Hillcrest Theatre

2245 Morello Avenue,
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

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Additional Info

Functions: Church

Previous Names: Cooper Cinema

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This theatre was located in the Hillcrest Shopping Center in Pleasant Hill. It opened as the Hillcrest Theatre on June 5, 1968 with Bob Hope in “The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell” & The Young Americans in “Young Americans”. It was renamed the Cooper Cinema on April 30, 1980. Since closing in September 1981, the building has been used by several different retail operators and in 2005 it became a church.

Contributed by Robert Merk

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

scottfavareille
scottfavareille on January 29, 2005 at 10:06 am

In 1973-1974, it did turn into a porn house before reverting back to second-run. It was the first theater that showed porn films regularly in Contra Costa County. Others that did: Showcase(aka Enean) in Concord from 1975-late 1980’s (run initially as an independent, then Pussycat from 1976) and El Rey in (downtown) Walnut Creek on Main St(1975-1976, Mike Weldon theaters)

JasonBalch
JasonBalch on March 16, 2005 at 7:01 am

I drove by the site yesterday, it is now the Hope Center Covenant Church. The original building still stands, and there is construction underway in the parking lot adjacent to the former theatre.

JasonBalch
JasonBalch on March 16, 2005 at 7:09 am

On the Hope Center Covenant Church website (http://www.hopecenter.cc/), the are photos that show that the screen and curtain are still in place inside the auditorium.

RobertMerk
RobertMerk on October 20, 2016 at 4:33 pm

The Hillcrest theatre opened on or around June 5, 1968. Its first features were a double bill of THE PRIVATE NAVY OF SGT. O FARRELL starring Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller and THE YOUNG AMERICANS.

On April 30, 1980, the Hillcrest theatre became the Cooper Cinema. It opened with the Francis Ford Coppola film APOCALYPSE NOW.

The Cooper Cinema closed its doors on or around September 8, 1981. Its last listed features were a double bill of STUDENT BODIES and GAS.

Bill_Lonee
Bill_Lonee on August 10, 2020 at 6:59 pm

Moved to Pleasant Hill in 78. By then, this was a second-run theater, but I recall it being in very good shape. Saw several movies there, over the next few years, including the double-feature that closed the place. Weirdly, I also saw the last film at Fox in Concord. Maybe I should stay out of movie theaters, so they’ll stay open.

rivest266
rivest266 on August 6, 2021 at 11:23 am

Grand opening ad posted.

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