1975 Obispo Theater Fire
September 5, 2008 – 5:49 pm
December 28, 1975
San Luis Obispo used to be home to two grand movie palaces, sadly today only the Fremont remains.
The Obispo used to be near the corner of Osos and Monterey Streets now the home of the Court Street Center.
Early on a Sunday morning fire struck the 65-year-old theater, built in 1911.
Battalion chief Jack Wainscott was in charge of the firefighting effort.
Quoting from the story by Pete Dunan [who later took a job running Goodwill]:
Wainscott said he almost lost three men through the second floor of the building when it began to collapse early in the fire.
He said the men escaped down the only stairway from two upstairs businesses next to the theater.
The entire roof of the theater and adjacent businesses collapsed at about 6:30 a.m. sending sparks and embers “a hundred feet into the sky over most of downtown, “ Battalion chief Elton Hall said.
Hall, one of the firemen called back to duty, said, “It was incredible, one of the most spectacular fires I’ve ever seen. Flames were shooting out everywhere when I arrived. That parking lot saved us from the flames spreading to the Anderson and God knows how many other buildings.”
Wainscott said, “I’ve been nervous just waiting for that building to go for the 22 years I’ve been in the department.”
Two days later fire investigators were still looking into the cause.
Quoting related story in the paper by Bob Anderson:
The interior contained irreplaceable chandeliers and a majestic painting of Morro Rock, which for many years had been completely hidden by dust.
The next day the city gave the building owner 10 days to demolish the unsafe structure.
Sully’s Cocktails and Osos Street Records moved to new locations. The Obispo was demolished to make a parking lot.
The Vault goes to edges of the Earth to bring you the story, here a former employee of the Obispo recalls working at the theater:
I started working at the Obispo Theater in 1957 when I was 14 (with required work permit).
By the time I left to go to Cal Poly in 1960 I was a cashier making a generous $1.25 an hour!
The manager was very fair about hiring, as half of the teens working there were from San Luis High and half were from Mission High (now Mission Prep.)
We had a friendly rivalry with the Fremont just up the street on Monterey. In order to pull in more customers and “out do” the Fremont on Monday nights, the manager, Mr. Taylor, started showing “art movies” that night. The tradition then moved to the Rainbow and continues at the Palm today.
I started as an usher, wearing a uniform and carrying a flashlight. I helped seat people and kept an eye out for “trouble” especially in the balcony!
One request often needed was, ” Please take your cigarette out to the lobby to smoke.”
We changed into and out of our uniforms in a very small dark musty room way up in the far corner of the balcony next to the projection room.
More than once there was some joking about getting caught up in that tiny room if a fire broke out. Little did I know how prophetic the thoughts of fire would be.
Recalled by Noel Middlecamp aka Kathy Hill
Thanks for the help with the blog mom.
Photos were by Wayne Nicholls
17 Responses to “1975 Obispo Theater Fire”
Hi. I read a few of your other posts and wanted to know if you would be interested in exchanging blogroll links?
By Rick Boyer on Sep 5, 2008
I actually went to see “Gone With The Wind” with my sister, two nights before the fire. What a terrible loss to SLO that was….the fire, not the movie
Living just up the street, we could easily see the great flames and smoke erupting from the remains. As us kids ran down to watch the spectacle, we were joined by, what seemed, the entire SLO population.
I do believe my Dad built part of a wall with bricks from the Obispo. So then, it still lives.
By SSG David Medzyk on Sep 9, 2008
Hi Rick & SSG David,
Thanks for the comments.
To respond to your question Rick, The Vault has a limited space for non-history links…I’ll put yours in the Thanks for the Mention heading…as others come in they push the older links off the page.
SSG David, the fire must have looked like a scene from Gone With the Wind.
By David Middlecamp on Sep 9, 2008
My father was the projectionist at the Obispo (c. 1956-1964). My sister and I spent many hours in that theater. Mr. Taylor’s first name was Sid and he smoked a pipe – Prince Albert tobacco (no idea how I remember that!). My uncle, W. Young Louis, eldest son of Ah Louis, was the projectionist at the Fremont for more decades than I can recall.
By A. David Chan on Sep 11, 2008
I sent out this blog entry to my SLO Senior High graduating class and Ann replied:
My dad and I had been to the Obispo to see Snow White the evening of the night it burned. I still have a pen and ink drawing of the theater on my wall that was done by a Cal Poly architecture student. I keep replacing the matting and have such good memories of that theater.
Ann
By A. David Chan on Sep 11, 2008
The demolition of the the burned out theater was performed by Larry Bordan, who owned Bordan Brick and salvage out of Los Angeles.
Mr. Bordan later acquired the El Pismo Inn in Pismo Beach, then owned by Mrs. Petricks, who sold the hotel to Mr. Bordan, this after the city ordered the hotel be demolished.
Mr. Bordan brought in structural engineers to inspect the hotel in an effort to disprove the building was not structurally sound, which he succeeded in.
Mr. Bordan remodeled the hotel and kept it’s original 30’s style decor.
The company that built the El Pismo Inn was the same company who built the court house in San Luis Obispo, during the same time period.
Mr. Bordan remained in constant litigation with the city until he lost the hotel in a government sale to Joseph Songer, who paid $1,000 for the hotel.
There is not enough space here to continue the saga of Mr. Bordan and the history of The El Pismo Inn Hotel
By RICHARD BASTIAN on Sep 12, 2008
I am the guy on the ladder in the photo with the crane.Tom Manier was the crane operator. I worked for City Neon later known as CN signs and Graphics.We were there to take down the signs after the fire.I’m a native son and grew up in SLO.I spent alot of time in that great old movie house.What a loss!
By Dewaine Moerman on Sep 16, 2008
Thanks for the comments everyone.
There’s always room for more if you have something to share.
Cinema Treasures documents old theaters and there is a large field of comments under the Obispo. Thanks to Bonnach for linking.
By David Middlecamp on Oct 1, 2008
Hi David,
For a ton of great photos of SLO from the 40s on up, take a look at this link. Make sure you have some time, its huge. This same fellow has a good many old home movies posted on YouTube as well.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/selago/sets/
Joe Dunlap
By Joe Dunlap on Oct 1, 2008
“I actually went to see “Gone With The Wind” with my sister, two nights before the fire.”
Then the movie changed to “Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs” just after that? Snow White didn’t get a long run
then.
By Rick Evans on Nov 30, 2008
Rick, I believe Snow White was the afternoon matinee. GWTW was certainly an evening showing, as I got home long after my normal bedtime.
It has been 30+ years so I could be mistaken on the show times, but I remember getting home really late.
By SSG David Medzyk on Dec 2, 2008
Two weeks notice?
The story I took from a file at the SLO County Museum (Monterey at Palm) said that “On December 30, 1975, Fire Inspector Jack Kellerman, with a vote from the City Council, ordered the Henry C. Dalessi estate to demolish the Obispo.”
Now how many engineers and architects could you gather between the Christmas and New Year’s holiday?
How did the city acquire that entire block of property for a parking lot for 29 years? Do you think 1970s inflation and inflated taxes had anything to do with it?
By Pat O'D on Feb 22, 2009
Wow! Now this brings back memories.
I am the “Pete Dunan,” who covered the fire for the then Telegram-Tribune and wrote the article quoted in the piece. I remember the night well and the aftermath, including the demolition where Larry Bordan, who’s contractor license had expried, knocked down the wall in the wrong direction, nearly hitting some of the spectators.
Ironically, it appeared in the story that City Building Inspector, Jack Kellerman was somehow at fault for approving Bordan for the job. He has never forgiven me for that and even refused to attend the marriage of his eldest daughter to me some ten years later. (We are no longer married.) I just stumbled across the posting today. I am now retired and living the good (and hot) live in Arizona…pete
By Pete Dunan on May 17, 2009
Pete: Just came across this site again and see where you might have been correct about your ex-father-in-law. Do you have any idea how the city of San Luis Obispo acquired that entire half-block for a parking lot?
It took over 29 years to get some tax-paying businesses back on that empty lot. If you haven’t seen it, it’s now called “Court Street”. Here’s a link to one photo taken from Higuera Street looking north toward a second level Pottery Barn. In the 1950s you would have been looking at the Maddalena Tire Company store and recapping business.
http://www.ci.san-luis-obispo.ca.us/economicdevelopment/currentprojects.asp
By SLOnative on Jun 22, 2009
Excuse me. That was not taken from Higuera Street.
That top photo is taken from across the street from the County Court House at Monterey and Osos Streets. You are looking in the southwest direction where Sully’s bar was located on the corner. The Pottery Barn is upstairs to the right.
By SLOnative on Jun 22, 2009
The problem is now we’re stuck with the ripoff company themovieexperience.com in San Luis Obispo which they have done nothing but raise ticket prices yet repair nothing at their 3 theaters downtown, the Fremont, the Monterey Theater and the March Street down theaters. Today they ask $11.50 for general tickets and $13.50 for 3D. Talk about a ripoff when these places are so trashy. At least the Palm Theater does a good job checking the price down and maintains their theater all the time.
By Jim on Aug 13, 2010
Killing time, which I now do a lot of in retirement, I came across this blog and articles again. Boy, does it bring back memories of my days as an “Investigative Reporter,” at the good old T-T. I remeber the night very well when the Obispo burned, as I watched the blaze from a number of different locations nearby. I recall that after writing the intitial story I did not sleep for probably another day doing follow-up and trying to get info on the cause. I then covered the story surrounding the decision to demolish the building and the subsequent investigation of Larry Bordan, who had a checkered past (and subsequent future) and noted in one story that then Chief Building Inspector (not Fire Investagtor, as noted in one post) apparently failed to learn Bordan’s Contractors Lic. was not current or valid.
Ironically, some ten years later I married his eldest daughter. He never really forgave me, but finally came around to tolorate me and even be civil at family gatherings, just about the time we divorced. I really don’t recall much about how the city came into ownership of property or the parking lot. I now live in San Tan Vally, AZ, play softball in a senior league twice a week and travel to Australia every year or so to visit my son Eric (class of 86, SLO HI) and his family. Yes,I miss slo and the many friends I made there (and a few enemies)but living in AZ, the “Show me your papers” state is much less expensive and offers its own entertainment with a crazy sheriff, goofy laws and lots of rednecks…Pete Dunan
By Pete Dunan on Aug 27, 2010