Crest Theatre
721 W. Main Street,
El Centro,
CA
92243
721 W. Main Street,
El Centro,
CA
92243
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Fox West Coast Theatres, United Artists Theater Circuit Inc.
Architects: Clifford A. Balch, Percy A. Eisen, A. R. Walker
Firms: Walker & Eisen
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: United Artists Theatre, Valley Cinemas 4-5-6
Nearby Theaters
The United Artists Theatre was opened by United Artists on September 21, 1932 with Will Rogers in “Down to Earth”. There were stairs up to the mezzanine seating area, and a ramp led from there to the balcony seating area. It was taken over by Fox West Coast Theatres by 1941. It was remodeled in June 1952, reopening as the Crest Theatre.
The Crest Theatre was closed in 1999. It became an event center. It was closed and ‘For Sale’ in December 2020.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
The architects for this theater were Walker & Eisen, along with C.A. Balch.
The United Artists El Centro Theatre was located at 721 Main Street.
A photograph of the Crest Theatre:
View link
A postcard view from the 1950’s, showing the Crest Theatre on the right:
http://www.hbw.addr.com/images/bwhotelchrome.jpg
My cousin managed this place for years. She’d let us in for free and give us popcorn (served in the cardboard boxes you get for drinks.) We’d just pay for the sodas. We couldn’t beat that deal.
The auditoriums were nicer than I had expected. I loved the little details of the building, even if they had faded.
One thing that I distinctly remember were the funky urinals in the men’s room. They had really long lips. You could straddle it and almost sit down to pee. Theoretically, you could do a #2 in them, but they were out in the open, so people might look at you funny.
I did lose my grandmother’s ring in there. I remember letting my hand fall to my side. The ring hit the ground with a clink. I tried looking for it and never found it. I asked my cousin to keep checking, but she never found it.
According to this theatre from American Classic images
View link
This was also at one time the Valley 4-5-6.
Some confusion here as the above photo was also posted on this page:
/theaters/2167/
Interesting that six screens may have been split into two different buildings, which might explain things:
http://tinyurl.com/c2ev28
It’s really not that silly about different buildings holding extra screens. GCC and UA would do that in many of their early plexes. Thats why you will find theatres with a plex inside a mall area and afew more screens in the parking lot. The former DeMille in NYC was Embassy 2,3,4 and Embassy 1 was across the street next to the Palace Theatre and for a short time Embassy 5 was across 7th. Ave & Broadway.