In 1999 I visited Rochester for the first and as yet, only time. I happened on the Monroe Theatre quite by chance. (I had already photographed the Eastman’s exterior, and seen a movie at the art deco Little the night before) Indeed the Monroe’s exterior is quietly elegant. The later moderne marquee isn’t bad either. At least the owner only desecrated it with paint. Some owners have done far worse in an attempt to prevent landmark designation. I saw it before the paint job, thankfully.
Glad to hear that the marquee will be saved. I would detour off 101 whenever driving to LA over the last few years and check if this theatre was still standing. The extant of the fire damage was indeed total loss of the interior and roof, with only the concrete shell of the building left and the marquee and entrance.
Thanks for the info, Fred. Boller Bros. in Southern California! That’s quite a surprise. I’ve never actually seen photos of the inside. I’d be interested in checking that out.
Yes indeed, the former Camera 3 neon vertical sign is in place on the Camera 12! The original red letters reading, CINEMA are still in place, and between them, new white neon letters reading, CAMERA 12 blink on and off. In addition, aluminum sheet metal strips of “film” snake in and out over the formerly stark entrance. These “filmstrips” are backed with blue neon. In addition, the sides of the building feature new CAMERA 12 horozontal neon signs. At last, a welcome touch of flashy showmanship has come to what was once a plain building. Congrats, Camera Cinemas!
With Regal’s acquisition of the UA circuit, money was actually spent to repair the El Rey’s facade and restore the marquee and sign’s neon. Very refreshing to see.
This theatre originally opened in either the Teens or early Twenties as the Hippodrome. It had a vaudeville stage with fly tower, which is where the “The Place to Go!” signage is. After World War II, there was a fire, and in remodeling it was decided to rotate the interior of the theatre 180 degrees, which explains why the fly tower is over the lobby now. If you look at the row of storefronts, you will see that the most elaborate part of the upper facade is down at the other end (there was a State Farm office there last time I was by there). This is where the original entrance was.
The marquee and the interior are a fine example of the Skouras style. The marquee is identical to that of the Fox Venice and others. As far as I know the Fox remained a single screen, firstrun theatre up until its recent closure.
Before the 1989 earthquake, this theatre had a moderne horozontal swing-out sign over the marquee. It read, GRANADA THEATRE, and flashed on and off. I took a photo of it circa 1986. The present marquee wedge-shaped canopy is a retrofit of what was there before. Originally, this wedge was edged in neon in a zig-zag geometric pattern. The marquee and sign were green, with white lettering. The last time I was by there a couple of years ago, the vintage tiled box office was still there between the entrance doors.
The facade itself was even plainer before the quake—just flat, with aluminum sash windows. The present facade look is actually an improvement, though the former sign and marquee design are missed.
It should be noted also that Hollister had one other old theatre, about two blocks away on the main street, the State (last known as the Showcase) which operated as a single screen firstrun theatre until the ‘89 quake, which closed the house. While closed, some bums made their home inside and accidentally burned the place down.
I most heartily agree that the Rio is a wonderful and cozy, mom and pop place. I saw Disney’s “Tarzan” there a few years ago. While we waited for the movie to start, the operators showed slides of their trip to Scotland on the big screen!
While the theatre is lovingly decorated inside and out with murals by local artists, the simple historic original details of the building are maintained as well—simple neon bedecked vertical sign and marquee, and the moderne stucco facade.
Also of interest are painted notations near the entrance showing flood levels of years past when the nearby Russian River has flooded the town. The theatre owners got wise and installed a rollup screen, speakers which can be hoisted out of harm’s way on pulleys, hard plastic seats (not bad at all to sit in), and ultra durable carpet. The Rio is a survivor.
Well, at least ONE of those Egyptian statue heads from the Academy was saved. It’s owned by a friend of mine who bought it from an LA antique dealer who salvaged several of them. My friend is planning on building a home theatre in his next house, and will incorporate the head in the decor. The heads were very similar, though a bit more ornate, to the large heads that line the auditorium of the Vista, on Sunset (restored and operating), also designed by L. A. Smith.
Nothing remains of the theatre’s original interior decor. It was gutted out and replaced by a very plain interior in a 1962 remodeling, which is when the marquee pictured in the above photo was installed and the facade stripped of ornament, save for the four fluted pilasters.
My wife and I attended a terrific comedy show at the Improv/Jose this past fall, and I gave myself a complete tour of the interior after the performance. Basically what has been done is to restore all those historical elements which had survived, regardless of era. This approach works well, as the theatre’s entire architectural history is represented. The gilded plaster ceiling dating from the theatre’s construction has been beautifully restored, including the relighting of hundreds of bare lightbulbs which outline the moldings. In 1904, this feature told audiences in no uncertain terms, “This new and modern theatre has ELECTRICITY!” At the same time, a large deco chandelier in the center remains and is restored. This feature effectively uplights the center of the ceiling. The front edge of the balcony has been restored to its plasterwork frieze of garlands and torches. The underside of the balcony and the inner lobby ceiling both retain their patterned, pressed tin surfaces. The stage is nicely festooned with deep red velvet drapes fringed in gold, which call to mind curtain design from 1940s movie theatres—very appropriate. In the old hotel space over the lobby, new and luxurious restrooms and lounges and a bar for the balcony have been built. Historic features like wooden staircases and multi-paned skylights have been retained, and the bathrooms have replicated porcelain tile with very narrow grout seams—characteristic the the early 20th Century, The overall effect is one of hip, tasteful luxury nestled comfortably in a respected historical setting.
Here’s hoping that Camera Cinemas will save the beautiful, neo-moderne vertical sign from the Camera 3. Maybe it could have a new home on the Camera 12? Being that it simply reads, “Cinema,” this would be an excellent idea. Downtown San Jose needs all the illuminated signage it can get.
This theatre building sits partly on land once occupied by the Theatre DeLuxe, built in 1912, and later known as the California, and then as the Fox Mission (see the cinematreasures page on “Fox Mission”). The Mission was demolished in 1953, save for its stagehouse, which survived a while longer as a storage facility. United Artists opened this theatre circa 1996 and it closed a few years later, remaining dark until its reincarnation as the Camera 12.
Just to answer some of the debate about how the Egyptian was redone:
If you restored the original proscenium, you would have an absurdly small screen. I’m both a lover of movie palaces and Egyptian architecture (both real and reel), and that proscenium was a beauty, but practicality is practicality.
If you brought back the auditorium sidewalls to their original look and texture, removing the new retractible structure built within, you would recreate the same problem that the Egyptian faced with the advent of talkies. As a room for amplified sound, it was lousy. No, I wasn’t there back then, by I have read about the problems encountered with the auditorium every time a new innovation in presentation came along.
Although I applaud reuse of old theatres which bring them back to their aesthetic glory days with as little visible modernity as possible, it was evidenced to me that what American Cinematech did was a great technical solution. I would rather have seen the interior structural members painted in some sort of sandstone hue to blend nicely with the surviving historical elements, but that would be almost my only complaint—that, and the removal of the stained glass Egyptian panels in the lobby, and the heavy wood doors leading into the auditorium, which had striding figures on them and tall sceptre-like handles that made the act of opening the doors one of great moment.
I was inside the Liberty with the Theatre Historical Society Conclave during Summer 2002. We entered the theatre through an almost incidental plain door at the rear of one of the commercial tenants facing 42nd Street. Once past that door, we were in the dusty and haunted-looking Liberty interior. The plasterwork was all there, though repainted (save for the ceiling, which looked original, or at least very old, with stenciling and gilding). The seats were gone. Moderne hanging fixtures from its movie house days still existed in the inner lobby and standee areas. The stage was intact, except that the fly tower had been lopped off and reroofed for the new construction above and around the theatre. Aside from the missing side boxes and the obvious repaintings, the auditorium appeared largely as one sees in old photos.
I remember taking one photo of this theatre in 1981 as my folks and I drove through Roswell on a six-week trip around the US. The exterior of the theatre was intact, though a little faded, and was showing Spanish language films.
A few years ago I was able to buy a copy of Theatre Catalog for 1947-48, and the Plains is the subject of a nice article, with photos. The interior of the theatre was extremely plain, but looked comfortable. The fine moderne exterior appears to have changed not at all between its opening and my 1981 photo. I have seen one photo of how it looks today as the UFO Museum, and as far as I can tell the exterior has been totally respected, with a sign for the museum occupying the reader boards on the marquee, and no other changes. As for the interior, it’s likely altered, but there wasn’t much to alter to begin with, at least aesthetically.
I too, will point out that the Granada’s facade provided visual source material for the artist who created the Styx “Paradise Theatre” album cover circa 1980. Indeed, it was this album and its concept and cover art which was the catalyst for turning me into an old theatre architecture fan, though I had always enjoyed visiting older theatres.
My Dad and I got to go inside this theatre in the early 1990s when it was being used as a rehearsal space for local rock bands. The man who was running it as such let us in. The lobby is plain, but had nice redwood wainscoting and door frames, which have been retained to this day. We went into the auditorium, which was very stark then, with plain smooth white walls and a contrasting painted strip down low. A very shabby twinning job had been done, cross-wise, with a new screen made simply of a painted white rectangle on drywall. There was a small stage apron in front of the original screen.
I have not been inside since the Clover’s refurbishing, but I have seen the exterior at night, and the simple neon outlining the facade and marquee make a nice small town statement. This is a classic theatre such as you can find in articles in volumnes of Theatre Catalog from the late 40s and early 50s, when new small town theatres were written about along with the larger theatres.
Update on the “astonishingly stark” multiplex erected on the site of the Fox Mission: Locally owned and operated Camera Cinemas is going to be reopening it very soon. I’m hoping that their budget includes some nice eye-catching details which will relieve the poor building’s “gentrified cellblock-meets-the Great Glass Elevator” appearance.
Yes, the (Fox) California in San Jose is being restored, as well as expanded. Check out its page on cinematreasures. I’ve recently written a construction update on it, following a tour of the theatre I got from one of the individuals in charge of installing a restored Wurlitzer organ there (actually two organs—one for the lobby as well as one for the auditorium).
I first saw this the outside of this theatre when it was relatively new, when passing through the city in about 1982. Back then, new theatres were the paragon of architectural dullness, but I remember being impressed by the Fiesta, as it had (and still has) a nice interpretation of an oldtime theatre marquee, complete with finials on the corners. No exposed neon or lightbulbs—all lighting hidden behind plastic—but not bad at all for the late 1970s. It blends-in well with the Spanish style architecture of downtown Santa Barbara, and the historic marquees of the Granada and Arlington theatres farther up State Street.
About a decade ago I took my Mom to the Riviera, where we saw a French film called, “Tale of Springtime.” The significance of visiting the location was that my Mom was a student at the old UCSB campus in the late 1930s. It was a very nostalgic visit for her.
The interior of the Riviera does indeed look like a typical Mission style school auditorium such as were built all around California from the Teens through the Thirties. It makes a fine small movie theatre with a classic feel. There is a gabled beamed ceiling and a simple niche in the wall high above the proscenium. Along the sidewalls are lantern-style wall sconces with amber glass stenciled with a Spanish-style letter “R.”
In 1999 I visited Rochester for the first and as yet, only time. I happened on the Monroe Theatre quite by chance. (I had already photographed the Eastman’s exterior, and seen a movie at the art deco Little the night before) Indeed the Monroe’s exterior is quietly elegant. The later moderne marquee isn’t bad either. At least the owner only desecrated it with paint. Some owners have done far worse in an attempt to prevent landmark designation. I saw it before the paint job, thankfully.
Glad to hear that the marquee will be saved. I would detour off 101 whenever driving to LA over the last few years and check if this theatre was still standing. The extant of the fire damage was indeed total loss of the interior and roof, with only the concrete shell of the building left and the marquee and entrance.
During its time as a video arcade in the early 1980s, the moderne styled marquee with abundant neon remained intact.
Thanks for the info, Fred. Boller Bros. in Southern California! That’s quite a surprise. I’ve never actually seen photos of the inside. I’d be interested in checking that out.
Yes indeed, the former Camera 3 neon vertical sign is in place on the Camera 12! The original red letters reading, CINEMA are still in place, and between them, new white neon letters reading, CAMERA 12 blink on and off. In addition, aluminum sheet metal strips of “film” snake in and out over the formerly stark entrance. These “filmstrips” are backed with blue neon. In addition, the sides of the building feature new CAMERA 12 horozontal neon signs. At last, a welcome touch of flashy showmanship has come to what was once a plain building. Congrats, Camera Cinemas!
With Regal’s acquisition of the UA circuit, money was actually spent to repair the El Rey’s facade and restore the marquee and sign’s neon. Very refreshing to see.
This theatre originally opened in either the Teens or early Twenties as the Hippodrome. It had a vaudeville stage with fly tower, which is where the “The Place to Go!” signage is. After World War II, there was a fire, and in remodeling it was decided to rotate the interior of the theatre 180 degrees, which explains why the fly tower is over the lobby now. If you look at the row of storefronts, you will see that the most elaborate part of the upper facade is down at the other end (there was a State Farm office there last time I was by there). This is where the original entrance was.
The marquee and the interior are a fine example of the Skouras style. The marquee is identical to that of the Fox Venice and others. As far as I know the Fox remained a single screen, firstrun theatre up until its recent closure.
Before the 1989 earthquake, this theatre had a moderne horozontal swing-out sign over the marquee. It read, GRANADA THEATRE, and flashed on and off. I took a photo of it circa 1986. The present marquee wedge-shaped canopy is a retrofit of what was there before. Originally, this wedge was edged in neon in a zig-zag geometric pattern. The marquee and sign were green, with white lettering. The last time I was by there a couple of years ago, the vintage tiled box office was still there between the entrance doors.
The facade itself was even plainer before the quake—just flat, with aluminum sash windows. The present facade look is actually an improvement, though the former sign and marquee design are missed.
It should be noted also that Hollister had one other old theatre, about two blocks away on the main street, the State (last known as the Showcase) which operated as a single screen firstrun theatre until the ‘89 quake, which closed the house. While closed, some bums made their home inside and accidentally burned the place down.
I most heartily agree that the Rio is a wonderful and cozy, mom and pop place. I saw Disney’s “Tarzan” there a few years ago. While we waited for the movie to start, the operators showed slides of their trip to Scotland on the big screen!
While the theatre is lovingly decorated inside and out with murals by local artists, the simple historic original details of the building are maintained as well—simple neon bedecked vertical sign and marquee, and the moderne stucco facade.
Also of interest are painted notations near the entrance showing flood levels of years past when the nearby Russian River has flooded the town. The theatre owners got wise and installed a rollup screen, speakers which can be hoisted out of harm’s way on pulleys, hard plastic seats (not bad at all to sit in), and ultra durable carpet. The Rio is a survivor.
Well, at least ONE of those Egyptian statue heads from the Academy was saved. It’s owned by a friend of mine who bought it from an LA antique dealer who salvaged several of them. My friend is planning on building a home theatre in his next house, and will incorporate the head in the decor. The heads were very similar, though a bit more ornate, to the large heads that line the auditorium of the Vista, on Sunset (restored and operating), also designed by L. A. Smith.
Nothing remains of the theatre’s original interior decor. It was gutted out and replaced by a very plain interior in a 1962 remodeling, which is when the marquee pictured in the above photo was installed and the facade stripped of ornament, save for the four fluted pilasters.
My wife and I attended a terrific comedy show at the Improv/Jose this past fall, and I gave myself a complete tour of the interior after the performance. Basically what has been done is to restore all those historical elements which had survived, regardless of era. This approach works well, as the theatre’s entire architectural history is represented. The gilded plaster ceiling dating from the theatre’s construction has been beautifully restored, including the relighting of hundreds of bare lightbulbs which outline the moldings. In 1904, this feature told audiences in no uncertain terms, “This new and modern theatre has ELECTRICITY!” At the same time, a large deco chandelier in the center remains and is restored. This feature effectively uplights the center of the ceiling. The front edge of the balcony has been restored to its plasterwork frieze of garlands and torches. The underside of the balcony and the inner lobby ceiling both retain their patterned, pressed tin surfaces. The stage is nicely festooned with deep red velvet drapes fringed in gold, which call to mind curtain design from 1940s movie theatres—very appropriate. In the old hotel space over the lobby, new and luxurious restrooms and lounges and a bar for the balcony have been built. Historic features like wooden staircases and multi-paned skylights have been retained, and the bathrooms have replicated porcelain tile with very narrow grout seams—characteristic the the early 20th Century, The overall effect is one of hip, tasteful luxury nestled comfortably in a respected historical setting.
The Camera 12, (former United Artists Pavilion) which occupies part of the footprint of the vanished Fox Mission, is now open.
The footprint of this theatre is now occuipied partly by the Camera 12 multiplex, as well as a Federal Building and parking lot.
Here’s hoping that Camera Cinemas will save the beautiful, neo-moderne vertical sign from the Camera 3. Maybe it could have a new home on the Camera 12? Being that it simply reads, “Cinema,” this would be an excellent idea. Downtown San Jose needs all the illuminated signage it can get.
This theatre building sits partly on land once occupied by the Theatre DeLuxe, built in 1912, and later known as the California, and then as the Fox Mission (see the cinematreasures page on “Fox Mission”). The Mission was demolished in 1953, save for its stagehouse, which survived a while longer as a storage facility. United Artists opened this theatre circa 1996 and it closed a few years later, remaining dark until its reincarnation as the Camera 12.
Just to answer some of the debate about how the Egyptian was redone:
If you restored the original proscenium, you would have an absurdly small screen. I’m both a lover of movie palaces and Egyptian architecture (both real and reel), and that proscenium was a beauty, but practicality is practicality.
If you brought back the auditorium sidewalls to their original look and texture, removing the new retractible structure built within, you would recreate the same problem that the Egyptian faced with the advent of talkies. As a room for amplified sound, it was lousy. No, I wasn’t there back then, by I have read about the problems encountered with the auditorium every time a new innovation in presentation came along.
Although I applaud reuse of old theatres which bring them back to their aesthetic glory days with as little visible modernity as possible, it was evidenced to me that what American Cinematech did was a great technical solution. I would rather have seen the interior structural members painted in some sort of sandstone hue to blend nicely with the surviving historical elements, but that would be almost my only complaint—that, and the removal of the stained glass Egyptian panels in the lobby, and the heavy wood doors leading into the auditorium, which had striding figures on them and tall sceptre-like handles that made the act of opening the doors one of great moment.
I was inside the Liberty with the Theatre Historical Society Conclave during Summer 2002. We entered the theatre through an almost incidental plain door at the rear of one of the commercial tenants facing 42nd Street. Once past that door, we were in the dusty and haunted-looking Liberty interior. The plasterwork was all there, though repainted (save for the ceiling, which looked original, or at least very old, with stenciling and gilding). The seats were gone. Moderne hanging fixtures from its movie house days still existed in the inner lobby and standee areas. The stage was intact, except that the fly tower had been lopped off and reroofed for the new construction above and around the theatre. Aside from the missing side boxes and the obvious repaintings, the auditorium appeared largely as one sees in old photos.
I remember taking one photo of this theatre in 1981 as my folks and I drove through Roswell on a six-week trip around the US. The exterior of the theatre was intact, though a little faded, and was showing Spanish language films.
A few years ago I was able to buy a copy of Theatre Catalog for 1947-48, and the Plains is the subject of a nice article, with photos. The interior of the theatre was extremely plain, but looked comfortable. The fine moderne exterior appears to have changed not at all between its opening and my 1981 photo. I have seen one photo of how it looks today as the UFO Museum, and as far as I can tell the exterior has been totally respected, with a sign for the museum occupying the reader boards on the marquee, and no other changes. As for the interior, it’s likely altered, but there wasn’t much to alter to begin with, at least aesthetically.
I too, will point out that the Granada’s facade provided visual source material for the artist who created the Styx “Paradise Theatre” album cover circa 1980. Indeed, it was this album and its concept and cover art which was the catalyst for turning me into an old theatre architecture fan, though I had always enjoyed visiting older theatres.
My Dad and I got to go inside this theatre in the early 1990s when it was being used as a rehearsal space for local rock bands. The man who was running it as such let us in. The lobby is plain, but had nice redwood wainscoting and door frames, which have been retained to this day. We went into the auditorium, which was very stark then, with plain smooth white walls and a contrasting painted strip down low. A very shabby twinning job had been done, cross-wise, with a new screen made simply of a painted white rectangle on drywall. There was a small stage apron in front of the original screen.
I have not been inside since the Clover’s refurbishing, but I have seen the exterior at night, and the simple neon outlining the facade and marquee make a nice small town statement. This is a classic theatre such as you can find in articles in volumnes of Theatre Catalog from the late 40s and early 50s, when new small town theatres were written about along with the larger theatres.
Update on the “astonishingly stark” multiplex erected on the site of the Fox Mission: Locally owned and operated Camera Cinemas is going to be reopening it very soon. I’m hoping that their budget includes some nice eye-catching details which will relieve the poor building’s “gentrified cellblock-meets-the Great Glass Elevator” appearance.
Yes, the (Fox) California in San Jose is being restored, as well as expanded. Check out its page on cinematreasures. I’ve recently written a construction update on it, following a tour of the theatre I got from one of the individuals in charge of installing a restored Wurlitzer organ there (actually two organs—one for the lobby as well as one for the auditorium).
I first saw this the outside of this theatre when it was relatively new, when passing through the city in about 1982. Back then, new theatres were the paragon of architectural dullness, but I remember being impressed by the Fiesta, as it had (and still has) a nice interpretation of an oldtime theatre marquee, complete with finials on the corners. No exposed neon or lightbulbs—all lighting hidden behind plastic—but not bad at all for the late 1970s. It blends-in well with the Spanish style architecture of downtown Santa Barbara, and the historic marquees of the Granada and Arlington theatres farther up State Street.
About a decade ago I took my Mom to the Riviera, where we saw a French film called, “Tale of Springtime.” The significance of visiting the location was that my Mom was a student at the old UCSB campus in the late 1930s. It was a very nostalgic visit for her.
The interior of the Riviera does indeed look like a typical Mission style school auditorium such as were built all around California from the Teens through the Thirties. It makes a fine small movie theatre with a classic feel. There is a gabled beamed ceiling and a simple niche in the wall high above the proscenium. Along the sidewalls are lantern-style wall sconces with amber glass stenciled with a Spanish-style letter “R.”