Star Theatre

Joe Vogel on June 19, 2013 at 9:43 pm

Parts of Center Street were incorporated into Lincoln Avenue, but that did not include the part that was between Anaheim Blvd. and the railroad tracks, as well as a stretch west of Anaheim Blvd. to a point near Harbor Blvd.. The stretch just east of Anaheim Blvd. was realigned about 100 feet north, but it is still called Center Street. See this aerial view at Historic Aerials to see where Center Street has survived (select “All Roads” from the overlays menu to see the street names.)

The stretch of Center Street just west of Anaheim Blvd., where the Star Theatre was located, was covered with new construction in the 1970s, as part of an urban renewal project. As the theater was on the north side of the street its site is now part of the driveway and parking lot just north of where Vons Market is presently located.

After the Star Theatre closed, Mr. Beddig operated a house in Anaheim called the Mason Theatre, according to the November 21, 1914, issue of Southwest Contractor & Manufacturer, which said that he had let a $5,000 contract for installation of a Wurlitzer pipe organ in the theater.

The Mason was probably the theater on the ground floor of the Masonic lodge built at Center and Emily streets in 1913, and designed by local architect Fred H. Eley. That part of Center Street still exists, so when the Mason is added to Cinema Treasures it should keep its historic Center Street address. The Grand Theatre was also east of Anaheim Blvd., so it too should be listed on Center Street, not Lincoln Avenue.