United Artists Theatre
606 E. Colorado Boulevard,
Pasadena,
CA
91101
606 E. Colorado Boulevard,
Pasadena,
CA
91101
6 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Fox West Coast Theatres, United Artists Theater Circuit Inc.
Architects: Clifford A. Balch, Percy A. Eisen, A. R. Walker
Firms: Walker & Eisen
Functions: Gymnasium, Restaurant
Styles: Art Deco
Nearby Theaters
Not to be confused with the new United Artists Pasadena Marketplace multiplex cinema, this old United Artists Theatre was opened around October 1931 with William Haines in “New Adventures of Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford”. It had 912 seats. It was operated by Fox West Coast Theatres by June 1938. In February 1990 it was taken back by UA.
Closed in 1990, it was gutted and converted for retail space which closed as Angels School Supply in 2015. In 2019 the screen end was converted into an Anytime Fitness gymnasium and the front of the theatre is a restaurant.
Contributed by
William Gabel, "manwithnoname"
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 32 comments)
Here are some photos taken today:
http://tinyurl.com/oezskr
http://tinyurl.com/oqgpgo
http://tinyurl.com/o3oebn
Thanks Zubi.
Fox West Coast gave up the United Artists in Pasadena in 1950 as part of the consent decree. Boxoffice of February 2 that year listed twelve FWC houses in California that had gone to UA, finally severing the relationship that had existed between the two chains. The other eleven houses were: State and United Artists, Los Angeles; Capitol and California, Glendale; United Artists in Inglewood, Long Beach, and Berkeley; Long Beach in Long Beach; Mission, San Jose; Varsity, Palo Alto, and California, Richmond.
FWC was operating the Pasadena UA at least as early as 1937, according to items I’ve seen in Boxoffice, but I’m pretty sure it was a UA-operated house from 1950 until it closed. I also recall the Washington Theatre in Pasadena being a UA house in the 1960s.
View link
angels art supply at least restored original facade, removed that awful look from the 80’s View link
After Angel’s School Supply closed, the new owner applied for and received local landmark status for this building. BlankSpaces coworking was set to become the tenant, and judging by the pictures on their Facebook page, the name “blank space” was appropriate since the interior was just a big, white box. Not a trace of theater left. The deal appears to have fallen through, as the building was put back up for lease a few weeks ago. It is still being marketed as a coworking space but in my dreams, I’d love to see it utilized in a way that was accessible to the public- perhaps even with a restoration of the front entrance. Swoon
Sad news. I noticed that the (likely original) lightbulb covered entryway ceiling has recently been demolished. The space still has not found a tenant.
Building sold in October 2018, link below.
https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2018/10/19/pasadenas-artistry-theater-building-sold-for-5-3-million/
The front of the old UA has now reopened (June 16, 2020) as a sweetgreen restaurant.
The theater and adjacent shops have been subdivided for several different tenants, including Sweetgreen, an urgent care, gym, and a couple other health/wellness spaces. Art Deco style signage has been used for most of the tenants.
The poster display boxes and terrazzo in the entryway remain intact and now serve as a shady entryway and patio seating area. I’m still sad about the demo of the beautiful ceiling lights in the entryway, but overall its nicely done and the features that are left are easily accessible to the public, so yay!
The UA launched October 22, 1931 with William Haines with “New Adventures of Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford.”