Plaza Theatre

6337 E. Spring St. Long Beach, CA 90808 | map |

 

Opening: February 15, 1966 with a sneak preview of "..a most important picture... stars will attend." The theatre building is part of the Lakewood Plaza strip mall on the north side of the street just west of Palo Verde Ave. One of the owners was Jack Feder, who also had the Roxy Theatre downtown. Originally intended as an upscale art house, the theatre later went to a family policy.

 

Seating: 500. It was a single screen venue.  

Architect: Kenneth Smith Wing (1901-1986) designed the $250,000 building. He also was the architect for the Long Beach Arena and Long Beach City Hall. See a page about him on the Pacific Coast Architecture Database. John Filbert Co. provided much of the theatre equipment. 

 

 

A pre-opening ad. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for the research. He shared this and ten additional items that appear on this page as a post for the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group. 

 

 

 

 

 A February 16, 1966 ad, the day after the grand opening event. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it. 

 

 

 

Some area residents didn't like the films that the theatre was showing. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this February 1966 letter.   

 

 

 

Family fare in 1966 for a matinee. 

 

 

Jeanette and Nelson in a February 5, 1967 item. 

 

An October 8, 1967 ad for an Operetta Festival. 

 

 

 

"Luv" and "The Ambushers." It's a January 1968 ad.  

 

 

 

March 29, 1968 ads for "A Man For All Seasons" and "The Bible."

 

A Directors Festival in May 1968. 

 

 

 

"Support Your Local Sheriff" running in May 1969. 

 

A new operator, Walter L. Beers, applying for a license in March 1970.

Closing: The Plaza closed July 20, 1977 according to data from Ken McIntyre.

 

A September 8, 1977 item that Ken located. Thanks for all the research! 

 

Status: The building is still there. It was a Fitness 19 gym for a time. As of 2025 it was vacant.

 

Looking east on Spring toward Palo Verde. The former theatre is the brown building in the center of the image. It was a Fitness 19 gym at the time. Photo: Google Maps - 2019

Behind the complex looking at the screen end of the building. Photo: Google Maps - 2017

More Information: See the page on Cinema Treasures for a bit more data about the Plaza.

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