Grove Theatre
242 S. Elmwood Avenue,
Lindsay,
CA
93247
242 S. Elmwood Avenue,
Lindsay,
CA
93247
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Opened as Parsons Theatre September 29, 1948. From Lindsay Gazette: ”Lindsay’s new film house the Parsons Theatre opened its doors Wednesday night with the formal opening program scheduled for a week or so later.
Renamed and opened as the Grove Theatre April 27, 1950. From Lindsay Gazette: ”The new Grove Theatre on South Elmwood formerly Parson’s will open Thursday April 27 it was announced this week.”
Grand Opening Ad in Photo section: Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly in On The Town.
It would appear that the Grove closed in the 1980s and remained vacant until 2017 when it became an event center. To achieve that the building was expanded to include offices and a commercial kitchen. A small strip mall was also added.
The building is now for sale for $650,000. Several of the units in the strip mall are occupied.
I’ve uploaded a photo with the signage for the event center.
Here are some 1982 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/qzvle9
http://tinyurl.com/o9fzj2
Here’s more confusion: The November 6, 1948, issue of Boxoffice says that the new Parsons Theatre in Lindsay almost didn’t open on schedule because of a problem with the delivery of one of the movies. The owner of the house was named Aubrey Parsons, so maybe Boxoffice just lost track of the actual name of the theater and substituted the owner’s name. This could have been the Grove, but then if it was I don’t see why it would have been remodeled only two years after it was built.
It’s possible that the Grove just didn’t last very long. The early 1950s were not the best of times for movie theaters, and a lot of them closed, especially in smaller towns that had competing theaters.
The May 20, 1950, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that the Grove Theatre in Lindsay had recently reopened after being completely remodeled and redecorated.