Crest Theatre
1160 Broadway Plaza,
Fresno,
CA
93721
1160 Broadway Plaza,
Fresno,
CA
93721
19 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Fox West Coast Theatres, National General Theatres
Architects: Carl G. Moeller
Functions: Live Performances
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- May 19, 2011 — Cinema Treasures Site Update
- Jan 19, 2005 — The Crest Theatre -- A Church No More
Located on the outskirts of downtown Fresno, the exterior of the former Crest Theatre is a stark Moderne style box with an exceptional marquee. It opened on July 7, 1949 and was operated by Fox West Coast Theatres. The original seating capacity was 1,284.
“The interior is very well maintained courtesy of a friendly porter, who let me inside. Although he wouldn’t turn on the lights, my flashing camera lights revealed beautifully ornate gold leaf details. Facing the stage and curtained screen you feel like sitting in a sea shell”.
The theatre later became a church, the Iglesias Universales, but as of January 2005, the church had vacated the building, and the former theatre was rented out for concerts, movies and special events. It has a reduced seating capacity of 557. It was closed in 2020. It had reopened by June 2023 as a live performance venue.
Contributed by
CinemAFuchs
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Recent comments (view all 40 comments)
now has 557 stadium seats please update. ps. i don’t like this news but someone has to write about it. i might go to a show there in december. finger crossed i do.
the stadium seating rumor is falls. i know because i saw home alone there yesterday for free!. they show movies every Friday. they had shown the nightmare before Christmas at 4:00 so that was a paid to see film and this was a free film. also 95% of the marquee did not light up. also original seating capacity is 1,284 please update on the film times and the original screen count
most of the neon was stolen
How very many Twentieth Century-Fox releases I saw at this theatre, circa 1955-1969: Everything from “Three Coins in the Fountain,” and “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing,” to “Can-Can,” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” In its day, a real movie palace!
Fresno’s Broadway St at the time the Crest opened was a part of State Route 99 before Freeway 99 was built. All motorists driving through the Central Valley on the 99 as they went through Fresno would pass by the stunning Crest marquee. It was the most welcoming sight on the route.
Opening ad newspaper
Crest theatre opening Thu, Jul 7, 1949 – 45 · The Fresno Bee (Fresno, California) · Newspapers.com
You can now rent out the crest for special events per their Facebook page.
No current shows on their Facebook page. Last entry was over 2 years ago.
Facebook has been updated with modern showtimes this has been reopened probably by the old owners please update as opened
They just updated that their ac is broken however they will still be open please update!