New Colton Theatre
250 E. Valley Boulevard,
Colton,
CA
92324
250 E. Valley Boulevard,
Colton,
CA
92324
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The city directory placed the theatre at 250 East I Street, which was later changed to Valley Boulevard.
The builder was Lionel Meyers with Clifford A. Balch serving as the architect of the theatre, which was planned in 1938. There was an earlier Colton Theatre operated by Mr. Meyers therefore the name, New Colton Theatre, which opened on February 2, 1939 with Jane Withers in “Arizona Wildcat” & the cartoon “Ferdinand the Bull”.
Advertisements for Westinghouse televisions in the Los Angeles Times in 1949 and 1950 listed the New Colton Theatre as one of the sellers of the television. The Film Daily Yearbook of 1950 listed the theatre with 927 seats. It was demolished in 1967 for city redevelopmment.
Contributed by
Ron Pierce
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
The New Colton Theatre was a striking building, still sporting some Streamline Modern touches but leaning more toward Midcentury Modern. Despite the fact that the new house had “New” in its name, Myers must have changed the name of the earlier Colton Theatre after the new house opened. Larry Sheffield’s book Colton has a photo of 8th Street (since rather pretentiously renamed La Cadena Drive) in September, 1947, and the caption calls the theater the Hub City Theatre. It must be the earlier Colton, as that house was located on 8th Street between H and I Streets.
In fact, the original Colton Theatre was built in 1912 at the corner of H and 8th, but there are indications that the house was rebuilt down the block, most likely in 1930. An item in Southwest Builder & Contractor of April 18, 1930, said the L. C. Myers was having new furnishings and equipment installed in the Colton Theatre. This included stage and projection equipment, heating and ventilation equipment, and 700 seats supplied by Barker Bros. furniture company in Los Angeles.
The New Colton Theatre launched February 2, 1939 with Jane Withers in “Arizona Wildcat” and “Ferdinand, the Bull.” The theatre closed in 1967.