Opened: June 2, 1949 on the southwest corner of Cravens Ave. and Gramercy Ave. The Stadium was operated by M & M Enterprises (Albert Mellinkoff and Harry Milstein) who also had the Torrance Theatre and the Grand Theatre.
This photo by Bob Wilton of the theatre ready for its grand opening in 1949 appears with Sam Gnerre's 2013 article "Stadium Theatre in Torrance" for the South Bay Daily Breeze. The original caption was:
"SHOWPLACE - Torrancites will have their first opportunity to view the interior of the new Stadium Theater, located at the corner of Gramercy and Craven avenues, at the grand opening this evening."
Architect: Unknown.
Seating: 900 with the upper section being "stadium style," hence the name.
Sam Gnerre talks about the festivities:
"The opening night was pretty glitzy stuff for Torrance, and attracted 1200 guests. The city’s hometown movie star, Rosemary DeCamp, appeared live on stage, promoting the night’s screening of the film 'The Life of Riley,' in which she co-starred with William Bendix. (DeCamp lived in the Hollywood Riviera area of Torrance with her husband, noted South Bay Judge John Shidler.)
"In addition, two stars of the Bowery Boys film series, Huntz Hall and Gabriel Dell, appeared to promote their latest film, 'Fighting Fools' (also on that night’s program), along with actor Frankie Darro, who also was in the film. Also appearing were Duncan Renaldo, aka 'The Cisco Kid,' and ventriloquist Max Terhune and his dummy Elmer."
The Stadium was later operated by Pacific Theatres. It become the Pussycat Theatre in July 1969. The theatre's most famous employee is Quentin Tarantino, who worked taking tickets and manning the snack bar during the 70s.
Closing: The theatre closed in 1991. After closing it was used for several film shoots with the name on the vertical changed to the Terra and the Aurora. The owner at the time was Starplex Group, based in Los Angeles. Torrance Community Theatre tried buy the theatre in the mid-1990s but negotiations fell apart.
Status: It was demolished beginning in May 2002. There are now condos on the site.
1983 - A look at the Stadium in its Pussycat days. You've got to admit that's a pretty nice vertical sign. Thanks to Jay Allen Sanford for the photo. It appeared with Jay's "Pussycat Theaters - a comprehensive history of a California dynasty," his epic 2010 article for San Diego Reader. Sadly, in the version currently on the SDR site, all the photos are missing. A better bet is the version on Blogspot he's titled "Pussycat Theaters: The Inside Story." Chapter 1 | Chapters 2 - 15.
1991 - Religious groups protesting the films shown at the Pussycat. It's a Daily Breeze photo by Wally Skalij that appears with Sam Gnerre's article "Stadium Theatre in Torrance." In the article he comments:
c.2000 - Thanks to Paul Wisman for this view he posted in 2012 for the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. The vertical had been redone for the HBO movie "If These Walls Could Talk 2."
c.2000 - A look up the "Aurora" vertical taken by Den S. Serles. It was a post for the private Facebook group Mid Century Modern.
c.2000 - Another sign detail by Den S. Serles. Thanks!
2002 - We get a nice look at the terrazzo in this Daily Breeze photo by Bruce Hazleton. The photo appears with Sam Gnerre's 2009 Daily Breeze article "South Bay Movie Theaters of the Past" and again in his 2013 article "Stadium Theatre in Torrance."
2013 - The condo project now on the site. It's a Daily Breeze photo included with Sam Gnerre's article "Stadium Theatre in Torrance."
The Stadium Theatre in the Movies:
The Stadium was used in Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" (Touchstone, 1994) for the premiere of "Bride of the Monster."
A look at the interior from "Ed Wood." The film also visits the Warner Hollywood, the Pantages and the Orpheum. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for shots of those theatres from the film.
The theatre is seen in the background as the Terra in George Hickenlooper's "Dogtown" (Stone Canyon Entertainment, 1997). The film, about a Hollywood actor who comes back to his small hometown, stars Trevor St. John, Rory Cochrane, Davis Shackelford, Karen Black and Mary Stuart Masterson. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for one more shot from the film.
The exterior, with the tower redone to call it the Aurora, is seen in the TV movie "If These Walls Could Talk 2" (HBO, 2000).
More information: The best history of the theatre, including a nice discussion of the opening night festivities, is Sam Gnerre's Daily Breeze article from 2013. Also see Sam's 2009 article "South Bay Movie Theaters of the Past."
For some interesting stories see the Cinema Treasures page about the theatre, which they list as the Pussycat. Cinema Tour also has a page.
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