Overview

The 1,000-seat $160,000 McNees Theatre opened with From Headquarters (1929)  starring Monte Blue, along with several vaudeville acts. Built as part of the McNees Theatre Building, erected by the Whittier Amusement Company, the complex originally housed a café, market, drug store, and a number of smaller shops and concessions in addition to the theatre itself. The theatre was approached through an open court into which the surrounding shops faced. The complex was built on property that had been owned by Ralph McNees, once part of the McNees ranch.

The new “atmospheric” type of theatre was claimed to be the first of its kind on the US West Coast, however in reality was pre-dated by the Warner Hollywood Theatre and the Alex Theatre in Glendale, to name a couple.

News reports of the time noted that “illusion of the natural sky at evening is presented by the color of the ceiling, moving clouds across the sky, and twinkling stars”.

The McNees name did not last long, as by late 1929 newspapers were reporting the theatre reopening as the Warner Bros. Whittier.

Warners had seemingly backed-out by the early 1930s when the theatre was marketed as the Whittier Theatre. In later years it was known as Bruen’s Whittier. Pacific Theatres took over the theatre in 1969.

The theatre sustained damage from the Whittier earthquake on 1st October 1987 and did not subsequently reopen. Despite being repairable the theatre was demolished in May 1990 and the land redeveloped into a strip mall. A CVS pharmacy now occupies the site where the theatre once stood.