Regency Academy Cinemas

Regency Academy Theatre

The theater in 1928
Former names	Bard's Egyptian Theatre Bard's Pasadena Theatre
Address	1003 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California
Coordinates	34°08′47″N118°07′47″W / 34.1463°N 118.1297°W / 34.1463; -118.1297
Type	Movie theater
Capacity	1,709 originally
Construction
Opened	June 23, 1925
Renovated	1942, 1957-1958, 1984
Architect	Lewis Arthur Smith (1925) Carl Gerhardt Moeller (1957-1958)

Regency Academy Cinemas, formerly Bard's Egyptian Theatre, Bard's Pasadena Theatre, and Bard's Colorado, also known as Colorado Theatre and Academy 6, is a movie theater located at 1003 E. Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California. Shortly after opening it was considered one of the most popular theaters in the Los Angeles area. ^[1]

History

The theater that would become Regency Academy Cinemas first opened as Bard's Egyptian Theatre on June 23, 1925. The theater was designed by Lewis Arthur Smith, operated by the Louis L. Bard chain Far West Theatres, and its capacity at opening was 1,709. The opening night film was Bobbed Hair . ^[2]

While operated by Bard's Far West Theatres, this theater became one of the most popular movie theaters in the Los Angeles area. It also showed Pantages vaudeville acts, one of the few theaters outside the city of Los Angeles to do so. ^[1]

In 1942, Fox West Coast Theaters bought the theater, renovated it, and then re-opened as Academy Cinemas on July 3, 1942. ^[2] Reap The Wild Wind was the theater's first screening post-remodel, ^[3] and the theater would go on to host numerous Hollywood premieres throughout the 1950s. ^[4]

In 1957-1958 the theater underwent a $200,000 ($2.18 million in 2024) Streamline Moderne remodel, done by Carl Gerhardt Moeller, and in 1984, the theater was converted to a six-theater multiplex. ^[5]

The theater at one point was a Mann Theatre and is currently operated by Regency Theatres as the Regency Academy Cinemas. ^{[2] [6]}

Architecture and design

The theater was originally designed in the Egyptian Revival style; however, in 1942, the theater's themed statues were covered with murals of mermaids and underwater scenes. In 1958, the entire theater was redesigned in the Streamline Moderne style and in the 1984, the single theater was split into six, with the theater's former grandeur hidden by plaster after the renovations were complete. ^{[4] [5]}

References

1. Owen, Tom. "Vista Theatre" (PDF). Retrieved June 27, 2025.
2. Gabel, William. "Regency Academy Cinemas". Cinema Treasures . Retrieved March 20, 2025.
3. "Academy Cinemas advert". July 3, 1942 – via Cinema Treasures.
4. Mills, Michelle (March 12, 2018). "These are 19 of the most unusual Southern California movie theaters". Pasadena Star-News .
5. Michelson, Alan. "Bard's Egyptian Theatre, Pasadena, CA". University of Washington Pacific Coast Architecture Database . Retrieved March 20, 2025.
6. "Early Views of Pasadena". Water and Power Associates. p. 6. Retrieved March 20, 2025.