eventually put up a link to that photo of colorful murals on the north wall.
In trying to locate a few other theaters (including an unsuccessful one for the Fox downtown), I spotted your posts (and replies) for a few theaters. It’s refreshing to know that San Diego has someone around like you. Take that as a compliment. Today I’m having difficulty finding the Landmark Hillcrest Cinema. I swear, east coast venues are so much easier to locate.
The Gwynn was still open for business in April, 1951. In the photo I mentioned yesterday, the marquee lists Bette Davis in “All About Eve.”
Restoration work appears exceedingly slow, at least on the exterior. I pass by almost weekly, only to see broken windows, peeling paint, bas relief figures in disrepair or vandalized. Date given for re-opening is 2008.
I jumped over to this site at the request of my dear old aunt and godmother in Jersey (almost 90 now) to say that the old Duffield was a dump in her day, a dump in my day, that it’s always been a dump, but alla you guys beat us to it!!!
For a much more panoramic view of the 3rd pic down (left) on the site Lost Memory referenced, jump to my 6/18 comments on the Amabassador Theater site.
Movie buffs and railfans oftn have a lot in common. Earlier this month, I purchased a 28-minute video on eBay about Chicago Trolleys that had aired on WTV back in 2002. Timeframe stretched from the ‘30s to the '50s, and most of the footage was in color. One shot of the very late '40s/very early '50s United Artists Theater was stunning, with brilliant chase lights doing their job late in the day! This is a tape to get if you wish to see some of the theater’s earlier grandeur.
The folks who market this tape (still not available on DVD, however) are MAHP: Mid-America Historical Preservation and can be contacted at P.O. Box 464, Whiting IN 46394. Cost is low (I won my copy with a single $8.99 bid), and all proceeds fund their other preservation projects. Worthwhile and recommended!
On page 39 of Herbert H. Harwood Jr.’s book, “Baltimore and Its Streetcars” (Quadrant Press, NY, softcover, 1984), there is a wide panoramic shot which features the Ambassador on the left (“Gypsy Wildcat” is featured on the marquee) and the Gwynn on the right. The photo is dated April 1951.
Am posting this in the hope that someone out there with the technical capability has access to this book so that a link can be posted here for everyone’s enjoyment. Good luck!
I disagree with the opening comment above that the Roxy operated only until 1978. I got to San Diego with my wife 12/78 and attended various shows until 1980 B.C. (Before Children).
Located in the city’s Pacific Beach section, the theater split its time between screening art/erotic films and being a live rock music venue (with Fahn & Silva as local promoters). Can’t lay my hands on the photos that I took c. 1979 of the Roxy’s north wall, featuring murals of W.C. Fields, Marilyn Monroe and others, but hopefully some local resident might have saved a postcard copy, regularly sold back then at places such as Sav-On’s, Long’s and Thrifty’s, to scan and post here.
My wife and I attended “Caligula,” a true mish-mash of hype, history and porn. As a couple, it cost us $12 bucks for the privilege! There were lines around the block awaiting the next showing, so I put together a mock cloak, resurrected some of my previously-learned Latin (“Quotidianum da nobis hodie!” and “Mater Caesaris erat meratrix!”), and walked among the eager throng while intoning pompously, “Caesar himself says to save six duckets (or denarii) and go get a pizza instead!” A few listened and actually dropped out of line. Ha!
It was a very sad day in the early ‘80s when the Roxy was eventually demolished, reduced to a pile of chalk-white rubble a mere three blocks from the silver-blue Pacific.
For those of you with access to a well-stocked library, there’s a terrific B&W photo of the Charles at the time of “Star Wars.” It was included in Herbert H. Harwood, Jr.’s book, “Baltimore and Its Streetcars” (Quadrant Press, NY, softcover, 1984). I lack the technical capability and tools to scan and post, so perhaps one of you industrious folks can get it done for inclusion here. Good luck.