I actually worked with Randy Ruddy a few times. He was last working for AMC a few years back at their (now closed) Puente Mall 6. This had to be in 1997.
It is still a first run house. With the loss of 2 of the 3 multiplexes in Westwood (Mann Westwood 4, UA Westwood 4), this theatre will continue to get first run bookings for a long time…
The Edwards on Atlantic in Monterey Park or Alhambra. Hell, here are all the area theatres:
The Edwards Monterey Mall 3 Closed around 1999 after being a discount house for years. Its still vacant. No plans for it, and I highly doubt it reopening as a theatre since Lowes is planning a 14 plex just up Atlantic for 2006 (construction is supposed to start next year).
The Edwards Atlantic Palace in Alhambra is still open. It opened in 1988 to replace the Edwards Alhambra that was destroyed in the 1987 quake (Edwards lost all of their single screens and the Alhambra in 1987 due to the quake)
The Edwards Alhambra Place 5 on Bay State St opened in early 1980’s and survived until 2003, when it was closed after Regal opened the Alhambra Rennaisance up the block (Oddly enough, it shares product with the Atlantic Palace 10). This was torn down earlier this year and will be turned into senior housing.
Finally, the Temple City 4 opened by Edwards recently closed in 2004, after being opened for 20some years. It was opened a month later as a Regency Theatre and still shows first run flicks. I sense it being squeezed again by the Santa Anita 16 AMC just opened in Arcadia.
Correction: The Rosemead 4 was damaged in the 1987 whittier narrows quake, as the epicentre was only a few miles away.
It was torn down and replaced with a Kids R Us store (which closed in 2004, replaced by an Office Depot) and a couple little shops (both closed and now house a Party City). It was a typical shoebox AMC at the time, similar to the (now defunct) AMC Puente 4 in Puente Hills.
I used to frequent this theatre as a kid growing up. I thought it was way better than the Edwards in Monterey Park because it had 4 screens, not 3.
I agree with Manwithnoname, I live (actually close to him) in Monterey Park and go to the Chinese a lot. It will sell a lot of shows during the week, especially when a huge movie opens.
Another possibility is that this theatre was torn down in the 70’s or 80’s when they built the shopping centre on Muscatel and Valley (where the supermarket is/was), since there are a lot of old buildings still existant between Muscatel and Mission. I drove by tonight but it was too dark to see.
8900 block is where the old toytown used to be in Rosemead. That was just one block west of Rosemead blvd at muscatel. Oddly enough, the 1000 block shares number with San Gabriel. If this was the case, then the 1600 block of Rosemead would have been around here if not a block east, where “downtown” rosemead is located. Im thinking the theatre had to be located between Mission Dr and Rosemead on valley.
The AMC was torn down after the 1987 quake. I heard it suffered quake damage as the a result of the Whittier quake whos epicentre was located less than a mile away. It was replaced with some stores and a Kids R Us, which closed in 2004. Today its an Office Depot. This theatre was a standard 4plex AMC opened. It looked nothing special.
The Toys R Us closed in 2003. It was freestanding and located west of the Square. Its now a Levitz Furniture.
The Washington Mutual has opened. Oddly enough, the exterior has been kept the same The box office area is still there, and the marquee is still there. A back entrance has been added
The theatre today is an Unfinished Furniture store. The theatre was not converted so the angled floors still exist. The drapes still line the walls, and the smell of a theatre is still in the air. I walked through it yesterday and couldnt beleive the great condition its in. The only changes is in one theatre they added a huge roll up door to the outside for loading of furniture, and in another they built an office in part of the back (you can tell, the carpet still is on the floors).
There are 18 screens plus the Imax. I hate this theatre with a passion, the small screens are junk. I’ve never been in a large theatre. Do they even have a large theatre?!
The theatre has a lot more seats. I worked at this theatre from 1992-1996 and in 2001. The remodel was done in 2000 to convert the old main concession stand and 4 self-service stations into one large concession stand. They also redid lobby lighting, and the walls and floors. It now looks like all newer AMC Theatres. It also had 8 box office stations at opening, but after the remodel went down to 5 stations (the 6th in front is no longer used, and the two stations inside are no longer used).
It also has over 3000 seats. The theatres seat the following (approximately):
1, 10 – 275
2, 9 – 150
3, 8 – 225
4, 7 – 375
5, 6 – 475
One odd thing to note about this theatre, it is haunted. A Ghost has been seen by many in the projection booth, and lights have turned on mysteriously after being shut off. Theatre 9,10 have been the most haunted. A lady died in theatre 10 during a screening of Twister.
The address is 1475 N. Montebello Blvd, Montebello.
This theatre is located one block from the Balboa live theatre, and close to megaplexes in Gaslamp (Pacific’s 16 plex) and Horton Plaza (UA/Regal 14 plex)
The Avco has been a fixture since the 1960’s in Westwood. It currently is a 4plex, but I beleive started as a twin, then both auditoriums split. It was built by General Cinemas, and remained so until AMC Took it over when it bought GCC.
A Shame? Why would you even consider it a shame?! Most likely the old Empire would have been torn down and nothing would be left if AMC didnt step in to build this megaplex in the shell of the Empire.
This theatre used to be a really busy AMC Theatre. Upstairs there is a huge room that used to be the Regional Offices for AMC. For a while, it was a top grossing theatre. It really suffered when Century opened the Century 24 a few miles north, and the real nail in the coffin came when AMC opened the Block less than a mile away. At this time, both theatres were still ran by AMC, with Mainplace being used as an Arthouse, except for some larger kids fare.
AMC closed the theatre around 1999/2000. I cant remember the exact date. It was a really nice theatre to see a movie at when it was with AMC. I have heard the place is falling apart now.
I actually worked with Randy Ruddy a few times. He was last working for AMC a few years back at their (now closed) Puente Mall 6. This had to be in 1997.
It is still a first run house. With the loss of 2 of the 3 multiplexes in Westwood (Mann Westwood 4, UA Westwood 4), this theatre will continue to get first run bookings for a long time…
The Edwards on Atlantic in Monterey Park or Alhambra. Hell, here are all the area theatres:
The Edwards Monterey Mall 3 Closed around 1999 after being a discount house for years. Its still vacant. No plans for it, and I highly doubt it reopening as a theatre since Lowes is planning a 14 plex just up Atlantic for 2006 (construction is supposed to start next year).
The Edwards Atlantic Palace in Alhambra is still open. It opened in 1988 to replace the Edwards Alhambra that was destroyed in the 1987 quake (Edwards lost all of their single screens and the Alhambra in 1987 due to the quake)
The Edwards Alhambra Place 5 on Bay State St opened in early 1980’s and survived until 2003, when it was closed after Regal opened the Alhambra Rennaisance up the block (Oddly enough, it shares product with the Atlantic Palace 10). This was torn down earlier this year and will be turned into senior housing.
Finally, the Temple City 4 opened by Edwards recently closed in 2004, after being opened for 20some years. It was opened a month later as a Regency Theatre and still shows first run flicks. I sense it being squeezed again by the Santa Anita 16 AMC just opened in Arcadia.
Correction: The Rosemead 4 was damaged in the 1987 whittier narrows quake, as the epicentre was only a few miles away.
It was torn down and replaced with a Kids R Us store (which closed in 2004, replaced by an Office Depot) and a couple little shops (both closed and now house a Party City). It was a typical shoebox AMC at the time, similar to the (now defunct) AMC Puente 4 in Puente Hills.
I used to frequent this theatre as a kid growing up. I thought it was way better than the Edwards in Monterey Park because it had 4 screens, not 3.
I agree with Manwithnoname, I live (actually close to him) in Monterey Park and go to the Chinese a lot. It will sell a lot of shows during the week, especially when a huge movie opens.
Another possibility is that this theatre was torn down in the 70’s or 80’s when they built the shopping centre on Muscatel and Valley (where the supermarket is/was), since there are a lot of old buildings still existant between Muscatel and Mission. I drove by tonight but it was too dark to see.
700 block would have placed this theatre near the corner of San Gabriel and Garvey, where the old KMart store is located (now a chinese supermarket).
8900 block is where the old toytown used to be in Rosemead. That was just one block west of Rosemead blvd at muscatel. Oddly enough, the 1000 block shares number with San Gabriel. If this was the case, then the 1600 block of Rosemead would have been around here if not a block east, where “downtown” rosemead is located. Im thinking the theatre had to be located between Mission Dr and Rosemead on valley.
The AMC was torn down after the 1987 quake. I heard it suffered quake damage as the a result of the Whittier quake whos epicentre was located less than a mile away. It was replaced with some stores and a Kids R Us, which closed in 2004. Today its an Office Depot. This theatre was a standard 4plex AMC opened. It looked nothing special.
The Toys R Us closed in 2003. It was freestanding and located west of the Square. Its now a Levitz Furniture.
When did this theatre close? It was open pretty recently.
And it was a typical 80’s UA located in the Valley Plaza.
This theatre closed not get any bookings at all. It had Lord Of The RIngs: ROTK up through June. It was a full price second run house under AMC.
The Washington Mutual has opened. Oddly enough, the exterior has been kept the same The box office area is still there, and the marquee is still there. A back entrance has been added
The Stadium theatre was located in downtown Torrance. Also there were a few in Manhattan Beach, Redondo, and Hermosa.
These are south bay too.
The theatre today is an Unfinished Furniture store. The theatre was not converted so the angled floors still exist. The drapes still line the walls, and the smell of a theatre is still in the air. I walked through it yesterday and couldnt beleive the great condition its in. The only changes is in one theatre they added a huge roll up door to the outside for loading of furniture, and in another they built an office in part of the back (you can tell, the carpet still is on the floors).
There are 18 screens plus the Imax. I hate this theatre with a passion, the small screens are junk. I’ve never been in a large theatre. Do they even have a large theatre?!
The theatre has a lot more seats. I worked at this theatre from 1992-1996 and in 2001. The remodel was done in 2000 to convert the old main concession stand and 4 self-service stations into one large concession stand. They also redid lobby lighting, and the walls and floors. It now looks like all newer AMC Theatres. It also had 8 box office stations at opening, but after the remodel went down to 5 stations (the 6th in front is no longer used, and the two stations inside are no longer used).
It also has over 3000 seats. The theatres seat the following (approximately):
1, 10 – 275
2, 9 – 150
3, 8 – 225
4, 7 – 375
5, 6 – 475
One odd thing to note about this theatre, it is haunted. A Ghost has been seen by many in the projection booth, and lights have turned on mysteriously after being shut off. Theatre 9,10 have been the most haunted. A lady died in theatre 10 during a screening of Twister.
The address is 1475 N. Montebello Blvd, Montebello.
This theatre is located one block from the Balboa live theatre, and close to megaplexes in Gaslamp (Pacific’s 16 plex) and Horton Plaza (UA/Regal 14 plex)
The Avco has been a fixture since the 1960’s in Westwood. It currently is a 4plex, but I beleive started as a twin, then both auditoriums split. It was built by General Cinemas, and remained so until AMC Took it over when it bought GCC.
The Mission Drive-In is the one you are thinking of in Montclair, off Mission Blvd on old US 60.
I beleive they added Stadium in all theatres now. I saw Passion here and it was not bad at all.
A Shame? Why would you even consider it a shame?! Most likely the old Empire would have been torn down and nothing would be left if AMC didnt step in to build this megaplex in the shell of the Empire.
This theatre used to be a really busy AMC Theatre. Upstairs there is a huge room that used to be the Regional Offices for AMC. For a while, it was a top grossing theatre. It really suffered when Century opened the Century 24 a few miles north, and the real nail in the coffin came when AMC opened the Block less than a mile away. At this time, both theatres were still ran by AMC, with Mainplace being used as an Arthouse, except for some larger kids fare.
AMC closed the theatre around 1999/2000. I cant remember the exact date. It was a really nice theatre to see a movie at when it was with AMC. I have heard the place is falling apart now.
Actually the theatre lot sat vacant and the remianing buildings were demolished about 1999. Today, a new home development sits on the lot.