Temple Theatre
234 S. Brand Boulevard,
Glendale,
CA
91204
234 S. Brand Boulevard,
Glendale,
CA
91204
3 people
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This reopened as the Regency 1 by Pacific Theatre on March 22nd, 1985. Closed 1996.
Had a few shifts working there under PT It was on the ground floor Had a small concession area & a small ticket booth (aka box) to sit in & sell tickets The managers office was up stairs One manager I can recall was “Monica Bradley” She was one of the managers there under PT She got teansfered to “The Eagle Rock Plaza” All these theartres got axed either coverted or destroyed I think at one time there was 7 theatres on brand blvd That was during the 80’s All these old pictures bring back memories of when I lived & worked in glendale
Here’s a .pdf of the restoration proposal for the building:
http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/government/packets/HPC_032210/6a.pdf
It gives the history: The Masonic Temple was built for in 1928 for the Unity Lodge, which was founded in 1905 and grew over the years through various consolidations, building an earlier lodge on the same Brand Boulevard site in 1914. The subject building was designed by Arthur George Lindley of the local firm Lindley & Selkirk, which also designed the Alexander Theater in 1925. The property was listed as Glendale Register No. 15 in 1997.
[…]
In 1934,‘ a movie theater, the Temple, was built inside the Mason’s auditorium at the lower floors, with theater use continuing under different names through the early 1990s.
Former Masonic Temple Building: Historical Background Architect, Arthur G. Lindley. Contractor: J.v. McNeil Company
Construction Chronology May, 1928: Excavation begun. January, 1929: Substantial completion.
Building Data: Building contains 55,376 gross square feet of space, of which approximately 48,643 square feet is rentable. It initally contained three lodge rooms, one banquet/auditorium space, a ground floor auditorium, a bowling alley, cafe, billiard salon, related member and guest meeting rooms, lounges and storge rooms and an apartment. The two-story high banquet/auditorium and lodge rooms between the First and Seventh Floors are all located adjacent to the north wall of the building. See building section, Sheet HP-4.
The building was also known as the “Unity Temple”. Arthur Lindley seems to have visually “unified” the various floors of the main façade of the building by designing continuous vertical ribbons of windows. To give greater grandeur and height to the building, which stands 105 feet at the top parapet, he designed a series of steps, chamfering the edges, which recede back and toward the center.
When completed, the former Masonic Temple was the tallest building and had the largest auditorium, the fastest elevator and the largest enclosed space in the City of Glendale.
So, 1934 then. No real info on the proposed use of the former movie theatre space, just a little bit about the lobby.
And Bill’s page on the Temple
https://sites.google.com/site/losangelesmoviepalaces/temple
also links to the full “The Monolith” Flickr set
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gamma-infinity/sets/72157624847055981/with/6047583715/
which includes these recent interior views showing the Temple/US/Regency 2’s auditorium and balcony:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gamma-infinity/5738633147/sizes/l/in/set-72157624847055981/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gamma-infinity/5545864582/sizes/l/in/set-72157624847055981/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gamma-infinity/5546059092/sizes/l/in/set-72157624847055981/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gamma-infinity/5546149118/sizes/l/in/set-72157624847055981/
and this is the old projection room being used as a wig department for the Noise Within theatre group:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gamma-infinity/5027464671/in/set-72157624847055981
The earliest Glendale city directory listing I can find for the Temple Theatre is 1940.
An interior view on Flickr by Gamma-Infinity:
View link
And the theatre space that was the Temple is definitely on the main floor
Interestingly enough, there’s no sign of a theatre yet in these photos from the California State Library. It claims these are circa 1927, and let’s hope the links work:
View link
View link
This theatre was also known as the Regency 2 Theatre when Pacific Theatres operated it. The theatre was located on the ground floor of the building.
I drove by the Masonic building the other day. There is an old ad for the California Bank on one side wall. Here is a 1940 photo from the USC archives:
http://tinyurl.com/cvnwnz
I’ve seen that banquet hall marquee many times. I always wondered if that was a theater.
I poked my head in and chatted with one of the A Noise Within people, and she said the original movie theater was right behind the red, theater-looking doors on the first floor, just past the mini-lobby with a chandelier inside the entrance doors, with staircases to each side of the lobby going to the other floors. My significant other, who grew up in Glendale, can’t remember ever having to go up stairs or an elevator to get to the U.S./Regency 2, although his memory of it is hazy, since he usually went to the Capitol or Roxy. (Actually, he’s vaguely remembering that before the Sands became the Regency I, it’s possible that there were briefly two theaters, Regency I and II, both inside the Masonic Temple building, possibly creating the small theater space now used by A Noise Within, although he’s really not sure about that.
So anyway, is it certain that the main theater was located on the upper floors?
And why isn’t the Regency 2 name even listed as an a.k.a. for this? It was called that for some time, and was the only name I ever knew it by (although I never went there, as it had the reputation for being a dump). I thought the most recent name of the theater was always used as the primary name, but it’s not even listed at the top.
AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LISTING FOR THE SANDS/REGENCY 1?? It’s still standing at 210 S. Brand just down the block from this, now used as a restaurant/banquet hall, but it completely disappeared from Cinema Treasures. I’m positive it used to be listed, but it’s been deleted. Why??
Yes, the Temple Theatre was later known as the US Cinema and when Pacific Theatres operated it as the Regency 2. The Sands Theatre would later be known as the Regency 1 under Pacific Theatres operations. The Sands Theatre was an indendent theatre and was operated by a former projectionist.
I can’t find a U.S. Cinema among the listings for Glendale in my August 24, 1986, copy of the L.A. Times Calendar section. However, in that issues listings for Pacific Theatres, there is a theatre called the Regency 2 at 232 S. Brand Boulevard, which I believe would be the address of the storefront in the Masonic Temple Building immediately adjacent (on the north) to the Temple Theatre’s entrance: See this photo from the 1950s, looking north on Brand (its the same photo to which Bryan Krefft linked above- the URL has been changed.) I never visited that block of Brand in the 1980s, so I don’t know for sure if Regency 2 was an aka for the Temple or not, but it seems likely. There was also a Regency 1 Theatre in the 1986 Pacific Theatres listings, located just up the block at at 210 S. Brand Boulevard. In 1971, 210 S. Brand had been the location of the independently operated Sands Theatre. I don’t think that house is listed at Cinema Treasures yet under any name.
The Temple was announced as opening on February 9, 1980 as the U.S. Cinema.
The Glendale Masonic Temple was designed by local architect Arthur George Lindley, of the firm of Lindley & Selkirk. The building was completed in 1928.
The Theater is now used as the scene shop for “A Noise Within” theare company. The seats have been removied but the Art-Deco walls and roof are still intact. The company uses a converted 3rd floor ball room for permances while the theaer is used to build sets and as a rehersla room
The building is still there – not sure about the theatre inside it, though.
It was used in the 1980’s and 1990’s as a venue for the theater company “A Noise Within.”
The Temple Theater was located in the nine story Masonic Temple building on the east side of Brand Blvd just north of Colorado Street. The theater was fairly large, even had a balcony, but by the late 1950’s it had become rundown, seedy, and cheap showing triple features for 49 cents.