Crest Theatre

8800 Gravois Boulevard,
Affton, MO 63123

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Colorado
Colorado on January 28, 2023 at 12:34 pm

Here’s a story with a different twist about the Crest Theater…back in about 1962-63 I was a young St. Louis Metro Police Officer Rookie & along with three other pals we rented an apt. upstairs (2nd Floor) over the Crest Theater. One early morning, after working ‘Graves’ (night Shift) I arrive at the Crest’s side parking lot & a crowd of people are standing there. I ask what’s going on & they say that some deranged man is chasing the building’s manager around the building. So…I watch & see what happens & suddenly here comes the mgr. screaming “help me, help me…he’s trying to kill me” & there is one of my roommates chasing him. Now, this roommate suffered on rare occasions from ‘Seizure’ spells & sure enough he’s got this glazed look in his eyes as he’s continuing the chase. The Mgr. sees me in PD Uniform & runs to me screaming “shoot him, shoot him” as he tries to hide behind me. I immediately size up the situation & tackle the roommate & I ask for assistance which is immediately given. I tell the helpers to keep their hands away from his mouth since a person having a ‘Seizure’ will bite. Finally, the roommate calms down & becomes consciously aware again. I ask him what the hell happened & why was he chasing the Mgr….he had NO idea! End of story is…you guessed it, Mgr. tells us to find another place to live.

rivest266
rivest266 on February 25, 2016 at 5:16 pm

October 14th, 1948 grand opening ad in photo section.

JAlex
JAlex on May 16, 2012 at 12:26 pm

The Globe-Democrat of 11/28/47 said: “Virginia Mayo, St. Louis film star from Hollywood, attended the dedication of the Crest Theatre, and left the imprints of her hands in a block of wet cement in front of the theatre for posterity.” Since the theatre did not open until July 1948, it would seem “dedication” means “ground breaking.” One cannot help but wonder whatever happened to this cement block.

Epistkool
Epistkool on January 22, 2012 at 3:58 pm

The area on Elgin where Joe Vogel is referring to is now occupied by a Quiktrip and a Circle K.

misterbluesky
misterbluesky on January 5, 2012 at 6:10 pm

Kyle, the address of the Crest was 8800 Gravois and the structure there now is, I believe, 8014 although it IS exactly where the theatre was.

Norman Plant
Norman Plant on October 10, 2011 at 10:36 pm

Kyle, you are correct. The credit union is in the former Long John Silver’s building that replaced the Crest. I know this because I managed the Long John’s when it originally opened. It turned out to be one of their poorer locations and closed soon after.

Kyle Muldrow
Kyle Muldrow on October 10, 2011 at 2:47 pm

Based on what I saw on Google Maps, the South Community Credit Union building now occupies the spot where the Crest Theater once stood. Of course, if I have that wrong, feel free to correct…politely…

gcpretzel
gcpretzel on September 1, 2011 at 1:04 am

I spent MANY happy hours at the Crest! I can still remember the original burgundy and beige swirled carpeting inside, just past the lobby. This theater DID have a small balcony area upstairs, that was generally closed, but no one ever stopped you from stepping over(or going under)the The velvet rope and going there……as long as you were well behaved and not “making out” or throwing popcorn or Milk-Duds down on the other patrons. My Grandparents owned the property right next door (to the East) at 8716 Gravois. They lived upstairs and ran (what was originally)the grocery store that was on the first floor. After WW-2 my grandparents added on to their building, on the West side.It was a tavern was run by my uncle. The parking lot was then shared with the Crest and Eddie’s Tavern and Ratskeller

JAlex
JAlex on October 6, 2009 at 7:06 pm

Theatre closed in April 1976. Final bill: “Phantom of the Paradise” and “Legend of Hell House.”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on January 21, 2009 at 11:54 pm

The Crest Theatre in Affton opened on July 20, 1948, according to Boxoffice Magazine’s issue of October 30 that year. In October, the operators of the house were seeking to make permanent an injunction against the St. Louis Theatrical Brotherhood, Local 6, lATSE, whose members had been picketing the theater due to the operator’s hiring of a non-union projectionist.

There’s an earlier article from Boxoffice, October 18, 1947, which might be about the Crest. It says that the Affton Theatre Company had plans to build a new theater on Gravois Avenue near Arthur Avenue. Google Maps finds an Arthur Avenue in Affton, but it’s nowhere near Gravois. The article also says that a rival company was planning a new theater on Gravois at Elgin Street, a short distance from the first theater’s location. There is an Elgin Avenue just a couple of blocks west of the Crest’s address.

If somebody can dig up an old map of the area, maybe they can see if one of the streets near the Crest was formerly called Arthur Avenue (though it’s possible that Boxoffice just got the street name wrong.) If one was, then the first theater mentioned in the 1947 article probably was the Crest. The proposed house was described as being 60x154 feet, with a concrete foundation and a steel roof. It was designed by St. Louis architect Bernard Bloom.

The second proposed theater, at the corner of Elgin Street, which was to have been called Ronnie’s Affton Theatre, and was to have been operated by the Wehernberg circuit, might have remained unbuilt.

dapoppa
dapoppa on August 7, 2006 at 6:34 am

Now 60 years old, I still remember walking with my friend Buzz from Holly Hills and Morganford, where we lived, to the Crest show on Sunday afternoons for the double feature. The walk west on Gravois was always a treat as we passed St. George church and the cemetery on the left side and other sights we found exciting. Others theaters we walked to were the Avalon and the Granada, as they too were in walking distance. Sadly, all three are now gone, but the memories of those good times and wonderful movies still remain in my memories.

kathylewis
kathylewis on January 7, 2006 at 9:38 am

My mother, Norma Garwood, worked at Crest Theater from 1953 to 1957. She worked at the concession stand but anyone who worked during this time period would likely remember her. She would love to hear from anyone who worked during this period. Any responses can be sent to me & I will send them on to her. My e-mail is Thank you.

jnut
jnut on December 17, 2005 at 12:37 am

Myy brother and I enjoyed going to the triple features every New Years Eve at the Crest. I also remember standing in line for what seemed a long, long time for the opening night of GI Blues with Elvis.

JAlex
JAlex on October 28, 2005 at 9:26 am

It should be noted the Crest was the first post-War (II) theatre erected and opened in the St. Louis market.

Theatre opened in July, 1948.

misterbluesky
misterbluesky on April 29, 2005 at 11:17 am

As the projectionist who worked the Crest 1974-1976, the ACTUAL closing date was 1976.

crawfordb
crawfordb on March 26, 2004 at 11:20 am

I own the Annex Theater in Affton & run my business out of it. Do you have any information or pictures of the Annex?