Rosslyn Theatre

Any relation to the Rosslyn Hotel down the road a piece?

Wow, this is an elusive theater to search. Here is a little for 431 S. Main:

From 1903 until around 1906 the R.D. Bronson Desk Co. was here.
"The only exlusive dealers in Office Furniture in Los Angeles"

(July 8, 1914)
The New Hotel Rosslyn is to have a hotel liquor permit. This was brought about through the action of the Police Commission yesterday. There was a circle of permit shifting to accomplish this result. The permit held by Hart Bros. for No. 431 South Main street was transferred to Berry & Belden for a saloon at the same location.

(Dec. 10, 1925)
...Slattery was arrested by Officer Hoy of the vice squad at 431 South Main street. Hoy told Judge Richardson the place was suspected of harboring bookmakers. In the account of the races the paper, Hoy said, had some notes about the condition of the horses and what he called "tips" on coming races.

This is the one and only actual movie listing or mention of a theater at this address that I have been able to find:

(Sept. 5, 1926)
Rosslyn-431 So. Main St.
Sept. 6,7-"Miss Bluebeard;" Sept. 8,9, 10-"Tiger Love;" Sept. 11-"Say It Again."

I guess it was gone by this time:

(June 22, 1932)
Applications of Union Pacific Stages of California and E.W. Thompson for licenses to engage in the business of motor carrier transportation agents were granted yesterday by the State Railroad Commission. Union Pacific Stages was authorized to maintain a ticket office at 431 South Main street and branch offices in numerous cities throughout the State.

Take a look at this map, circa 1950. The Rosslyn Theater is shown on Main between 4th and 5th:

http://www.uncanny.net/~wetzel/subwayarea.htm

Ken, I wonder why it's so hard to find anything about this theater. If it was around in 1950, something must have happened there. Does anyone know how to get the full map that is on that website? I wonder if the Central Library has it.

Ken, I wonder why it's so hard to find anything about this theater. Something must have happened there if it was around still in the 50's. Does anyone know where to get a copy of that map on the webpage Ken posted? I want to see the rest of it. Maybe the Central Library has it.

I have visited the following website many times for its exhaustive details on Main Street, block by block. Nary a mention of the Rosslyn Theater, although this history may pre-date the theater's existence. It's a puzzle.

http://www.csulb.edu/~odinthor/socal2.html

Here it is, gentlemen:
http://tinyurl.com/lac4x

wow, you found it....the money to loan places on either side probably explain some of the other things above. It looks tiny. I wish i could get that zoom feature to show up and work on this photo. thanks ken

This is the building at 431 S. Main as of today. Note the fine architectural detail:
http://tinyurl.com/ysdfz5

In that photo you can see 433 main and barely make out 431 main next door to the Rosslyn. Maybe the correct address was 429 main.

Actually, from looking at the map from the above link and the old photo, I bet the Rosslyn Theater was at 431 and leased the lobby on the left and right to those money places, leaving the middle entrance to get into the theater. Maybe it took up all three places originally.

The theater would be behind the first streetcar in this 1940 photo:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067393.jpg

Here's a blog post I put on my HTC group that shows a 'then & now' comparison with the Rosslyn Theater.

http://lahtc.blogspot.com/2007/05/main-winston-looking-south-c1940s-2007.html

here's another post I put up about the Rosslyn....any input would be appreciated...

http://lahtc.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Street%20With%20No%20Name

Here is a giant overlay map I put together of the area bordered by Spring-4th-Los Angeles St.-5th with Main running through the middle. The Sanborn map I used to overlay is from 1950. There are a few theaters that I didn't know were there. Maybe others can tell me what their names were or find some I didn't see.

This is the link for the whole map. It is too large to display and still read the text. The other links are the same thing split into quadrants so you can actually read the text.

http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=491450591&size=l

NW quadrant:
http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=491446416&size=l
I see a theater at 417 S. Main...anyone know the name?

NE quadrant:
http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=491451286&size=l
I don't see any theaters on this block. I wonder if the Turkish Baths are still on 4th street near Los Angeles street.

SW quadrant:
http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=491451290&size=l
I see a theater at 431 S. Main which I guess is the Rosslyn.

SE quadrant:
http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=491451294&size=l
I see the Regent at 448 S. Main, of course, and there is also a theater at 458 S. Main. Anybody know the name of this one?

458 is the Banner theater. Currently a parking lot. No more Turkish baths at 4th and LA.

I wonder what is in the building now. I looked closely at the full size image and its the same as the Turkish Bath building. So the Banner takes care of 458. Does anyone know 417? That building is still standing I believe. I wonder if there is any hint left of a theater. It would be interesting since with the destruction of the Linda Lea, the Regent is thought of as the only one left on Main.

417 would be between 4th and 5th on the east side of the street. After the San Fernando building, there are a few small businesses and then a parking lot where a hotel used to stand. Then you cross Winston and start with some older buildings. I think 417 would be after Winston, so I can look the next time I'm downtown.

Here's an LA Times article about the yet unidentified theater at 417 S. Main. Date is 3/7/37. I don't see any other reference to a theater at this address. It may have just a hole in the wall. There are a couple of references to a rooming house at 417 1/2, which I think was the hotel at the northeast corner of Main and Winston.

DEATH ATTEMPT HALTS SHOW
Man Shoots Himself at Film Theater

Two pistol shots which were not part of the sound effects stopped the running of a motion picture at an all-night theater at 417 South Main Street early yesterday morning. Employees of the place investigated and found Jack D. Riley, 58 years of age, behind the screen with two bullet wounds in the head. Still conscious, although one bullet had passed through his head, Riley told police that he shot himself because of ill health and financial difficulties. Riley was given emergency treatment at Georgia Street Receiving Hospital and then sent to General Hospital.

You know, I'm wrong on that, after I looked at the map from 5/9/07. I'm on the wrong side of the street. 417 would have been on the west side of Main.

The Rosslyn was advertised as such in the 1925 city directory, at 431 S. Main. So any photos of Main between 4th and 5th during that time should show the Rosslyn in some form or another.

you can see it in the edge of this 40's(?) photo:
http://bp1.blogger.com/_muE6ZaFcw_M/Rjdf3hymc-I/AAAAAAAAABM/yrrgKvxQ7_A/s1600-h/5thmainS.jpg

Also, in that movie called The Street With No Name I think its a penny arcade with winos stumbling out of it.

The Muse was at 417 S. Main. It's already listed on CT. It was advertised in 1925 and in 1942, so it must have been around for a while.

If you still had a dollar after the show in 1929, you could have a nice meal:
http://tinyurl.com/2kas76

Funny that the Rosslyn was so far down the street from the hotel. Maybe the name had some cachet back then, so they were trying to cash in on that.

I can't remember if I already posted this but here's a then/now photo I took of the Rosslyn: http://bp1.blogger.com/_muE6ZaFcw_M/Rjdf3hymc-I/AAAAAAAAABM/yrrgKvxQ7_A/s1600-h/5thmainS.jpg

You can easily see the outline of the middle building on the hotel.

The Rosslyn Hotel occupied all three of the buildings on the 400 block in vokoban's "then" picture, plus the annex south of 5th Street. The Rosslyn began with this building, then took over took over the Lexington Hotel next door, then built the New Rosslyn on the corner. I think the older buildings remained part of the Rosslyn right up until they were demolished.

The Rosslyn can be seen in this 1939 USC photo:
http://tinyurl.com/djyhk5