The honor of receiving the very first star on Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 1992 didn’t go to a blockbuster entertainer like Bob Hope, Ginger Rogers or Frank Sinatra.
The coveted star was instead bestowed upon a modest and well-liked man from Indiana, Earle Clifford Strebe, in front of the historic Plaza Theatre he established.
Strebe built Palm Spring’s first movie theater just south of Frances Stevens Park, across Alejo Road.
The crown jewel of his eight movie theater chain was the Plaza Theatre, opened in 1936, in downtown Palm Springs.
Earle C. Strebe, sold the very first ticket to Annette Freeman, 1936. Photo courtesy, Palm Springs Historical Society
Julia Carnell of Dayton, Ohio, began the Plaza development during the Great Depression to the tune of one million dollars to enhance shopping and entertainment during her winter stay at the Desert Inn, owned by Nellie Coffman.
The theater opened before the rest of the Plaza was completed. Described in a Desert Sun article as having “850 comfortable seats with air conditioning to keep pure fresh air circulating at the proper temperature throughout the large auditorium, it was truly a modern marvel.”
The Desert Sun 22 Dec 1952
In the mid-1930s, Palm Springs had a population of barely 1,000 people. During the winter tourist season the population quadrupled.
Carnell leased the building to proprietor Earle C. Strebe (1906-1994), who brought acclaim to the Spanish Colonial theater with frequent runs of the most popular movies accompanied with Broadway-like fanfare to tuxedo wearing gentlemen and ballgown adorned patrons with live entertainment, community events and ballet.
The Desert Sun, 09 Nov 1953
Strebe was quite the marketing genius. He also headed the local Chamber of Commerce, and served on the Palm Springs City Council.
Even his wife, Frances,’ family was phenomenal.
Zaddie R. Bunker built the first theatre in Palm Springs in the early 1930s and was known as the Grandmother who was the first woman to break the sound barrier in 1961 at 73 years old and, she was an Honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force.
Zaddie learned to fly at age 65 and flew solo back and forth across the continent when she was 66.
Earle C. Strebe, was her son-in-law.
Most of the other six Star inductee’s names were recognized worldwide. Some people claimed Strebe was hardly known outside of Palm Springs, California.
However, the residents of Big Bear, California, may beg to differ. Strebe’s name was deeply entrenched in its history of entertainment.
Earle C. Strebe owned three theatres in the San Bernardino mountains in Lake Arrowhead, Crestline and Big Bear.
Big Bear Grizzly, 20 July 1945
The Grizzly newspaper in Big Bear Lake noted on Sept. 21, 1945 that “Big Bear Theatre, formerly the Grizzly,” would close for the season that month, and that owner Earle C. Strebe planned to construct a new building for the theater “on the highway next to Safeway.”
The paper continued by saying the foundation was poured and laid during summer, but actual work on the structure of the modern steel and re-inforced concrete building was delayed.
The new building opened on April 28, 1946, to a sold-out house of valley residents and visitors packed in for the first show to watch Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman in Saratoga Trunk.
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.
A fire the morning of February 2, 1968 destroyed the venue prior that evening’s showing of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The theatre was demolished.
In July 1972, a newer Big Bear Theatre opened nearby on Village Drive, which was later renamed the Village Theatre in 1975.
There were actually three Grizzly Theatres in the village’s history. The first was built in 1919-1920 by Frank Johnson.
In August of 1921, a baby was accidently left at the front door of the theater and Johnson made the unusual decision to have a raffle and give the baby away at a screening on August 23, 1921.
Just as in modern times, society did not appreciate the joke.
The Desert Sun 22 Dec 1952
Prohibition began on January 17, 1920, and continued until 1933.
Johnson built the Grizzly Inn next door after a few dismal seasons. The theatre and inn became very popular.
The Inn was raided in 1923 due to the fact it was selling moonshine whiskey and bathtub gin.
Grizzly Theatre #2 operated by Charlie and Anne Stillwell opened nearby at 42171 Big Bear Boulevard.
For movie fans seeking more privacy and the great outdoors experience, Peter Pan Woodland Drive-In proved just the ticket.
It was located at 675 Greenway Drive in Big Bear, California, and accommodated 300 cars.
Earle Strebe ran the drive-in from its opening on May 24, 1957.
Big Bear Grizzly, 23 May 1957
According to The Big Bear Grizzly on November 8, 1956, work was progressing rapidly before heavy snow falls for spring completion of Peter Pan Woodland Drive-In Theater in Bear City.
The 50’x80′ screen, located in the southeast corner, west of Greenway Drive was in front of Peter Pan Club.
Parking facilities for 664 cars were available on opening day with additional facilities for 150 more vehicles was planned for a later date.
The article went on to say it was an Earl C. Strebe theater and that he was also owner and operator of Big Bear Theater, as well as theaters in Palm Springs and Lake Arrowhead.
Bill Meyer of Big Bear Theater was set to manage the drive-in and its snackbar concessions.
The Peter Pan Woodland Drive-in operated into the 1970s. Earle C. Stebe passed away in 1994, at the age of 88. He is buried at Wellwood Murray Cemetery in Palm Springs.
Sometimes people get the Peter Pan Woodland Drive-In and The Lake Drive-In mixed up. The Lake Drive-in Theatre in Big Bear Lake opened for business June 7, 1957, in the Metcalf Meadows area west of City Hall. It was located at 39515 Big Bear Boulevard.
On June 15, 1957, The Grizzly stated Jim Boyd operated a theatre supply company on Los Angeles’ Film Row, and opened his 400-car Lake Drive-In at Big Bear.
Big Bear Grizzly, 26 Dec 1962
The Lake Drive-in closed in 1974. It was not connected with the Peter Pan Woodland Drive-in.
And while it was closed for many years, the old snack bar, projection booth and outdoor screen remained standing as a sentinel to the past.
By March 3, 2016, about half of the huge screen was on the ground. By December of that year, the marquee sign and banner were gone and a much smaller sign appeared just below the marquee indicating that the land is a “Rare Plant and Meadowland Preserve.”
Prior in Big Bear, Austrian-born real estate developer Harry Kiener built the Peter Pan Woodland Club (no longer standing) near the present-day Big Bear Airport.
It was designed and constructed in 1930 by Guy Maltby, owner of the Bear Valley Milling and Lumber Company, presently still standing next to the La Quinta Museum.
Kiener chose the name Peter Pan because he felt the beauty of Big Bear Valley equaled the magical beauty of “Never Never Land.”
Kiener, of the Big Bear Land and Water Company, decided to make a sister club to the Peter Pan Woodland Club and chose the Desert Club (no longer standing) in La Quinta, east of Palm Springs.
Visitors in the past often tended to lump the whole Coachella Valley into the catch-all name of Palm Springs, even if it was outside its boundaries.
The Peter Pan Woodland Club and the Desert Club offered reciprocal privileges year round. The proverbial best of both worlds.
Limelight News and the Mountaineer 12 July 1957
In the end, the Peter Pan Woodland Club and Desert Club would sadly suffer similar fates.
The Peter Pan Woodland Club experienced a devastating fire in 1948, completely destroying the clubhouse. It never re-opened.
The original but smaller clubhouse built in 1927 south of Big Bear Boulevard was razed and hauled by trucks down the hill to the golf course northwest of the Greenway and Country Club intersections and placed next to the resort’s swimming pool.
It re-opened as Peter Pan Rancho but never recaptured the glory of the Woodland Club. The Desert Club burned down in 1989 for very different reasons.
The city of La Quinta, believing that it would never have the resources to restore the site it had been donated, allowed the California Department of Forestry and local volunteers to burn the structure for firefighting practice.
The city later created a community park on the site named after the former owner of the Desert Club, Fritz Burns.
Bonus fact: Harry Kiener was also the father-in-law to American novelist Louis L’Amour, best known for his fictional books about the Old West. Louis and his wife, Kathy, had a 60 plus acre date and citrus ranch behind the La Quinta Hotel until it was sold in the late 1960s. It was called Rancho La Quinta, which has no relation to the newer Rancho La Quinta subdivison on Washington Street.
Many thanks to Kim Richards, historian at La Quinta Museum, for providing this information.
Bonus fact #2: The Village Theater North, the only theater in the San Bernardino Mountains, has reopened. The address is 602 Pine Knot Ave. in Big Bear Lake.
It closed after Will Viner, the long time owner since the theater opened in 1999, passed away in 2022 and his family decided to cease operating.
The theater reopened under the new ownership of Bill Ross, who also owns The Bowling Barn.
Top photo: Lake Drive-In photo courtesy of John Earl, 2016.
Recommended Resources
Keppler, Richard, Vanishing Big Bear, a photographic history of Big Bear Lake since 1885; Third Edition, published 2003.
Bogert, Frank, Palm Springs, First Hundred Years; published 2003.
Village Theater Showtimes https://www.villagetheaters.com
Peter Pan Woodland by Rick Keppler & Mark Durban, Video https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=265625441021315
https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/72171
Palm Springs Historical Society https://pshistoricalsociety.org
https://www.facebook.com/zaddiebunker
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42452807/earle-clifford-strebe
