8100 block of Garvey Ave. Rosemead, CA 91770 | map |
Opened: It was running by January 1938. Thanks to Cathy Romero for this photo of the building in use as a church. It appears on Cinema Treasures as a post by Valverderose
In
the 1939 Alhambra directory it's listed as being at 740 E. Garvey Ave. in Garvey. Ken Rose notes that it was listed with a 716 E. Garvey Ave. address in the 1950 and 1952 editions of the Film Daily Yearbook. The area has now adopted the L.A. numbering system. Joe Vogel comments that this area was later called South San Gabriel before finally being annexed by Rosemead. The theatre was on the south side of the street a bit west of San Gabriel Blvd.
Architect: Unknown. Joe Vogel offers this fine description on Cinema Treasures:
"The lobby was of modest size, and the auditorium was closed off from it by drapes rather than doors. The concession stand was on the wall between the aisle entrances. It was a two-aisle auditorium, and was so low that the openings for projecting films were no more than three feet below the ceiling. There were six of the common octagonal chandeliers of metal with colored glass panels, and there were three or four wall sconces on each side of the auditorium. The side walls were each decorated with three or four large medallions (probably plaster relief painted bronze) featuring the profile of an American Indian, similar to that on an Indian-head penny. There were four or five rows of leather loges at the back of the theater, and ordinary plush theater seats in the rest of the house... The Garvey featured a crying room next to the projection booth, reached by a narrow, curving stairway. The restrooms (on the main floor) were rather large for a small neighborhood house, and well appointed..."
Joe discussed the neighborhood in comments on a Photos of Los Angeles Facebook thread about a building in Alhambra that veered off to discuss Garvey:
"Possibility of arson in the early morning burning of part of the Garvey Theater, 716 E Garvey Blvd., Wilmar, was indicated yesterday as the Sheriff’s arson squad investigated suspicious factors of the $60,000 blaze. Lt. David Ostraff of the Sheriff’s arson detail found a broken window and indications that an arsonist might have poured flammable fluid on the rear seats, where the outbreak is believed to have originated. The fire spread to the attic and into the roof. The theater was unoccupied at the time. It required five engine companies to curb the fire..."
Closing: It was running as late as 1952 and then by 1953 was used as a church. Joe comments:
"It later re-opened as a theatre, briefly, but when CinemaScope came along, Edwards didn't think the place worth the investment for a new screen, and it returned to being a church... I took a picture of it... around 1960, when it was the Dancing Deliverance Tabernacle, a Pentecostal church."
A demolition view looking west across the wash. Thanks to Catalina Rose for sharing her photo on Cinema Treasures.
A K-Mart was built on the site. That building is now an Asian grocery store called the GW Supermarket.
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page about the Garvey Theatre.
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