Plaza Theatre

The theater began its operations on Thursday, February 11, 1971, with a double feature of “12 Chairs” and “The Bird with the Crystal Plumage,” and it ceased operations on April 15, 1984, concluding with “Space Raiders” and “Jimmy The Kid.” Throughout its 13 years, the Plaza screened over 875 films, not counting summer children’s features and special late shows, with “Smokey And The Bandit” and “Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan” each holding the record for the longest runs at 7 weeks during various return engagements.

While the Plaza never showed “E.T.,” “Star Wars,” or “Return Of The Jedi,” it did play “The Empire Strikes Back” for two weeks in late summer 1981, which was the last 20th Century Fox film screened there for reasons that remain uncertain. In January 1984, the theater attempted to pivot to a “children’s theater,” showcasing classics like the 1939 “Gulliver’s Travels” and 1946’s “The Yearling,” but this effort was short-lived, lasting only two and a half months.

In a drastic change, the owners decided to screen 1983’s “Scarface” for two weeks, but it performed poorly, leading to staff layoffs and the theater’s impending closure. Despite this, a final double feature was scheduled as a last-ditch effort, run solely by the owners, but it fared even worse than “Scarface.” Following the final screening on Sunday, April 15, 1984, the theater officially closed its doors.

Until the early 90’s, much of the equipment and seats were still in place, but by the mid to late 90s, the building was sold and gutted.

I lived in Glendora from the age of 3 through 13. I’m fairly certain I went to this theater twice. Once to see one of those Sun Classics documentaries on Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, and the other time to see Logan’s Run, if I’m not mistaken. Even at that young age, though, I thought its location was a bit strange.

The Plaza Theatre’s building now houses a thrift shop. It shows no indications of having ever been a theater or, for that matter, a post office. It’s an odd location for a movie house, the back street on which it is situated being mostly residential.