West Covina, CA - The Fox name in theaters promptly spurs many to reminisce of the golden
era of this chain of theaters. Known for their huge screens, these single
screen movie houses were the place to go ... and be seen ... when going
to the movies. Onme of these places was the Fox Covina Theatre. 09-10
Fox Covina Theatre Marquee
West Covina, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Fox Covina Theatre was once a familiar stop for San Gabriel Valley moviegoers, with its roadside marquee announcing the latest attraction along Azusa Avenue. The angular sign and recognizable Fox lettering did their part to bring customers off the boulevard and into the parking lot. Before sprawling multiplexes became the rule, a big screen and a much-anticipated movie could keep a place like this busy all evening.
Opened on June 27, 1969, at 211 N. Azusa Avenue, the Fox greeted its first audiences with Disney’s The Love Bug and a Winnie the Pooh featurette. National General’s Fox West Coast operation gave the new theatre 814 seats and a modern suburban setting. This was a different generation of Fox theatre from the ornate downtown palaces, with the emphasis on a comfortable seat and the entertainment filling the screen.
Fox Covina Theatre
West Covina, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The single-screen arrangement didn’t last long. The Fox became a twin in December 1972 and eventually expanded to three screens under Mann. More screens meant more choices on the marquee, although the theatre still offered a considerably smaller operation than the multiplexes that would follow.
For local moviegoers, the memories are a little more personal than screen counts and chain names. Former customers recall summer children’s programs, trips with family, and long lines for major releases. One remembered waiting three hours to see Superman in 1978, with the crowd stretching around toward the rear parking area. Those were the evenings when getting inside was part of the adventure.
The empty lot
West Covina, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
By its later years, the Fox had moved into second-run pictures and, for a time, Indian films. Crowds thinned, the property grew tired, and the old marquee began looking more like a reminder of earlier attractions than an invitation to the next big opening.
Well, we all know the story. Whether it was because of multiplexes, VCRs,
or whatever, the single screeners lost much of its appeal and many closed
down. The FOX held on for dear life and became a foreign film movie place
in the 1990's. But eventually, the doors closed, the movie posters were
torn down, and the last tickets were thrown away.
UPDATE: The Fox Theatre in Covina as well
as much of the block has been demolished. 04
UPDATE: The Fox closed in December 1998 and was subsequently demolished. By 2004, the theatre and much of the surrounding block were gone, taking the familiar roadside sign with them. Unlike the downtown Covina Theater site on Citrus Avenue, this movie stop didn’t receive another chapter as a performing arts venue. Here, the photographs bring back the Fox before the last show gave way to the wrecking equipment. 10-26
Fox Covina Theatre Marquee
Fox Covina Theatre
The empty lot
