From Southern San Mateo to San Carlos

When the new downtown multiplex opens in 2003, it will be the first time San Mateo has had a movie theater in its city center in 30 years. With 1,843 seats, San Mateo's downtown 12-screen cinema will be the largest between Daly City and Redwood City. However, central San Mateo County boasts a long history of splendid old-time movie theaters. From Millbrae to San Carlos, these fabulous Art Deco palaces provided havens where kids of all ages could come for a two-hour flight of fancy without ever leaving the ground. The following is a retrospective of some of the central Peninsula's favorite movie halls. The information has been gathered from several sources, including the records of the San Mateo County Historical Association, as well as the historical societies of Belmont, Burlingame, Millbrae and San Carlos. This second of two parts recalls the old movie palaces from southern San Mateo to San Carlos, listed chronologically by their opening dates: Carlos Theater The first move theater in San Carlos was located at 1224 San Carlos Ave., on the north side of the street, where the Eureka Federal Building stands today. With a ground breaking on May 30, 1941 and an opening on Jan. 11, 1941, the Carlos proved a boon to the social life of downtown San Carlos. A splendid example of the neighborhood movie house from a bygone era, moviegoers could walk from their homes to an afternoon or evening of entertainment, which usually included a newsreel, a cartoon and a full-length movie. The Carlos closed its doors in 1977. Manor Theater The Manor Theater opened in 1941 on the corner of Flores Street and 25th Avenue. The theater featured a blazing marquee at its front entrance, a plush burgundy and gold-leaf interior auditorium seating 800 and a circular lobby with a snack bar situated in the center. The Manor Theater provided celluloid entertainment for a whole generation of children in southern San Mateo. The Manor Theater was a true neighborhood movie house for the burgeoning residential area surrounding 25th Avenue. As the city's population began to expand past the downtown area with the increasing popularity of the automobile, 25th Avenue became the city's second Main Street. Close enough to be reached by bicycle, the Manor provided a refuge for school kids throughout the area. In its heyday, the Manor almost always offered a double feature with a cartoon. Special summer passes were available, meaning young viewers could spend a good portion of their summer Saturdays at the neighborhood matinee house. The Manor Theater closed its doors in 1984. In its place today at 32 25th Ave. is an office building. It stands next to the Goodwill Store, which was originally Lester's Market, then Humphrey's Market from the early 1960s to the late 1980s. Laurel Theater The Laurel Theater screened movies for the White Oaks District of San Carlos. White Oaks was the section of the Brittan estate once owned by William Brittan, city pioneer John Brittan's eldest son. Opened in 1947, the Laurel Theater stood on the corner of White Oak Avenue and Laurel Street. The theater itself was a magnificent Art Deco structure, featuring velvet drapes in the auditorium and a huge vertical neon sign on the outside shining its name. In the late 1970s, when this one-screen movie house could no longer compete with the emerging multiplex theaters, the Laurel started showing adult films. The neighborhood raised such a ruckus, however, that Laurel returned to showing mainstream, second-run films. The theater finally met the wrecking ball in May 1998. Palm Theater Known primarily as an adult theater, the Palm Theater actually showed mainstream films for 22 years, from its opening in March 1950 until 1972. Designed by William B. David and William W. Wolf, the Palm Theater became one of the first independently operated movie theaters in the country. First owned by John M. Sullivan, the Palm stood across the street from the attractive Spanish Colonial Art Deco service station, now the last of its kind on the Peninsula. The 750-seat auditorium features detailed mural artwork on the wall. The question of the movie house's historic significance arose this summer, when a scheme to replace the aging movie house with condominiums came before the San Mateo Planning Commission. The Palm Theater's days are now numbered. Belmont Theater The original Belmont Theater opened at the corner of El Camino Real and North Road in Belmont in 1949. The first film presented there by owner William P. David was "I was a Male War-Bride," starring Cary Grant. The Belmont featured a giant 40-foot, free-standing neon sign which vertically flashed the word "Belmont." It also provided an 800-seat auditorium, with Art Deco on the walls. The $250,000 theater, built by Roy Cooper of West-Side Valley Theaters, originally had a carpet store next to it. In 1965 the carpet store converted into auditorium, bringing two theaters - the Belmont and the Bel-Art - side by side. The vertical neon sign then flashed "Belmont" and "Bel-Art" alternately. In 1972 the two theaters became one in the Belmont Twin Cinema, with the sign flashing only "Belmont" again. Five years later the owner split the original 800-seat auditorium in two, while the theater became the "Belmont Cinema Three."