Crest Theatre

October 14th, 1948 grand opening ad in photo section.

The area on Elgin where Joe Vogel is referring to is now occupied by a Quiktrip and a Circle K.

Kyle, you are correct. The credit union is in the former Long John Silver’s building that replaced the Crest. I know this because I managed the Long John’s when it originally opened. It turned out to be one of their poorer locations and closed soon after.

I spent MANY happy hours at the Crest! I can still remember the original burgundy and beige swirled carpeting inside, just past the lobby. This theater DID have a small balcony area upstairs, that was generally closed, but no one ever stopped you from stepping over(or going under)the The velvet rope and going there……as long as you were well behaved and not “making out” or throwing popcorn or Milk-Duds down on the other patrons. My Grandparents owned the property right next door (to the East) at 8716 Gravois. They lived upstairs and ran (what was originally)the grocery store that was on the first floor. After WW-2 my grandparents added on to their building, on the West side.It was a tavern was run by my uncle. The parking lot was then shared with the Crest and Eddie’s Tavern and Ratskeller

The Crest Theatre in Affton opened on July 20, 1948, according to Boxoffice Magazine’s issue of October 30 that year. In October, the operators of the house were seeking to make permanent an injunction against the St. Louis Theatrical Brotherhood, Local 6, lATSE, whose members had been picketing the theater due to the operator’s hiring of a non-union projectionist.

There’s an earlier article from Boxoffice, October 18, 1947, which might be about the Crest. It says that the Affton Theatre Company had plans to build a new theater on Gravois Avenue near Arthur Avenue. Google Maps finds an Arthur Avenue in Affton, but it’s nowhere near Gravois. The article also says that a rival company was planning a new theater on Gravois at Elgin Street, a short distance from the first theater’s location. There is an Elgin Avenue just a couple of blocks west of the Crest’s address.

If somebody can dig up an old map of the area, maybe they can see if one of the streets near the Crest was formerly called Arthur Avenue (though it’s possible that Boxoffice just got the street name wrong.) If one was, then the first theater mentioned in the 1947 article probably was the Crest. The proposed house was described as being 60x154 feet, with a concrete foundation and a steel roof. It was designed by St. Louis architect Bernard Bloom.

The second proposed theater, at the corner of Elgin Street, which was to have been called Ronnie’s Affton Theatre, and was to have been operated by the Wehernberg circuit, might have remained unbuilt.

My mother, Norma Garwood, worked at Crest Theater from 1953 to 1957. She worked at the concession stand but anyone who worked during this time period would likely remember her. She would love to hear from anyone who worked during this period. Any responses can be sent to me & I will send them on to her. My e-mail is Thank you.

It should be noted the Crest was the first post-War (II) theatre erected and opened in the St. Louis market.

Theatre opened in July, 1948.

I own the Annex Theater in Affton & run my business out of it. Do you have any information or pictures of the Annex?