On second thought, 9/11 probably had little to do with the closing when you consider the Kaufman cineplex down the street, but a lot of business dissolved after 9/11 and the Astoria seemed to be one of them.
Hello Empiretheater09, I don’t know how much help I can be except I can email you a couple of jpegs of the theater from the 1920s and 1931 when the building currently on site opened. In 1985-1986 when the venue was trying to function as a live performing arts venue I performed in two shows—a production of the musical CARNIVAL and a variety show called BERTA’S HERE when I was in a tap dancing act. Prior to that the theater showed a new double feature each week and I was there A LOT. The place was hopping until a 4 screen cinema opened on the other side of town about 1983. You can email me at and I’ll email you back the pix if you want to see them or ask any further questions surrounding the Empire.
I used to go to the El Ray (Cinema 1) in 1986-87 when it was a dollar theater and saw KING LING LIVES. It was always showing horrid movies like that, but for a Hartnell College student on a budget you couldn’t beat the dollar admission. I always loved the interior and thought it was such a treasure. My friends and I always dreamed about going into The Fox Theatre, but it was always boarded up. The cineplex at the local Salinas mall is horrible, so it would be grand to have movies again in the El Ray (change the name back) and The Fox. My grandparents lived in Salinas, so I grew up visiting in the summers and Christmas and always rode my bike by those theaters to dream about going inside.
I live 2 blocks from the Astoria Theatre. The original entrance with it’s ornate carvings and such are preserved and it is stupid that the drug store didn’t use the grand arch entrance as the entrance. I go to the NY Sports Club gym located on the second floor of the building and take a certain pride that I am inhabiting the theater. I saw movies in that theater up until the time it closed and although it was a dump by then, I was sad that a theater built in 1920, which had survived for so long, was dead. I always thought 9/11 was the final blow for that theater. Too bad.
I grew up in Placerville during the 1970s and 1980s and attended the Empire Theater constantly. I spent many a Saturday afternoon watching Disney films and late engagements of block busters like STAR WARS, SUPERMAN and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC. This theater always showed a double feature and there was a new program every week. A lot of times you’d get the new Disney release along with an old matinee classic like SINBAD or LASSIE. I remember seeing a full afternoon of Disney short subject cartoons the very first time I went. After the Placerville Cinema Four opened, the Empire was split in two and it was horrible—you could hear the sound from the next door movie during your movie. Too bad the place couldn’t be restored—Main Street could use a nice arts venue.
On second thought, 9/11 probably had little to do with the closing when you consider the Kaufman cineplex down the street, but a lot of business dissolved after 9/11 and the Astoria seemed to be one of them.
Hello Empiretheater09, I don’t know how much help I can be except I can email you a couple of jpegs of the theater from the 1920s and 1931 when the building currently on site opened. In 1985-1986 when the venue was trying to function as a live performing arts venue I performed in two shows—a production of the musical CARNIVAL and a variety show called BERTA’S HERE when I was in a tap dancing act. Prior to that the theater showed a new double feature each week and I was there A LOT. The place was hopping until a 4 screen cinema opened on the other side of town about 1983. You can email me at and I’ll email you back the pix if you want to see them or ask any further questions surrounding the Empire.
I used to go to the El Ray (Cinema 1) in 1986-87 when it was a dollar theater and saw KING LING LIVES. It was always showing horrid movies like that, but for a Hartnell College student on a budget you couldn’t beat the dollar admission. I always loved the interior and thought it was such a treasure. My friends and I always dreamed about going into The Fox Theatre, but it was always boarded up. The cineplex at the local Salinas mall is horrible, so it would be grand to have movies again in the El Ray (change the name back) and The Fox. My grandparents lived in Salinas, so I grew up visiting in the summers and Christmas and always rode my bike by those theaters to dream about going inside.
I live 2 blocks from the Astoria Theatre. The original entrance with it’s ornate carvings and such are preserved and it is stupid that the drug store didn’t use the grand arch entrance as the entrance. I go to the NY Sports Club gym located on the second floor of the building and take a certain pride that I am inhabiting the theater. I saw movies in that theater up until the time it closed and although it was a dump by then, I was sad that a theater built in 1920, which had survived for so long, was dead. I always thought 9/11 was the final blow for that theater. Too bad.
I grew up in Placerville during the 1970s and 1980s and attended the Empire Theater constantly. I spent many a Saturday afternoon watching Disney films and late engagements of block busters like STAR WARS, SUPERMAN and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC. This theater always showed a double feature and there was a new program every week. A lot of times you’d get the new Disney release along with an old matinee classic like SINBAD or LASSIE. I remember seeing a full afternoon of Disney short subject cartoons the very first time I went. After the Placerville Cinema Four opened, the Empire was split in two and it was horrible—you could hear the sound from the next door movie during your movie. Too bad the place couldn’t be restored—Main Street could use a nice arts venue.