During at least one of the nearby Orange Empire Railway Museum’s “Rail Fairs” back in the early ‘90s, they reopened the Chief for that weekend’s festivities, showing old comedy short films dealing with trains or trolleys. Some of the Chief’s draperies were looking a little threadbare and there was some dust that the vacuums missed, but the seats were relatively comfy, albeit needing work. Looked pretty restorable.
quote:
With a new Metrolink station and Riverside Transit Authority bus stop adjacent to the Depot, Perris officials say they are poised to meet the transportation needs of the region well into the 21st Century. The bus stop is expected to be open in the next two years and the Metrolink station by 2011.
“We will be a hub,†said Perris Planning Commissioner Dave Stuart, who also served as the project manager for the restoration of the 1892 Depot.
Stuart said the Depot’s restoration, along with revitalization of D Street and planned improvements along 4th Street will spur business development in the City’s Downtown and will bring jobs and shoppers to Perris.
“If you want to attract quality businesses, it’s paramount that you keep and restore your historic buildings,†he said.
BTW, it was an episode of “Numb3rs” that was filming at the Tower when Ken was there. They showed the same marquee banner that was in his photo, and some scenes were filmed inside. It was supposed to be an exclusive magic club like the Magic Castle, only called something like “Tower of Illusion,” but of course just “Tower” on the outside.
I poked my head in and chatted with one of the A Noise Within people, and she said the original movie theater was right behind the red, theater-looking doors on the first floor, just past the mini-lobby with a chandelier inside the entrance doors, with staircases to each side of the lobby going to the other floors. My significant other, who grew up in Glendale, can’t remember ever having to go up stairs or an elevator to get to the U.S./Regency 2, although his memory of it is hazy, since he usually went to the Capitol or Roxy. (Actually, he’s vaguely remembering that before the Sands became the Regency I, it’s possible that there were briefly two theaters, Regency I and II, both inside the Masonic Temple building, possibly creating the small theater space now used by A Noise Within, although he’s really not sure about that.
So anyway, is it certain that the main theater was located on the upper floors?
And why isn’t the Regency 2 name even listed as an a.k.a. for this? It was called that for some time, and was the only name I ever knew it by (although I never went there, as it had the reputation for being a dump). I thought the most recent name of the theater was always used as the primary name, but it’s not even listed at the top.
AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LISTING FOR THE SANDS/REGENCY 1?? It’s still standing at 210 S. Brand just down the block from this, now used as a restaurant/banquet hall, but it completely disappeared from Cinema Treasures. I’m positive it used to be listed, but it’s been deleted. Why??
It was playing the part of an L.A. Opera House. They didn’t use the Orpheum’s exterior, but the studio (?) exterior they used had hanging banners that said “La Traviata at the Orpheum,” and had the Orpheum’s logo.
Was there another theater around 5634 Santa Monica or so? I was watching a behind-the-scenes feature for Plan 9 From Outer Space, and they said that the tiny soundstage that they used for filming, which is still right behind the Gold Diggers bar at 5632 Santa Monica, used to be an old movie theater. Could the addresses have been renumbered, so that could have been the Loma? It would have had to have been converted to a soundstage before 1959, though.
Interestingly enough, the Loyola seems to have made a posthumous appearance on Dawson’s Creek.
Check out just the first image here: View link
They must have taken some archival stock footage of the Loyola taken in the early 80s or so, back when it was still a working theater, and digitally altered it to give it another name.
When I was last there, not only was it sweltering and unbreathable, especially in the back of the theater, but I could feel the floor sag and creak under me with every step down the aisle, and that was the orchestra level, not the balcony, which is probably worse. In some places it felt like my foot might go right through. I’m not sure that old floor could take the weight of a packed house nowadays. It desperately needs major renovation and repairs. Trying to lease it or keep it open as-is just isn’t going to work very well when even theater buffs are wary of going inside.
Zoom in on the big shiny white auditorium standing alone in the nearly-empty downtown area, the dark area near the top right.
Most of the houses around there were built in 1945 to provide wartime housing for the workers at the new Hughes Aircraft plant where Centinela and Jefferson merge. The little area across from the Loyola, where CVS is now, is a small miniature golf course being built, although it didn’t last very long. But I like the fact that apparently the first priority for the new community was to have a gorgeous Art Deco movie theater, with groceries, shopping, restaurants, banks and other non-essentials to be added later.
The Lexington Hotel and the Glendale News-Press building that are visible to the left of the California Theatre in the Oviatt and the LAPL photos are still standing, as shown in the exterior photo on the page for the Lexington Hotel, which is now called the Brandwood Hotel.
The California would have been behind the red convertible in that photo, where the B of A is now. So there’s still a good percentage of vintage buildings on that block, other than the missing theater. It’s the other side of the street, and a few blocks farther on this side, that’s primarily new offices.
drb
commented about
Roxy Cinemaon
Oct 23, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Here’s photos of the current interior on the Beyond The Star’s Palace’s website
Does it count as “Beyond The Star’s Palace aka Roxy Cinema/Open/Function: Live Performances,” or “Roxy Cinema/Closed/Function: Nightclub”? Or some other combination?
I’ve noticed that some theaters that are now nightclubs, like the Globe/Club 740, the Variety/Club Cafe Fais-Do-Do, are listed as “Closed,” while others like the Mayan are listed as “Open.” What’s the criteria for deciding the status?
The Historic Los Angles Theaters site makes a good point. The Roxie’s stagehouse is rather unusual for a 1931 theater. Is it possible that some or all of the shell of the original Superba house was kept intact, with only the front building demolished and most of the theater building itself only gutted and renovated, and is still existing today as part of the Roxie? Is there any way to know?
drb
commented about
Mayanon
Oct 21, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Just as a side note to the Belasco discussion, I thought I’d point out that it was used as the filming location for the “abandoned opera house” that was the setting for the big Angel vs. Spike fight in an episode of the last season of Angel. So you had the two lead vampire heroes doing super-powered leaps from the balcony and beating the crap out of each other. It’s dark, but if you squint you can see that it’s clearly the Belasco there, especially in the one balcony shot.
The address given in the above link from Lost Memory, and pretty much confirmed by Google Maps, is 500 West Avenue L, Lancaster, CA 93534. And I’m not sure whether it counts as “Demolshed” or “Closed,” although the screen tower and projection hut/snack bar look like they’re gone.
Drove by today, and there’s a new Crate and Barrel where the Topanga was that’s just about to open. There was a temporary circus tent set up behind it, so I couldn’t tell if the abandoned miniature golf course next to it was still there or not.
The one thing that I remember about the Topanga is that while the multiplexes were installing more and more narrow seats with huge cupholders (before they came up with the fold-up armrests), the Topanga’s seats were always nice and roomy.
yes, the Tower did have 2 stories and I remember the little classical music annex as well. Those stores were narrow if I remember, certainly not the size of the Sunset one.
Actually, the Tower Records that existed throughout the eighties, in an old brick storefront that probably was about as old as the Village, was 3 stories, not 2. The second story was small, only extending from the stairway to the rear of the store about 20 feet with a low ceiling, so lots of people forget it existed. The changed the layout a few times, but I think that was mostly singles and Jazz. The third floor was classical and soundtracks/musicals. It was on Westwood, just past Weyburn. Looking on a map, I’d say it was around 1024 Westwood Blvd. or so.
In the nineties, Tower moved to not one but two different locations, maybe a block away from each other IIRC, one selling music and the other selling primarily movies.
Most all of the buildings in that old 1930s aerial shot are still there, many remodeled, but very, very few of the businesses in those buildings that I remember from the 1980s are still there. The Ralphs market in that photo has been all sorts of restaurants and cafes over the years (Bratskellar restaurant, Dole cafe, etc.), and last time I checked was a Peet’s coffee house, with the Mann Festival to its right in the same building.
After staring at the photos in the photo links above (at least the ones that still work, so I’m not counting the USC ones) for way too long, I’d say that these two are the oldest: View link (this is the one dated 1890) http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics09/00014009.jpg
Note the 6-row electric (?) lines strung across the front of the unpaved street, and the derrick-like tower on top of the building to the left,
The poles out front have disappeared, and now there’s a short single streetlamp in front, the awning on the right has been bisected for a small newsstand (?) with a round clock shape, probably painted on the awning, and the building to the right is painted black, and it looks like the entrance is framed with incandescent lights.
It’s now just “The Grand,” the single streetlamp has been upgraded to one with multiple globes, the 10¢ sign has been added, as well as more lights around the theater and store entrances, but the building next door is still painted black.
The multi-globed streetlights are still there, but the building to the right is no longer black, and has a big “Money to Loan” sign in front with a pointing finger logo. The building to the left now has a squared shape on top instead of its old rounded shape
The building to the right has been “modernized,” stripping off its Victorian ornamentation while keeping its pointing finger logo with its address (?) of 118, and the short multi-globed streetlight is still out front.
Then comes this one, that it says above is from the late 1920s, so the supposedly “1933” one would predate that by a few years. http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics09/00014195.jpg
Notice that the short, multi-globed streetlamps have now been replaced by tall ones with two globes on that block, but not on the adjacent corner on the left, and the marquee has been completely sheared off to make room for a large blade sign.
The pawn shop next door is still the same and looks to be doing great business, but the Grand’s brand new blade sign is now gone again, leaving a makeshift marquee. And so goes the Grand.
So from that, I’d wildly guess the “1933” photo is actually 1923, and the “1936” one is closer to the turn of the century.
This is the old Mayfair marquee, right? I found it sitting in an empty lot a few blocks south of the San Buenaventura Mission. Or at least that’s where it was in October ‘07 when I took these.
Oh, and here’s a photo from 2007:
View link
During at least one of the nearby Orange Empire Railway Museum’s “Rail Fairs” back in the early ‘90s, they reopened the Chief for that weekend’s festivities, showing old comedy short films dealing with trains or trolleys. Some of the Chief’s draperies were looking a little threadbare and there was some dust that the vacuums missed, but the seats were relatively comfy, albeit needing work. Looked pretty restorable.
This sounds hopeful. Seeing as the Chief is only one block from the newly restored depot, that would put it in prime position for restoration.
View link
quote:
With a new Metrolink station and Riverside Transit Authority bus stop adjacent to the Depot, Perris officials say they are poised to meet the transportation needs of the region well into the 21st Century. The bus stop is expected to be open in the next two years and the Metrolink station by 2011.
“We will be a hub,†said Perris Planning Commissioner Dave Stuart, who also served as the project manager for the restoration of the 1892 Depot.
Stuart said the Depot’s restoration, along with revitalization of D Street and planned improvements along 4th Street will spur business development in the City’s Downtown and will bring jobs and shoppers to Perris.
“If you want to attract quality businesses, it’s paramount that you keep and restore your historic buildings,†he said.
http://www.downtownindependent.com/
“a new film and event facility located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.”
Hmm. :–/
BTW, it was an episode of “Numb3rs” that was filming at the Tower when Ken was there. They showed the same marquee banner that was in his photo, and some scenes were filmed inside. It was supposed to be an exclusive magic club like the Magic Castle, only called something like “Tower of Illusion,” but of course just “Tower” on the outside.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1256344/
I poked my head in and chatted with one of the A Noise Within people, and she said the original movie theater was right behind the red, theater-looking doors on the first floor, just past the mini-lobby with a chandelier inside the entrance doors, with staircases to each side of the lobby going to the other floors. My significant other, who grew up in Glendale, can’t remember ever having to go up stairs or an elevator to get to the U.S./Regency 2, although his memory of it is hazy, since he usually went to the Capitol or Roxy. (Actually, he’s vaguely remembering that before the Sands became the Regency I, it’s possible that there were briefly two theaters, Regency I and II, both inside the Masonic Temple building, possibly creating the small theater space now used by A Noise Within, although he’s really not sure about that.
So anyway, is it certain that the main theater was located on the upper floors?
And why isn’t the Regency 2 name even listed as an a.k.a. for this? It was called that for some time, and was the only name I ever knew it by (although I never went there, as it had the reputation for being a dump). I thought the most recent name of the theater was always used as the primary name, but it’s not even listed at the top.
AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LISTING FOR THE SANDS/REGENCY 1?? It’s still standing at 210 S. Brand just down the block from this, now used as a restaurant/banquet hall, but it completely disappeared from Cinema Treasures. I’m positive it used to be listed, but it’s been deleted. Why??
Here’s some stills from an episode of the show “Chuck” showing the Orpheum’s interior.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185877/mediaindex
It was playing the part of an L.A. Opera House. They didn’t use the Orpheum’s exterior, but the studio (?) exterior they used had hanging banners that said “La Traviata at the Orpheum,” and had the Orpheum’s logo.
Was there another theater around 5634 Santa Monica or so? I was watching a behind-the-scenes feature for Plan 9 From Outer Space, and they said that the tiny soundstage that they used for filming, which is still right behind the Gold Diggers bar at 5632 Santa Monica, used to be an old movie theater. Could the addresses have been renumbered, so that could have been the Loma? It would have had to have been converted to a soundstage before 1959, though.
New home for the “Culver” script:
View link
Interestingly enough, the Loyola seems to have made a posthumous appearance on Dawson’s Creek.
Check out just the first image here:
View link
They must have taken some archival stock footage of the Loyola taken in the early 80s or so, back when it was still a working theater, and digitally altered it to give it another name.
When I was last there, not only was it sweltering and unbreathable, especially in the back of the theater, but I could feel the floor sag and creak under me with every step down the aisle, and that was the orchestra level, not the balcony, which is probably worse. In some places it felt like my foot might go right through. I’m not sure that old floor could take the weight of a packed house nowadays. It desperately needs major renovation and repairs. Trying to lease it or keep it open as-is just isn’t going to work very well when even theater buffs are wary of going inside.
Here’s where the USC site is currently hiding the two 1941 photos:
View link
View link
And there’s lots more photos linked from here, including several interior shots:
View link
Here’s an aerial view of the newly-built Loyola (perhaps not yet finished) in the brand-new community of Westchester.
http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt9489r90h/
Zoom in on the big shiny white auditorium standing alone in the nearly-empty downtown area, the dark area near the top right.
Most of the houses around there were built in 1945 to provide wartime housing for the workers at the new Hughes Aircraft plant where Centinela and Jefferson merge. The little area across from the Loyola, where CVS is now, is a small miniature golf course being built, although it didn’t last very long. But I like the fact that apparently the first priority for the new community was to have a gorgeous Art Deco movie theater, with groceries, shopping, restaurants, banks and other non-essentials to be added later.
The Lexington Hotel and the Glendale News-Press building that are visible to the left of the California Theatre in the Oviatt and the LAPL photos are still standing, as shown in the exterior photo on the page for the Lexington Hotel, which is now called the Brandwood Hotel.
The California would have been behind the red convertible in that photo, where the B of A is now. So there’s still a good percentage of vintage buildings on that block, other than the missing theater. It’s the other side of the street, and a few blocks farther on this side, that’s primarily new offices.
Here’s photos of the current interior on the Beyond The Star’s Palace’s website
http://www.stars-art.com/gallery2.html
And here’s the main page:
http://www.stars-art.com/
Does it count as “Beyond The Star’s Palace aka Roxy Cinema/Open/Function: Live Performances,” or “Roxy Cinema/Closed/Function: Nightclub”? Or some other combination?
I’ve noticed that some theaters that are now nightclubs, like the Globe/Club 740, the Variety/Club Cafe Fais-Do-Do, are listed as “Closed,” while others like the Mayan are listed as “Open.” What’s the criteria for deciding the status?
Here’s the Super Bowl ad showing the Olympic marquee:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMmYHGy3Czs
And here’s the updated USC photo links:
View link
View link
The Historic Los Angles Theaters site makes a good point. The Roxie’s stagehouse is rather unusual for a 1931 theater. Is it possible that some or all of the shell of the original Superba house was kept intact, with only the front building demolished and most of the theater building itself only gutted and renovated, and is still existing today as part of the Roxie? Is there any way to know?
Just as a side note to the Belasco discussion, I thought I’d point out that it was used as the filming location for the “abandoned opera house” that was the setting for the big Angel vs. Spike fight in an episode of the last season of Angel. So you had the two lead vampire heroes doing super-powered leaps from the balcony and beating the crap out of each other. It’s dark, but if you squint you can see that it’s clearly the Belasco there, especially in the one balcony shot.
The address given in the above link from Lost Memory, and pretty much confirmed by Google Maps, is 500 West Avenue L, Lancaster, CA 93534. And I’m not sure whether it counts as “Demolshed” or “Closed,” although the screen tower and projection hut/snack bar look like they’re gone.
The link to the 1950s view of the tower seems to be dead, but I think it’s the same photo here:
http://www.davesrailpix.com/pe/htm/pe070.htm
Finally found the larger version of that photo:
View link
Glad you liked. :–)
Drove by today, and there’s a new Crate and Barrel where the Topanga was that’s just about to open. There was a temporary circus tent set up behind it, so I couldn’t tell if the abandoned miniature golf course next to it was still there or not.
The one thing that I remember about the Topanga is that while the multiplexes were installing more and more narrow seats with huge cupholders (before they came up with the fold-up armrests), the Topanga’s seats were always nice and roomy.
Oh, and here’s a photo of the theater that I took in 2004.
View link
yes, the Tower did have 2 stories and I remember the little classical music annex as well. Those stores were narrow if I remember, certainly not the size of the Sunset one.
Actually, the Tower Records that existed throughout the eighties, in an old brick storefront that probably was about as old as the Village, was 3 stories, not 2. The second story was small, only extending from the stairway to the rear of the store about 20 feet with a low ceiling, so lots of people forget it existed. The changed the layout a few times, but I think that was mostly singles and Jazz. The third floor was classical and soundtracks/musicals. It was on Westwood, just past Weyburn. Looking on a map, I’d say it was around 1024 Westwood Blvd. or so.
In the nineties, Tower moved to not one but two different locations, maybe a block away from each other IIRC, one selling music and the other selling primarily movies.
Most all of the buildings in that old 1930s aerial shot are still there, many remodeled, but very, very few of the businesses in those buildings that I remember from the 1980s are still there. The Ralphs market in that photo has been all sorts of restaurants and cafes over the years (Bratskellar restaurant, Dole cafe, etc.), and last time I checked was a Peet’s coffee house, with the Mann Festival to its right in the same building.
After staring at the photos in the photo links above (at least the ones that still work, so I’m not counting the USC ones) for way too long, I’d say that these two are the oldest:
View link (this is the one dated 1890)
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics09/00014009.jpg
Note the 6-row electric (?) lines strung across the front of the unpaved street, and the derrick-like tower on top of the building to the left,
Then comes these two, which are different version of the same photo:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015326.jpg
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028669.jpg (this is the one that was misdated by the LAPL as 1936)
The poles out front have disappeared, and now there’s a short single streetlamp in front, the awning on the right has been bisected for a small newsstand (?) with a round clock shape, probably painted on the awning, and the building to the right is painted black, and it looks like the entrance is framed with incandescent lights.
Then comes this one:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015327.jpg
It’s now just “The Grand,” the single streetlamp has been upgraded to one with multiple globes, the 10¢ sign has been added, as well as more lights around the theater and store entrances, but the building next door is still painted black.
Then comes this one:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036862.jpg
The multi-globed streetlights are still there, but the building to the right is no longer black, and has a big “Money to Loan” sign in front with a pointing finger logo. The building to the left now has a squared shape on top instead of its old rounded shape
Then these three are versions of the same photo:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015325.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036853.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics22/00045572.jpg (this is the one the LAPL dated 1/31/33)
The building to the right has been “modernized,” stripping off its Victorian ornamentation while keeping its pointing finger logo with its address (?) of 118, and the short multi-globed streetlight is still out front.
Then comes this one, that it says above is from the late 1920s, so the supposedly “1933” one would predate that by a few years.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics09/00014195.jpg
Notice that the short, multi-globed streetlamps have now been replaced by tall ones with two globes on that block, but not on the adjacent corner on the left, and the marquee has been completely sheared off to make room for a large blade sign.
Then comes this one, of course.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036854.jpg
The pawn shop next door is still the same and looks to be doing great business, but the Grand’s brand new blade sign is now gone again, leaving a makeshift marquee. And so goes the Grand.
So from that, I’d wildly guess the “1933” photo is actually 1923, and the “1936” one is closer to the turn of the century.
This is the old Mayfair marquee, right? I found it sitting in an empty lot a few blocks south of the San Buenaventura Mission. Or at least that’s where it was in October ‘07 when I took these.
View link
View link