Wilshire Theater
Theater Location: 201 W. Wilshire Avenue, Fullerton, CA
Theater Status: Demolished
History
The Wilshire theater was a historic cinema located in Fullerton, California, south of Los Angeles, in Orange County.
The original building was erected on the site of an orange grove in 1927 and was designed as an eleven-unit apartment complex, complete with indoor swimming pool and retail space, known as the Malden Arms Hotel. It was also, apparently, a speak-easy during the depression years.
In 1946, the swimming pool was converted into the Wilshire Theatre, evidenced by diving boards retained behind the screen at the "deep end" with a spectator balcony on both sides.
The theater eventually became an eclectic, independent cinema with staged musical revues and counter-culture films such as “Pink Flamingos”. The Rocky Horror Picture Show joined the roster in 1978 as a regular midnight movie, and had a special appearance by The Rocky Horror Revue early in its run.
In March of 1979, Tommy Cooper, the owner of the Tiffany Theater, leased the Wilshire theater, and continued showing the already booked The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Fridays and Saturdays at midnight. For its "re-opening" night, The Tiffany Troupe appeared, performing a pre-show to a sparse crowd, including some apparently confused patrons who called out "go back to Hollywood, faggots" to the cast members.
Falling into disrepair after becoming an exclusively Spanish-langiuage theater in the '80s, the Wilshire was demolished in 1991 and in 1992, new apartments were built on the site.
External Links
Cinema Treasures [1]
