Opened: March 15, 1932 as the Wardman Theatre. The building is at the northeast corner of Greenleaf Ave. and Wardman St. with the theatre entrance up in the middle of the block.
The 1937 photo of the theatre giving away money on Tuesday nights is from the Whittier Historical Society collection. Thanks to Deysi Flores at the WHS for finding the photo. www.whittiermuseum.org | WHS on Facebook. There's a wider postcard version lower on the page.
Phone: 562-907-3300 Website: starlightcinemas.com
A sketch of the new theatre from Bushnell's office that appeared in the Fox West Coast "Now" magazine on April 16, 1930. Thanks to Mike Hume for locating it on Internet Archive. Visit Mike's Historic Theatre Photography site for thousands of terrific photos of the many theatres he's explored. The photo's caption:
"At the top is architect's conception of the new Fox Theatre to be erected in Whittier at a cost of $150,000. The seating capacity will be in excess of a thousand. The building will contain eight stores. It is possible before construction is started that revisions may be made to include eight stories of apartments."
What was still envisioned as the Fox Whittier appeared in the lower left of this illustration from the May 4, 1930 issue of the L.A. Times. The caption:
Also see "Theatre Work Planned," the accompanying article. As far as other Fox projects in the pipeline they mentioned the Los Angeles Theatre and the Fox Pomona. Fox theatres mentioned for Beverly Hills and Huntington Park never happened. Thanks to Mike Hume for locating the article and illustration. As far as the Whittier project they noted:
"Fox West Coast Whittier theater to cost $150,000. Soon to be started on South Greenleaf avenue. Plans prepared by David S. Bushnell, engineer."
An ad for the upcoming opening that appeared in the March 12, 1932 issue of the Whittier News. Thanks to Anne Collier for locating it.
An item about the new theatre that appeared in the Whittier News on March 16. Thanks to Anne Collier for locating it.
He had started the company by taking over the Rivoli in Long Beach in 1973 and soon also had the Reseda Theatre, the Cameo in El Sereno and the Cove in Hermosa. Jim Lytel was his district manager. Century also operated the Rialto and Highland Twins in San Bernardino, the Pismo Theatre in Pismo Beach, the San Luis Obispo Drive-In, the Town in Gilroy and the Mt. Burney Theatre in Burney. In 2024 Malcolm recounted his career:
"Movie theatres have been my life since I was 15 years old. I am British and now live back in UK, I am retired but I lease a theatre here, and it is live shows, like 60s bands, and those type of shows. When I left school my first job was trainee projectionist at an Odeon (rewind boy). There were five in the booth, Chief, second, a third and two boys. After 6 years I went to London, moved to management, first as a trainee then as an assistant, then worked for the Rank Organisation as a manager in the West End. I was manager of the Odeon Haymarket and I would help out at the Leicester Square Theatre. When the manager, who had been there 32 years, retired I moved in as manager.
"It was a theatre that held the Royal premieres. I met the late Queen, the Queen Mother and a number of movie stars, just for a few seconds in the lineup. In 7 years they played only 3 movies: 'Goldfinger,' 'Mary Poppins', and 'The Inn of the Sixth Happiness.' In 1970 Rank closed the theatre to twin it (made a right mess). I booked 10 days in New York, and at the airport met a friend from my school, so we teamed up together. After a week we decided to go to LA. Thirty-four years later I was still there. Anyway, got an apartment on Willshire, then moved to a small house next to Paramount Studios. My first job was at the Vagabond, as projectionist. I left the Vagabond with intentions of returning to UK, but decided against it, but now had no job.
"I found a job at Will Wright's ice cream shop in Beverly Hills and in five months I became manager. There I met Lucy Ball, also Alfred Hitchcock (both came for ice cream specially made). Every Thursday night a guy came in, started asking where I was from and what I did. About 4 weeks later, I was off on that Thursday, and he left a message for me to call him the next day. His name was Mike Forman. I telephoned and they answered 'Pacific Theatres.' 'Oh,' I said. 'I got this number to call Mr. Forman, does he work there?' !! 'Yes,' she said. Well, he invited me to lunch at Musso and Franks, and offered me the Rivoli Theatre in Long Beach, and later the Whittier theatres. Set me up with office desks and a film booker, which was first at the Whittwood, later moving to a building on Wilshire, then to the 9000 Sunset building.
"Thus I was 28 years old when I started Century. It was great fun and I ran a top-notch operation. A number of theatres had first run product, we spent money of Dolby Sound, redecoration, new seats, new projection and platters. I operated the company for 18 years. Then came the building of the multiplex theatres! I just never had the money or the investors to get into the multiplex business. I then went to work for United Artists as manager of the Metro in San Francisco, and later as district manager for Tom Moyer in Oregon, which was taken over by Act III Theatres."
Projectionist Russ Tice in the Wardman booth in 1974 with a Motiograph AAA, Motio SH-7500 soundhead and Ashcraft lamp. Thanks, Russ! The photo was a post on the Reel Projectionists Facebook page.
Vincent Miranda's Pussycat Theatres chain bought the theatre from Pacific in 1977 and put "It's a Pussycat Theatre" on the marquee. The city fathers tried, unsuccessfully, to convince him to turn it into a four-plex and run Hollywood product. Candi Nash comments that the city spent almost $250,000 in legal fees in their attempts to close the theatre.
The theatre (then still a single screen operation) took a hit with the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake and closed as a result of damage. Candi comments: "Rumor has it that the owners were unable to obtain a permit from the city to repair damage." The theatre stayed closed until it was sold.
Status: It reopened in 1990. Now, with an addition, it's an 8 screen multplex operated by Starlight Cinemas as the Starlight Whittier Village. The original auditorium has been divided in two. In a later renovation stadium seating was installed.
The former snackbar area and the rear of the main floor (now a space under the stadium seating) has become a game room. Evidently some of the original decor still exists in unused spaces upstairs, including several restrooms and a room with Egyptian themed decor. The staircase to upstairs was near the now-vanished snackbar.
Interior views:
Checking out the snackbar. It's a 2011 photo from the owner, Starlight Cinemas, appearing on Yelp. At last look, the site had 161 photos of the complex.
More exterior views:
1970s - The Wardman when it was operated by Century Theatres. Note "Century Theatre" on the end of the marquee. Thanks to Steven Otto for sharing his photo.
1976 - A panorama showing the block before the theatre's redevelopment and expansion.That's Wardman St. on the right. It's from the Whittier City Clerk - Treasurer Department via the Whittier Public Library, indexed as item #STR-058b. Click on it for a larger view.
1976 - A detail from the City's panorama.
1983 - "It's a Pussycat Theatre." Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this photo.
c.1988 - The theatre after its Pussycat days. It closed following damage from the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake. Thanks to Candi Nash for sharing the photo. It was in a post on the SoCal Historic Architecture Facebook page that also included six additional views.
1989 - A photo from the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library.
2009 - A view taken by Don Solosan that was part of a survey by the now-dormant Historic Theatre Committee of the L.A. Conservancy to determine the condition of surviving historic theatre buildings in L.A. Thanks to Hillsman Wright of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation for making Don's photos available.
2009 - Thanks to Don Solosan for this facade view.
2009 - A peek into the ticket lobby. Photo: Don Solosan
2009 - A terrazzo detail. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for sharing her photo. It's in her Theatres- California album on Flickr. See the index page for the photo sets from various theatres she's visited.
2009 - Deeper into the ticket lobby. Photo: Don Solosan
2010 - A soffit view from Kat J. on Yelp.
2011 - A look along the storefronts. Photo: Google Maps
2011 - At Wardman St. looking north along Greenleaf across the new addition toward the original building. Photo: Google Maps
2012 - An alley view behind the building looking toward Wardman St. The corner nearest us is the original auditorium. Photo: Google Maps
2013 - A fine marquee shot from Trixa B. on Yelp. The photo also appears (uncredited) as #32 on a list of 50 movie palaces in "American Movie Palaces: 50 Living Relics of U.S. Film History," a May 2016 Paste Magazine article by Whitney Brandt. Evidently nobody told him it had been multiplexed with no historic elements left inside.
2014 - A fine view of the signage. Thanks to Granola for posting the uncredited photo on Cinema Treasures.
2019 - Looking south on Greenleaf. Photo: Google Maps
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