Jewel Theatre
1220 Pacific Avenue,
Santa Cruz,
CA
95060
1220 Pacific Avenue,
Santa Cruz,
CA
95060
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The Jewel Theatre was housed in a Masonic Lodge, a narrow, three story commercial building on the East side of Pacific Avenue between the terminus of Soquel Avenue and the terminus of Cooper Street, a few doors South of where the Hotel Palomar (now Palomar Inn) was later built. The Jewel Theatre was opened November 22, 1907.
The Jewel Theatre was likely closed in 1920, as it does not appear in the Film Daily Yearbook 1926 edition. One grainy, early photograph has been seen, looking up Pacific Avenue when the theater was still operating, and it can be observed that the building was then more ornate than it appeared following a subsequent remodeling, probably in the 1920’s.
The building was destroyed in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, and a Postmodern style, stone-clad facade building of similar proportions and height stands there today.
Contributed by
Gary Parks
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Can anyone come up with the address? More info and photos are always welcome.
The Jewel Theatre was listed in the 1916 and 1918 editions of the Western Directory Company’s Santa Cruz County Directory, but not in the 1921 edition.
Edward E. Prince, who lived in Santa Cruz from June 21, 1910, to December 16, 1911, kept a diary in which he mentions attending theaters in Santa Cruz. He mentions the Jewel Theatre by name on September 24, 1910. He also saw the movies at the Unique Theatre the same day.
The historic address of the Jewel Theatre was 161 Pacific Avenue. A bit farther up Pacific, at 145, was another movie house called the Princess Theatre. Both were listed in the 1916 and 1918 directories, but no longer listed in the 1921 directory. The lots that once had those numbers should appear on Sanborn maps from the period.
The modern address of the lot the Jewel Theatre was on is 1220 Pacific Avenue. The current building is occupied by Rosie McCann’s Irish Pub & Restaurant. The Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture, by John Chase, says that the Jewel Theatre operated from 1908 to 1920 on the ground floor of a three story building that housed the Masonic Lodge on the upper floors.
[Jewel theatre opening] (http://www.newspapers.com/clip/2882471/jewel_theatre_opening/)
opened on or about November 22nd, 1907
Mike, I think you forgot to close the space between the ] and the ( in the markdown code. Here’s a clickable link: Jewel theatre opening