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Mysteries Inside the UnknownBy Jaime Negrete The Golden Gate Theater was built in the year 1927 on the prominent corner of Whittier and Atlantic in East Los Angeles. It had been one of a handful of neighborhood movie palaces remaining in Southern California. In the year 1987, it suffered severe damage from the Whittier Earthquake. Since then it has been closed down. It was shocking to find out that soon it will be turned into a CVS/pharmacy. The building is important to our culture because it was the first in East Los Angeles to be a historical landmark. It has been there for many decades, and it brings back memories of what happened years ago. I remember first seeing this building when I was six years old. It was pretty scary at first, but years after, I went back to the same location and realized it was wonderful. I wanted to see what was inside. It had that creepy mysterious feeling that I love. I wished one day that I would have that opportunity to see what was behind those closed doors. |
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We were on a school photography field trip on October 20, and luckily for me and my group, the Golden Gate Theater was open! We did the impossible and found the man in charge of the site and asked him to let us in. He said "yes." It was such an exciting moment for me because of all the stories I'd heard over the years. My parents told me about stepping inside the theater as young teenagers together for their first date. My parents were about the same age as I was when they stepped foot in the theater. It brings up how the culture was in East Los Angeles then, compared to today's generation of theaters and how we teenagers go out on dates. In my photograph, I chose to focus on the staircase with the beautiful centerpiece. You can still see its white-and-gold color, but in the background there are a lot of damaged walls and tagging. Up close you can see many different patterns as well as a variety of colors. You can see how the dark colors contrast with the light colors as the sunlight comes through the open doors and reflects upon the light colors. That light helps to highlight the many different formations of lines. You can see the different forms of lines throughout the borders, the stairs, and the staircase railing. This photo represents to me an amazing life experience that I will never forget, especially because the theater is going to be transformed into a local CVS and will never be the same again. |