Kelly Trom
ktrom@mustangdaily.net
The neon-colored jewel of Monterey Street in downtown San Luis Obispo closed its doors and turned off its lights for an indeterminate amount of time Thursday evening.
News that Fremont Theatre would be closing was unofficially announced Thursday afternoon on the Fremont Facebook page. The Facebook post, published by assistant manager Maryanna Espejo-Moses, stated the theater would close its doors after the last showing that night. She said she posted the information in hopes that people would come out to support the Fremont under the current management one last time.
Later that afternoon, a new post stated that the previous post “(did) not represent the facts or beliefs of The Movie Experience Corporation as a company and (was) not an official posting.”
The Movie Experience Corporation, headed by chief executive officer Bruce Sanborn, manages three of the downtown theaters in San Luis Obispo: the Fremont, Downtown Centre Cinemas and Mission Cinemas.
Owners of the Fremont, King Ventures and Rossi Enterprises, are currently undergoing negotiations with Sanborn to potentially renew the contract.
The Movie Experience’s lease of Fremont ended in December 2012, Espejo-Moses said. Since then, the lease has been on a month-to-month basis.
“I am not happy, but as an employee here we have known for a while now that it was going to happen,” Espejo-Moses said.
The theater was expected to close in September last year, but because of circumstances not known to Espejo-Moses, it managed to stay open until last week.
The last movie shown was the 7:30 p.m. showing of “The Impossible,” at which many San Luis Obispo community members gathered not only to see the movie, but to take pictures and reminisce with friends and family about old memories connected with the theater.
The Fremont opened its doors for the first time in 1942. In the following 70 years, generations of San Luis Obispo residents and Cal Poly students have been enjoying movies and events held in the theater.
Lifelong San Luis Obispo resident Gary Villa attended Thursday’s final movie with his wife and daughter.
“This is home; the Fremont Theatre is home,” Villa said. “The Fremont Theatre is historical. That’s why we had to come down tonight.”
Villa and his wife Joyce, both Cal Poly alumni, went on their first date in December 1971 at the Fremont to see “Diamonds Are Forever” — the latest James Bond movie at the time.
San Luis Obispo residents Vanessa James and Blake Swier also enjoyed the unique Fremont experience and wanted to come to support the theater at least one last time, they said.
“Things like people dressing up to come see a movie and people clapping at the end,” James said. “It brings you a sense of community to come to those type of events, which is kind of what San Luis Obispo is all about.”
With coffee cups from local coffee company Blackhorse in their cupholders, both James and Swier said they felt it is important to support San Luis Obispo businesses.
“We are all about supporting local business,” James said. “We like to go to the Palm (Theatre) too. We like to keep our money in the community in this economy.”
Married couple and San Luis Obispo residents Leslie and Ron Bearce said they agree.
“We are losing a beautiful work of art,” Ron Bearce said. “Maybe it’s symbolic of big corporate chains being able to compete against companies unique and local like this. It seems impossible for it not to be here.”
The Bearces came down to take a picture in front of the unique Fremont exterior.
“A lot of the downtown has become kind of the same with the chain stores,” Bearce said. “When you come here, even the sidewalk is different. This really was a symbol of what made San Luis different.”
The Fremont Theatre boasts an original, one-seat ticket box, an art deco ceiling and 850 seats.
This past May, Rob Rossi and John King announced plans to build a new IMAX theater on the Fremont’s back lot as part of the Fremont Square Entertainment Complex. Rossi and King assured community members that the vintage, art deco exterior would remain.
Along with showing new movies, midnight premieres and classic film series, the Fremont is one of the venues for the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. According to the film festival’s website, the Fremont will still be used for that purpose next month in March.
“I think that’s what is keeping people most anxious, is not knowing what’s going to happen,” James said.
Until then, Monterey Street will be a little less bright and community members will be waiting anxiously to hear the news.