WHAT HAPPEN TO THE GRINDHOUSE THEATERS?

The CASINO THEATER now an ice cream and candy shop.

     In the mid 1980's I use to go to some old movie theaters in downtown San Diego. I got to see the last of the grindhouse movies as they call them now. Back then they were just trashy movies.
     A theater I went to a lot was the CASINO on 5th. It was a run down theater. I saw movies there like THE ZOMBIE ISLAND MASSACRE, BLOOD HOOK, CREEPOZOIDS, THE HOWLING PART 2, and GODZILLA 1985.
    A cross the street from the Casino was the Bijou and couple stores over from the Casino was the Azteca which showed adult movies. The Plaza Theater was a few blocks away where the Horton Plaza Mall now stands. The Plaza was sandwiched between two other rundown theaters. I do not remember the names of those theaters. Down the block from the Plaza was a theater that was open for only a few weeks that ran Chinese movies.
      There was a handful of other theaters around the area. One theater was open every night till 5AM in the morning. I am sure the homeless of downtown slept there. Cheap grindhouses often double as motels for the homeless. At one 24 hour adult theater the snack bar sold soup. I'll sure it was for the homeless so that they could get something better than snackbar junk food to eat.
     The home video recorder was the coffin nail for the grindhouse movie theaters.  People stayed home to watch sleazy movies instead of going to rundown theaters in unsafe parts of town.
     Last week I was in downtown San Diego and wandered around for awhile. I stopped off at an ice cream place that use to be the Casino theater. What use to be a rundown theater that showed trashy movies now sold tasty ice cream sundaes and candies. I had a sundae and enjoyed it.
     I asked the hostess there if anyone ever asked for the old movie theater. She was surprised when I told her that I use to go there to watch 3rd rate movies.