2670 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91107 |
map |
Opened: April 1, 1964 by Laemmle Theatres as a first run art house. "The Lovers of Teruel" was the initial film. The building is on the south side of the street just a bit west of San Gabriel Blvd. L.A. Times film critic Kevin Thomas commented in an April 3 article: "Pasadena’s first art theater, the Esquire, combines
elegance and comfort."
Thanks to John Moore
for sharing his photo taken during the 1992 run of "Like Water For Chocolate." He notes that for the reissue of "Saturday Night
Fever," also on the marquee, they had a disco ball hanging from the ceiling.
Architect: It was a conversion of a space that had been a pizza
joint. Noted motion picture art director Eugène Lourié designed the
various aspects of the remodel.
Seating: 525
An opening day ad. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it.
An April 1964 ad for the opening film "The Lovers of Teruel." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this and other Esquire ads for a Facebook post on
Ken's Movie Page.
Joe Vogel located an April 6, 1964 Boxoffice article that noted the
opening and listed several interesting features including a wheelchair
platform and a row of seats wired for hard-of-hearing patrons.
The Esquire was discussed in Matt Hormann's now-vanished 2011 Hometown Pasadena article "Ghost Theatres of Colorado (Part 2 of 2)." He noted:
"A no-frills art house, its programming epitomized the independent
spirit of the Laemmle franchise. It hosted an annual Cinéma Français
series, ballet film festivals, performances by the Youth Theater
Workshop, and periodic retrospectives devoted to the work of
Michelangelo Antonioni and others.
"It was also noteworthy for presenting
live acts such as singer Marni Nixon and pianist Lillian Steuber. The
Esquire could even boast of having violinist Jascha Heifetz attend one
of its classical music performances, according to a 1988 L.A. Times
article."
Closing: The Esquire closed in late 2000. This theatre and the nearby Colorado (also a Laemmle operation), were made superfluous with the opening of the chain's Playhouse 7.
Status: It was converted into a Washington Mutual branch in 2004 and later was a Chase branch. As of 2019 it was vacant. By 2022 it had become a thrift store to benefit Huntington Hospital.
More exterior views:
1997 - Thanks to Marcel for sharing his photo of the theatre on Cinema Treasures.
1997 - Thanks to Scott Neff for his photo. It appears on the
Cinema Tour page about the theatre.
c.2000 - A photo of the closed theatre that once appeared on the now-vanished website L.A. Okay.
2010 - The building as a Chase branch. Photo: Bill Counter
2019 - The former theatre available for lease. Photo: Bill Counter
2022 - A new life as a thrift store. Thanks to Chris Nichols for doing the reconaissance and snapping the shot. He's an editor at
Los Angeles magazine and is also the author of the Taschen book "
Walt Disney's Disneyland."
Recent interior views:
A 2023 photo by Chris Nichols. As he says: "Not much left inside except for the badly patched terrazzo floor at the (former) entrance."
Looking south toward the screen end of the building. Photo: Chris Nichols - 2023
The view back toward the street. Photo: Chris Nichols - 2023. Thanks!
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page for more data and recollections. The Cinema Tour page has a 2003 Ken Roe photo in addition to the 1997 Scott Neff photo here on this page.
Check out Kelli Shapiro's 2024
Arcadia Publishing book "Inland Empire and San Gabriel Valley Movie Theatres."
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