Cinema 21, Washington Boulevard, c 1970s
The Washington Theater was built in 1924, and was renamed Cinema 21 in 1968. The theater closed in 1990.
"Cinema 21 was the go-to place in the community, the highlight of the weekend. You could see 67 Black kids walking across Washington Boulevard on their way to the movie. They showed a western sometimes, The Magnificent Seven, stuff they knew people would watch. It was scary movies, westerns, blaxploitation, martial arts—Five Fingers of Death, Enter the Dragon. Whatever Bruce Lee movie came out, it was always there.
That was the place, no other place. As a kid, we didn’t even know that there was another theater in Pasadena until the built the multiplexes. The Cinema 21 was just one screen, a booth and concessions.
In the early 80’s, it showed Spanish Language films for about ten years. And then they started showing adult films. They allowed that to happen, in that community.
I thought it was going to be a community center, l thought they would keep it for the community. It got restored but it’s not a theater anymore."
--Dennis Haywood
Dennis Haywood is a filmmaker, the founder and director of the Pasadena African American Film Foundation and the editor-in-chief of Pasadena Black Pages. A resident of Northwest Pasadena, Haywood attended Pasadena High School and San Jose State University.
--DA
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