Monterey Theatre

619 N. Garfield Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91754 | map |

Opened: March 1925 as the Mission Theatre, initially operated by C.A. Howe and G.G. Merrill. In this 1927 photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection the Mission was running "Let It Rain." The theatre was on the west side of the street south of Hellman Ave., a couple blocks south of where the 10 is now situated. It's given a 617 N. Garfield address in the 1925 through 1930 Alhambra directories.  

 

Thanks to Kelli Shapiro for researching the information about the opening and the names of the proprietors. She covers the Monterey on page 103 of her fine 2024 Arcadia Publishing book "Inland Empire and San Gabriel Valley Movie Theatres." 

 

Seating: 882 

Architect: Leonard L. Jones. Thanks to Joe Vogel for the data. In a Cinema Treasures post he discussed the building: 

"The Monterey was one of the rare early theaters in the Los Angeles area which had a section of stadium seating at the rear of the auditorium, and the compact lobby was 'U' shaped, with the entrance from the ticket booth foyer at the bottom, and the two sides leading to passageways that sloped up to the cross aisle at the front of the stadium section. The passageways were closed off from the lobby only by drapes. The concession stand was tucked into an alcove on the left arm of the 'U' and the low-ceilinged restrooms were at the center, under the stadium section.

"The theater had a slightly taller section at the rear of the building, which may have been a stage house, though if so, it was not a very deep one. The building itself was very deep, though, and because the stadium section extended almost to the front wall of the structure, the last row of seats was probably about 140 feet from the screen. This depth gave the theater a fairly large seating capacity... despite its narrowness. The interior of the auditorium may have sported some decorative detail in its early days, but by the time I first attended it, about 1952, it was quite plain, and the length, narrowness, and height made the room seem tunnel-like."

 By May 1925 it had been taken over by West Coast Theatres, according to research by Kelli Shapiro. 

It was acquired by James Edwards in 1930, evidently his first theatre. He wired it for sound and reopened October 9 as the Monterey Theatre with "Hell's Angels." It's listed as the Monterey Theatre at 619 in the 1931 through 1939 directories. It's also been known as the Monterey Park Theatre.

The facade got a moderne remodel, perhaps in the 40s. Joe Vogel comments: 

"Some time before 1950, the facade of this theater was remodeled. The faux-stone plasterwork and other detailing were replaced with a plain plaster wall, and the cornice stripped off. The single-line marquee (which extended the width of the building) was trimmed with horizontal strips of neon, and was augmented with a tall, angled, two-sided marquee above it, between the former locations of the two decorative engaged columns..." 

Until 1951 it was part of the Edwards circuit, where it was a popular priced second run house. Thanks to Michael Kilgore for spotting this item in the September 1, 1951 issue of Boxoffice: 

"Jimmy Edwards … sold his Monterey in Monterey Park to Frank Harris, who recently acquired the Cameo from the Edwards chain."

 It later ran Chinese films. The Edwards circuit opened a triplex in the Monterey Mall on Atlantic Blvd. in 1979.

 

A 1984 ad for the Chinese language houses in town that appeared in the Mandarine Commercial News. See the pages for the Sing Lee/King Hing, Pagoda/Cinemaland, Kuo-Hwa/San Gabriel, Kim Sing and Garfield theaters. Thanks to Ron Strong for sharing the ad. Visit his Bijou Memories site for many articles about the theatres in the area he once attended.

Closing: 1987, after suffering damage from the Whittier Narrows earthquake. Thanks to Kelli Shapiro for the research. She notes: "The city condemned the theatre, denying the owners' renovation plans." 

Status: It's been demolished. The site is now a parking lot.

 

The Monterey in the Movies:

The entrance to the Monterey is seen in the Ed Wood film "Jail Bait" (Howco Productions, 1954). They're going to steal the theatre circuit's payroll that they keep in an office backstage.

 

 

A look at the front of the auditorium in "Jail Bait." The young lady is a casualty of the robbery. Our robber thinks he's going to get his face altered by his plastic surgeon father so he can't be identified. The plot is foiled.

 

 

More exterior views:

 

 

1925 - Thanks to Dallas Movie Theatres for locating this trade magazine photo for a post on Cinema Treasures. Their caption: "Universal sends strongman Joe Bonomo who doubled for Lon Chaney in their 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' and appeared in 'The Circus Mystery' at the Mission Theatre here in 1925. That’s Mission manager Charles E. Brady to Bonomo’s left and Universal promoter Roland G McCurdy to the right." 

 

 

1983 - The Monterey in its Chinese language days. Thanks to the now-vanished website American Classic Images for this photo from their collection. 

 

 

1983 - Another view from American Classic Images.

 

 

 

2017 - Looking for the Monterey but 'tis no more. It's a view looking south on Garfield from Hellman Ave. Photo: Google Maps

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Monterey Theatre for lots of data from Joe Vogel. The L.A. Times had a 1995 profile on James Edwards. 

Kelli Shapiro covers the Monterey on page 103 of her fine 2024 Arcadia Publishing book "Inland Empire and San Gabriel Valley Movie Theatres."

See the page here on this site about the other Monterey Theatre on Whittier Blvd. in East Los Angeles.

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