Alex Theatre

Last night, on the CBS crime program “Criminal Minds,” the Alex was featured in one segment. The show was supposed to be taking place in Chula Vista, yet the teen girls in it had gone to this movie theater, which was shown in a couple of shots.

Pretty ambitious to travel 135 miles to Glendale just to see a movie and meet some boys.

Exterior lit up at night, 2007
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Daytime: View link
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/btmeacham/799819212/

ticket booth:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/btmeacham/799842858/

LA Conservancy, Scarface: http://www.flickr.com/photos/btmeacham/799845538/

This is circa 1941 view of the Alex marquee.

Another recent photo of the Alex Theater can be seen here.

A recent close-up of the marquee can be seen here.

Halloween Spooktacular at the Alex Theater.

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996

Alexander Theatre (added 1996 – Building – #96000102)
Also known as Alex Theatre
216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale
Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event
Architect, builder, or engineer: Et al., Lindley & Selkirk Associates
Architectural Style: Classical Revival, Moderne, Art Deco
Area of Significance: Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation
Period of Significance: 1925-1949
Owner: Local Gov’t
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Theater

Took one of the official tours of the theater today and it was a good two hours of information and well worth seeing. The theater is in great shape. They have made some changes to the original auditorium: in order to expand rest rooms and provide handicapped access, they changed the rake of the main floor and in the process lost several hundred seats. Ditto for the balcony which also has been reconfigured so the total seating is about 600-700 less than the Alex’s original capacity.
The guide also told us that the Alex was supposed to be home to the pipe organ saved from San Francisco’s famous Fox theater. They had purchased the organ and had planned to put it in when they discovered it was too large for the space they had available and so they subsequently sold it to Disney where it now plays at the El Cap.
The Alex is just about the only survivor of what used to be theater row in Glendale. As late as the 1980’s they used to have “dollar Tuesdays” at all the theaters: Roxy, Glendale, Capitol, Alex, etc. At least they saved the best one.

More photos of the Alex Theater can be seen here.

Restoration information & photos:
http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/alex042404.html

Night time photo of the Alex and the Box Office and Entrance.
AlexTheatre148AKAAlexanderNightPhot.jpg
AlexTheatreBOEntranceGlendaleCa.jpg

To St. Louis, MO:

You can buy a print at this link
you’ll need to scroll back to the home page for ordering information.

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