South Pasadena Theatre / Princess / Gem / American / Mission

1118 Mission St. South Pasadena, CA 91030 | map |

Opened: The city's first movie house made its debut on September 1, 1910. The initial proprietors were E.C. Friese and R. Gummrig, both of South Pasadena. 

 

It's unknown what they called the venue but by October 1910 it was branded as the South Pasadena Theatre and already had new operators. It was in South Pasadena's historic business district, in a building on the north side of the street two and a half blocks west of the Santa Fe tracks. 

 

 

In May 1909 the space was still a furniture store. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this ad in the South Pasadena Record. It's included in his extensively researched post about the theatre on the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group.  

 

There were no theatres listed in the 1910-1911 South Pasadena city directory. The other storefront in the building, 1114 Mission, was a laundry at the time. The building owners, Edward Lyons Gleason and his wife Annie, lived upstairs with an address of 1116. It was called the Gleason Block. 

 

 

An opening day story in the September 1, 1910 issue of the South Pasadena Record that was located by Ken McIntyre. They take a dig at the Pasadena Star for "misrepresenting" the programming and suggesting that fight films would be part of the evening. Ken notes that "Reno" refers to the Jack Johnson - Jim Jeffries fight of July 1910.   

 

It was less than two months after the first show but it had already got a change of management and had been "Entirely remodeled." The theatre reopened October 28, 1910. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this ad. That "famous three-part" version of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" from Vitagraph/General Film Company was released in July 1910. It had a run time of 42 minutes. 

In her 1987 book "South Pasadena: A Centennial History 1888-1988," Jane Apostol notes the initial opening of the theatre on page 65: 

"The council ordered the city attorney to draw up an ordinance banning motion pictures, but nearly every businessman in town protested. The council yielded, but warned that it would not tolerate improper films that might demoralize or shock the public. Two men promptly installed a projector at 1118 Mission Street, and South Pasadena had its first motion picture show on September 1, 1910. 

"That program has been forgotten, but 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' was the feature when the South Pasadena Theater had its grand opening in October. 'Other high class educational and historic motion pictures' were promised and the public was assured, 'Nothing objectionable shown here.'" 

It's in the 1911-1912 directory as the "South Pasadena Theater." In August 1912 it reopened as the Princess Theatre. 

 

Looking for a pianist and a "first class" projectionist for the 1912 reopening as the Princess. Ken McIntyre located the ads.  

 

"...undergoing repairs..." An August 3, 1912 ad located by Ken McIntyre. 

 

Next to give it a try was L.E. Cummings, who formerly ran a theatre in Highland Park. He was planning a reopening after Christmas. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this December 24, 1912 article. The 1118 Mission location was his second choice. 

When it reopened in 1913 it was called the Gem Theatre. Jane Apostol comments on page 71 of her history:

"The city council had reluctantly allowed a motion picture theater to open in 1910. (Originally the South Pasadena Theater, it became the Gem in 1913 -- or as youngsters gleefully called it, 'The Germ.' Permitting theaters was one thing; permitting film companies was another. In 1913 the Lubin Company leased property on the Arroyo and began making a Western movie. Neighbors complained with 'having to put up with the tail end of a circus'..." 

The "Germ" got a mention in "Fortune and Friendship: An Autobiography," written by Lawrence Clark Powell in 1968. This page 6 snippet is on Google Books:  

"Every Friday night we went to the local Gem Theatre (called the 'Germ') to see the latest episode in the Pearl White serial. Saturday mornings I rode in to Los Angeles on the Pacific Electric and was in a balcony seat at Grauman's Million Dollar..." 

 

 

A 1913 news item about an April matinee. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for his post on the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group.  

 

A report about that April 1913 P.T.A. fundraising event. Thanks, Ken.  

 

 

They were changing programs three times a week plus doing an amateur stage show on Thursdays. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this June 1913 item about the big hits coming on the weekend: "The Power of Thought" from Rex, "The Surveyor and the Pony Express from Nestor and "A Friend Indeed," also from Nestor.  

 

The 1914-15 South Pasadena directory shows the business listed as the American Theatre with the 1118 Mission address. 

 

By 1915 it had evidently become the Mission Theatre. This listing came from a 1915 paper. 

Closing: The date is unknown. It was evidently gone by 1917. The only theatre listed in the city directory that year was the Colonial, which had opened in 1916. There were several new people living upstairs but nothing listed in 1917 for the retail spaces at 1114 and 1118 Mission. 

Ken McIntyre notes that in 1941 the space was home to a photography school.  

Status: The building survives. The two-story building has apartments upstairs and its two retail spaces have housed many tenants over the years. In April 2025 the east storefront, 1118 Mission, became home to The Hive, an art and community space. The South Pasadenan had the story. 

 

Looking east on Mission. The far storefront is 1118. Photo: Bill Counter - 2025 

 

 

A view west toward the Gold Line tracks. Photo: Bill Counter - 2025 

More information: South Pasadena city directories are available on the Internet Archive via the South Pasadena Public Library. See a PDF Inventory of Historic Resources from the city. There's also a PDF from the city about the Downtown Specific Plan that includes a discussion of the neighborhood's history. On the National Park Service's website there's a PDF of the 1977 nomination for historic status for buildings closer to the tracks in a South Pasadena Historic Business District. 

Other South Pasadena Theatres: The South Pasadena Opera House, at 915 Center St., opened in 1888. The Colonial Theatre, later renamed the Ritz, opened in 1916 at 804 Fair Oaks Ave. The Rialto Theatre opened in 1925 at 1023 Fair Oaks Ave.  

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