Family Theatre

7024 Greenleaf Ave. Whittier, CA 90602 | map |

 

Opened: 1909. This was second location for Whittier's first theatre -- its original location is unknown. The address before street renumbering was 124 S. Greenleaf Ave. It's listed with that address in the 1911 city directory. There were only two theatres listed that year. The other was the Optic. The Majestic, an open-air venue, was also running by the summer of 1911.

 

Seats: 300 

 

An entrance detail. Thanks to Nicholas Edmeier for sharing the photo in his 2023 article "History of Whittier Movie Theaters" on the Whittier Museum blog. He notes: "You can make out the large 'Family Theatre' banner next to the ticket counter." 

That "Vanity" sign might have been for the January 1917 release starring Emmy Wehlen. There was also a 1914 film titled "The Price of Vanity."

Ron Pierce commented on Cinema Treasures: 

"The Family Theater, evidently Whittier’s first movie theater, became listed in the Whittier News in June of 1909 with no location noted. On September 18, 1909, the Keipp family opened it at a newer and roomier location, with 300-seats, at this address (then 124 South)."

The site was on the east side of the street a half block south of Philadelphia St. It was a busy block with other early theatres on the other side of the street including the Optic Theatre and, a bit later, the Gale Theatre. In 1932 the Wardman (now the Whittier Village Cinemas) would open south of the Family's location.   

 

The Family is indicated on the right as "Moving Pictures" in this look at the block from the 1912 Whittier Sanborn Fire Insurance Map that's in the Library of Congress collection. This detail is from Page 17 of the map. On the left, on the west side of the street, it's the Optic Theatre at 111.  

Closing: Evidently 1916 was the end.  Ron Pierce comments:

 

"The Family Theater dropped out of the listings in June of 1916, around the time of the opening of the new Gale Theatre."

Status: It's been demolished.

Looking south on Greenleaf Ave. That gray and white faux-Colonial structure in the center is on the site of the Family Theatre. Beyond is the turquiose of the Whittier Village Cinemas. Photo: Google Maps - 2019

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page about the Family Theatre. Thanks to Ron Pierce for the research. Check out Nicholas Edmeier's 2023 article "History of Whittier Movie Theaters" on the Whittier Museum blog. Historic Map Works has a 1907 Sanborn Map of Whittier as well as several earlier editions.

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