Regent Theatre

The Regent Theatre is located at 448 S. Main Street and it seated 600 people.

One night, sometime around 1963, I accompanied two adventurous friends to the Regent Theatre. It was a grind house, serving mostly as a place for drunks to get off the street, but one of the features on their triple bill that night was a very bad (as it turned out) movie of Jack Kerouac's novel "The Subterraneans" with George Peppard. The movie had flashed through the regular theaters so fast that we had missed it, and we wanted to see it badly enough to brave a skid row grind house.

My chief memory of the place is of worn floors, peeling paint, broken seats, a barrel-vaulted ceiling of astonishing dirtiness, loud sound and surprisingly bright light from bare bulbs (both of these features apparently intended to keep the drunks from getting too comfortable), and several patrons who talked to themselves. Oh, yeah- and the smell. I mean The SMELL! The theater was in bad, bad shape.

The saddest thing, though, was that the movie was even worse than the theater. What a stinker! But what the hell. I think it only cost us fifty cents each, and we got to say that we'd been to a movie on skid row. The Regent was the only Main Street movie house I've ever been in, and I cherish the memory. Thanks, Regent, and so long.

I heard from the leasing agent for a retail spot next door that the Regent is being used as a warehouse for something or other. He also mentioned that the theater was in bad shape, and would need serious renovations.

This theater's marquee, in the terrible condition seen above, gets a close up cameo in Episode 3, Season One of the series "24". Across the street you can see a neon sign that says "new million dollar" and the name of a hotel.

This theater is featured in a location shot in the 1947 movie, "The Street with no Name", starring Richard Widmark.

There aren't too many pictures of this theater in existence, as far as I can tell, even though it's one of two on Main Street that are still extant.

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics09/00014126.jpg

Downtown developer Tom Gilmore has signed a lease agreement for the Regent Theater on the 400 block of S. Main Street, with hopes of turning the long-vacant venue into a place for small concerts and special events. Gilmore said he expects it will take about a year of renovation work before the place is ready to host any performances, adding that final plans will likely include somewhere between 375 and 475 seats. The theater is located about a block from several of Gilmore’s residential properties, which have attracted a number of groundfloor retailers and restaurants to the neighborhood, known as the Old Bank District

Photo of the Regent taken January, 2006.

2006 / someonewalksinla

http://www.flickr.com/photos/someonewalksinla/90966306/

More evidence of theatres on Main Street

http://digarc.usc.edu/cispubsearch/sidview.jsp?object_name=chs-m1436&ORN=CHS-5124

http://digarc.usc.edu/cispubsearch/sidview.jsp?object_name=chs-m1432&ORN=CHS-5103

As Joe notes in my posting above,(that I also posted at OPTIC Theatre Listing)

"someonewalks: Fischer's Theatre (your first link) had its entrance on First Street just west of Main. It became a movie house called the Spanish Theatre before being demolished in the 1920's. Your second link, the Belasco, is listed at Cinema Treasures under its final name, the Follies.
posted by Joe Vogel on Mar 2, 2006 at 11:18pm"

Nothing has been done with the Regent as of today. I am in that area quite often, and usually look for any signs of renovation. The Skid Row neighborhood is gentrifying rapidly.

I did see the Regent on a 1981 episode of Hill Street Blues last night, along with the Art and the Main.

The Regent is being renovated, possibly for live performances. The boards were off today, and work was going on inside. The auditorium has been completely stripped, as far as I could tell. There is a sign by the cashier's booth inside forbidding sex and alcohol inside the theater, a carryover from the aduly film days.

The Regent is being renovated, possibly for live performances. Construction was ongoing when I walked by today. The auditorium has been stripped. There was a sign next to the cashier's booth forbidding sex and alcohol in the theater, a carryover from the adult theater days.

This location and adjacent alleyway was used in a 1975 episode of Kolchak the Nightstalker episode title "Chopper".

There was also an episode of "LAPD Life on the Beat" circa 1997 that a guy at the Regent had his wallet lifted. It showed the inside of the place as the officers were waiting outside for the manager to let them through the security cages that had been built. this was the only time ever I have seen what the setup was like in its era as a Porno House, showed a counter where they sold canned food to the transients that would occupy the place.

Really sad to have seen the place decline however it appears a new dawn may emerge for the old Regent.

Renovation is continuing. The inside has been cleaned up, and it looks like they are working on the marquee.

Nothing is going on now as far as I can see. They may have stripped the inside and are waiting for more money, or something. I was on Main three times this week and didn't see any renovation efforts.

I watched the Night Stalker episode last night, but I didn't see the Regent. Most of the exteriors for the show were filmed in Chicago, as far as I can tell.

There was a performance art exhibition on November 9th with downtown art walk on the Regent stage. It was a modern vaudevillian show by Commander Dazzle called "U.S.O. Meet the Middle East." It might have been the first performance on that stage since God knows when! It was a real spectacle! The spaces on either side of the theater are being run as art galleries by emmeric james konrad and Lilli Muller. There are openings every second Thursday of the month for Art Walk.

The gentrification of Main Street has taken over a good section of Main between 4th and 5th, but the blocks going south are still somewhat disreputable. I'm not advocating wholesale relocation of the disadvantaged, but on the other hand I don't see the gentrification stopping anytime soon. Both sides will learn to co-exist, I imagine.

Downtown, do you know of any plans to show films at the Regent, or solely live performances?

They are showing films sometimes. The Old Bank Video next to Pete's does that. If you stop in there, I'm sure there are flyers on what's playing and when. It's a very renegade operation right now because Gilmore is just letting people do stuff in there until rennovations start, just to breathe life into the empty spaces. Skid row is basically poised on the doorstep of the Regent. As much as we think it may be sad to Re-locate them, I think it's inevitable.

Thanks for the info.

I remember the Regent Theatre because it looked as if it dated way back to early silent picture days. A nice size lobby had obviously been modernized with a sleek look, but the seedy auditorium appeared to be of the original Gothic treatment. Gothic style arches lined sidewalls, with an intricate vaulted ceiling. Everything was turquoise, walls, seats, stage drapes, even the carpeting, which was a bit overpowering.
Two XXX hard core porn loops were shown the night I attended the Regent and both of these films were of the cheapest quality. Feature one was quite annoying to watch as the camera angle switched back and forth to always show only the person being talked to. Loop two was even worse with the same awful jazz tune playing over and over and over, underneath an irritating soundtrack of constant, monotone ooh, oooh, aaah moans that repeated about every fifteen seconds.
Older gay men cruised back rows. Bums snored in side sections. Couples snuggled together in center seats.

Seymour at the Regent?
Somehow I just can't picture a handsome WASP like you stepping inside that crappy Regent Theatre. Talk about slumming!

The turquoise treatment Seymour describes must have been an artifact of the Regent's porn period. When I went there during the theatre's triple feature grind house days, there was no bright color in any part of the auditorium. Everything was dark and dingy and worn. The paint looked as though someone had bought a few cans of various shades and mixed them all together and it turned out a a brownish gray. I don't recall there being any carpeting on the aisles at all. I don't recall the Gothic walls and ceiling. Their impression had probably been overwhelmed by the uniform dinginess of the place.

When I visited the Regent in 1983 the place was shopworn, but didn't stink. The sound was much too loud.
For my study project I conducted research on early day motion picture theatre architecture. During this program I went inside every existing theatre in downtown Los Angels and Hollywood, large and small, open and closed. Brother Andrew Corsini had requested to read my thesis, and I sent a copy to him. What I wrote then matches what I wrote above.
I also documented that the Pussycat (Nee Town) and Regent interiors were somewhat similar in style.

Seymour: My visit to the Regent was around 1963. As a grind house it served as a flop for winos and homeless people (who were far fewer in number in those days than now), and it may have been more the unwashed and wine-sodden audience than the theatre which smelled bad. But then I'm sure that the seats weren't turquoise in 1963, so the seats had probably been either reupholstered or replaced (maybe with used seats from another theatre, thus accounting for the shopworn condition) before your visit there. The old seats probably had acquired an odor from their years of use.

There were probably no homeless people using the Regent as a flop during its porno days, as porn theatres had much higher admission prices than grind houses did. By 1983, the homeless were probably sleeping in the all-night triple feature houses on Broadway.

I have a question for you; In your 1983 visits to the downtown theatres, did you go to a Main Street theatre called the Admiral? It was on the east side of the street, and not too far from the Regent. My last visits to downtown L.A. were in the mid-1980's, but I only got to Main Street a couple of times in those days and I don't recall seeing (or not seeing) the Admiral at that time. I know for sure it was there in the late 1960's. My vague memory places the Admiral south of the Regent, but it may have been an earlier name for the Main Theatre, a bit north of the Regent, which was operating as a porn house in the early 1980's.

Seymour, do you still have a copy of your study? I would like to read it if at all possible.

Somewhere in my messy file cabinets I hope a copy of that ancient report still exist. Brother Andrew donated his copy of this (under my real name) paper to THS. Thank goodness I was able to locate some of my yellowed notes on this subject.
My original intent was to document studio back lots, but by the time I got to filmdom most of them had been paved over. I decided to study early silent era theatres instead.
In order to conduct research I was living in downtown LA at the Rainbow Hotel, next door to the public library. Almost twenty-five years have passed since then and my memories have grown vague. After viewing an image of the Main Theatre, I don't think I ever saw it. Then again, all those S. Main St. porn houses looked so much alike.
It took a lot of effort to get inside the closed down Optic, only to find everything of interest had been removed, or stolen.
Nuf sed . . .

Does anyone know if the Regent was actually built as a movie theater or during the Vaudeville time?

Downtown: The 2004 aerial photo of that block you can fetch at TerraServer (the red pin icon for 448 S. Main is actually in front of the next building north) shows a building without a stage house, so I'm guessing the Regent was built as a movie house during the silent era.

ken mc; I will rush a copy to you as soon as I can locate my composition.
Jo Vogel; please see my Main Theatre comments.

Thanks, that would be great.

Here is a January 2007 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yynthd

Here are two March 2007 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/2b9ylo
http://tinyurl.com/2arf77

Here are two photos which raise some questions. The first shows a theater between 4th and 5th that could be the Main, circa 1920s. The second shows the Teatro Hidalgo, but as I have no caption I don't know where the Teatro was located:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067232.jpg
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067233.jpg

Here is a pre-renovation photo from you-are-here.com:
http://tinyurl.com/23vkd7

Ken mc.....The Teatro Hidalgo was at 371 N. Main and opened in 1918. I think it would be right where the United States District Court takes up the whole block now. Or, it might have been where the 101 freeway plows through next door....it's hard to tell since addresses changed with freeways and block sized buildings.

Thanks. Construction of the 101 took out a lot of older buildings in the Main/Aliso area. My favorite sandwich place, Philippe´s, had to move over to Alameda and Ord. I´m in Rio right now and pining for a French dip and a kosher pickle. Not to be found here.

KenMC:

That first photo from the 1920's shows the Regent. It's right next to the "Canadian Office Building", which is still there in 2007 photo you posted. The labeled San Fernando Building in the background also confirms it.

My Historic Theater Committee group had our meeting in the Regent the other night. Here's the photos I took so you can see how it looks inside as of April 2007.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vokoban/sets/72157600158054739/

Here's a post I put up about the Regent and the Rosslyn across the street:

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?

vokoban: These overlay maps you're making are excellent. The theatre at 458 S. Main was the Banner. I notice that the 1950 Sanborn doesn't show the premises at 438 S. Main as being occupied by the Main Theatre. That was apparently still retail space then.

Thanks Joe....I've found a new obsession...you can get sucked into these maps for hours. Here's one I just did for the Hippodrome:

http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=491725037&size=l

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2206/

Before becoming the Regent Theatre (a name it has had since at least 1941), this was known as the National Theatre. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that in the early years, this was one of William Fox's theatres.

Here is a detail from the 1906 Sanborn Map of this block. I think the Canadian building was from 1909 and I don't see any other theaters on the block from the 1906 time period.

http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=492541065&size=l

There is a free concert tonight (Thursday May 10) at the Regent during the downtown artwalk if anyone wants to see how this theater looks inside for themselves. Here's the link:

http://persee.net/

A bit off topic, but we keep looking at maps of Main between 4th and 5th - the Alcazar Hotel was on the corner just before Winston heading south. It's now a parking lot. Photo is circa 1950:
http://tinyurl.com/2j6a4j

Great photo ken mc....that is the hotel that the undercover FBI agent posing as a Main street hoodlum lives in as he tries to get the confidence of the other hoods on the street in that movie called The Street With No Name. I think they actually filmed it inside the real place. There's a few scenes where the camera doesn't cut as he walks under that Leather Jackets sign and up the stairs to his daily squalor. His contact lives across the street above what I think was the Rosslyn and they communicate through lighting matches and pulling their window shades up and down.

Here are two pictures of Main from 4th, the first 1917 and the second probably the 20s. I can't see a theater at 417, but you can try if you want:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics09/00014097.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics09/00014106.jpg

I was looking for it last night. The building next to the Farmers & Merchants Bank that is labeled Isaiah Hellman building on the sanborn maps is still standing and the entrance at the far south is 411 S. Main. So I guess 417 would have been 3 places south but I can't tell from the photos. I don't even know a name for the theater. It just says moving pictures or movies.

Each of these comments are most entertianing to read. After viewing those (4/29/07) Regent interior photos my compliments go out to Seymour Cox for his (11/26/06) observations. It is amazing that after 25 years Seymour is able to remember such detail. His vivid recollections and those recent photos match one another exactly.

Here's another photo of Main and 4th from 1943:
http://tinyurl.com/yws7ae

It was fun to see the Regent's neon sign blinking away in the Richard Widmark movie discussed above.

Ken mc, I watched a couple more movies last night with some good theater shots. They are both from a box set called Forgotten Noir Series 1. The first movie is called Loan Shark with George Raft and has a great shootout at the end inside a theater. I would love to know what theater it is or was. I'll post some screenshots on my blog this weekend. Maybe someone will recognize it. The second movie is called Arson Inc. and has some exterior shots during a car chase that show looking down 8th west from Broadway. You can see the Olympic and also the RKO pretty good. Even though they are supposed to be downtown, they cut to the cars driving by the El Rey also. There is another shot with a theater on a corner with a massive marquee that might be the Pantages/Warner but its too blurry to tell.

Best bet is still to rent Hill Street Blues from Netflix or Blockbuster. All filmed on Main and Los Angeles streets in the early 80s.

Yeah, but then I'd have to relive my early adulthood. Anything from the 80's sends shivers up my spine.

From Downtown News: "Developer Gilmore Associates is still working on plans to renovate the Regent Theater at 448 S. Main St. The venue is scheduled to receive a major makeover this year with completion in 2008. Gilmore Associates signed a long-term lease for the 10,000-square-foot Historic Core property. The Regent will likely see live music and a bar, along with a restaurant. The theater has recently been open for some live music performances during the monthly Downtown Art Walk."

A while ago I was discussing the Susan Hayward film "I'll Cry Tomorrow", as related to scenes shot on Main Street. I actually found a copy in my living room today when I was throwing out some junk. Nothing was filmed on Skid Row. One scene was shot at the Hard Rock bar (the original, not the Peter Morton place) over on Hill Street. Doors fans may recall this bar from the Morrison Hotel album.

What about I Want To Live? I'll have to watch it again and pay attention....for some reason I think it was shot around Culver City but I'm probably wrong.

In the film "Uptown Saturday Night" a few of the theatres located along Main Street can be seen. The theatre marquees making a cameo in the film are the Burbank, Follies, Optic and the Regent.

There is an ad in the LA Times dated 5/9/20 for a film at Gore's Regent. The Gore Brothers at that time were the lessors of the Burbank down the street.

A third Regent theater, besides LA and Westwood, was advertised in the LA Times on 1/22/50. Address was 4012 S. Vermont. It may be listed under a different name.

Ken....The Regent Theater at 4012 S. Vermont Avenue is listed on CT here.

I'm going blind. Thanks.

Ok, there's three Regents listed. The LA Times in 1925 has an ad for the Regent on 447 S. Spring. This may be under another name, but I know it's not already listed as the Regent as I have accounted for all three to date. Any ideas?

ken mc: I'm thinking that maybe the Spring Street theatre was the one called Gore's Regent. Your earlier reference (in your comment of May 29) to Gore's Regent was published in 1920, and now there's an ad for a Regent Theatre on Spring Street in 1925. It seems likely that the Main Street theatre, originally called the National Theatre (per Ken Roe's comment of May 9), would not have been given the name Regent until some time later, after the Regent on Spring Street had been closed.

I'm unable to find a theatre at the 447 S. Spring Street address listed at Cinema Treasures under any name. I might have missed it though.

The Main Street Regent was the National as of 6/30/15. A story in the LA Times describes a fire at a business at 454 S. Main. The fire put out moviegoers in the Banner to the South and the National to the north.

Does anyone know who to contact, to rent the Regent Theater to stage a theatrical performance?

I think Tom Gilmore owns it or at least has the lease on it.

Does anybody know which theater would be at 4th & Spring with Gore's name attached also? Could it be the Hotchkiss?

(June 29, 1921)
Gores's Capitol Theater-Spring and Fourth
"Zig Zag Land"
Armstrong's Baby Dolls
Friday Nite: Chorus Girls' Contest.

The Regent has a new coat of yellow paint. I imagine they may try and get the marquee operational in the near future, if only to use it for special events. It would be nice to see the marquee lit up.

Does anyone recall when the Regent Theater's facade was remodeled to its present state? It dates to at least 1973. Perhaps a remodel after sustaining damage from the Sylmar earthquake?

The original was quite elaborate, with white terra cotta and arched windows.

The marquee looks exactly the same as it appears in movies from the 40's. I doubt it was replaced since then. It looks pretty worn but is supposedly going to be restored soon.

The Regent Theatre was open during the Los Angeles Conservancy's recent Mainly Main tour. The auditorium is completed gutted as is most of the lobby. However, no one seemed to have any answer as to what the theater will be used for in the future.

Tom Gilmore owns the property now and plans to turn it into a live music/theater venue. The seats were removed long ago but the theater isn't gutted. The floor is still sloped and all of the details are still in the ceiling although they have been painted white. Apparently, the molding and details that have been damaged over the years are being recast to match as close as possible. The amazing thing is that if you get a chance to go upstairs you can see the original nickelodeon style brick arch behind the 40's exterior remodel.

Here is a recent LA Times blog:
http://tinyurl.com/2m6tv9

The gate was up when I drove by this morning. Anybody know of any upcoing events?

Here is more information about the proposed live theater.

That's going to be a little crowded. Thanks for the information.

Maybe they are going to knock out the side walls above the lobby/ticket booth area where the projection room and storage area are located. I think the adjoining stores on either side have upstairs. I was up in the projection room area and there's barely enough room to turn around.

They still have the sheet metal over the marquee panels. I've been waiting for some progress on that, but nothing yet.

Here is a 1967 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yr6687

The most recent movie on the marquee is "Town Tamer" which was released in 1965.

I don't think the caption is correct, as the Banner was a few doors south. It's possible that the Banner was an early name for the Regent, but I haven't seen any evidence to that effect.

I think alot of the text with those photos is wrong.

I wondered about the caption myself. The address for the Banner on its CT page is 458 S. Main, but I suppose it's possible that the Regent was once called the Banner. Theatre operators would sometimes take the name with them when they moved to a new location (Woodley's Optic, for example), especially in the early days.

Incidentally, the assessors information for the Regent building gives a construction date of 1914, so the caption can't be referring to an earlier building at the same address. I guess somebody should check the city directories from the era.

I don't think the Banner and Regent were the same. There are too many articles naming them separately in the same time period. Plus, the Banner was there earlier. The Regent was operating at the time of the 1955 article. Here are a few from the Banner page:

(Jan 1, 1937)
Harry E. Ransome, who opertated the Banner Theater at Fifth and Main streets up to 1913, asserted that Los Angeles had grown so that if he had been dropped somewhere without anybody to show him around that he would have become lost.

(March 27, 1955)
Workmen uncovered the relic when a new front was constructed on the Banner Building in 1952. The machine (1 1/2 ton music box organ) was in sad condition. Rats had made a home in it, hundreds of feet of rubber tubing had disintegrated, moths had eaten the felt, and the electric motor, colored lights and other parts had vanished.

You can clearly see on this overlay that the Banner was a few doors south of the Regent where the parking lot is located now. Both say 'moving pictures'.

http://flickr.com/photos/vokoban/491451294/sizes/l/

The Regent (operating as the National) and the Banner were certainly both open at the same time in 1915, according to the Times article from that year Ken cited on July 2, 2007. We know that the Banner has been at 458 S. Main in recent times (I saw it there myself.) The questionable caption (almost certainly containing an error in the address) cites events from 1918 and (presumably) 1922.

But, while there are sources from before 1918 and after 1922 proving the Banner to have been located south of the Regent at those times, this information does not preclude the possibility of the Banner's owner having gotten hold of the lease on the National, moved his operation there for a few years, and then, due to another reversal of fortune, having to return his business and its name to its previous location.

Signage of theatres was usually of a sort easily moved in those days. Due to shadow in this 1920s photo, the Banner's signage can barely be made out, but it looks like the same small board (minus the neon which was obviously added later) seen in this night view from 1965. The Regent, though, had a spiffy little marquee in the 1920s (on which the name is not readable in this view, alas.)

So, while it seems most likely that the caption writer (or the source the caption writer used) got the address of the Banner wrong, none of the evidence at hand is conclusive. That's why I suggest checking a city directory from about 1919-1921. If the directory shows that the Banner was not at the Regent's address, or that the National or Regent was at the Regent's address, then the caption is certainly wrong. Ads from the period showing addresses for either theatre would do as well.

Just stopped by the Regent on Saturday. Neighbors say it is becoming a live music venue within the next few months. I think this was also call the BANNER theatre.

Vokoban, the LAPL database is acting up again. When I click on article, the whole page disappears. Let me know if you've experienced the same. Thanks.

I always right click and open in a new window...let me know if that works for you

Good idea, but I got the same result. I think I must have angered the LAPL.

Now thats funny!

Does it happen on any article or just one specific article. That's very strange. I don't know what browser you use, but try it in Firefox or another browser to make sure its not just a bug in the browser. I looked up things on there yesterday and it worked fine in Firefox. Maybe the library was doing maintenance on the site when it happened to you.

Check out the new banner:
http://tinyurl.com/6oblgz

I did the new banner.
http://blogdowntown.com/2008/02/3100-a-new-mural-for-main-street

This 1948 photo shows a Regent Theater located at 448 S. Main St.

I am standing in front of the Regent. We had to exit onto the street due to an earthquake a few minutes ago.

I hope that your okay. The news claims that it was a 5.8 earthquake. If anything falls off of the building, you can take it as a souvenir. :)

Everyone is fine. Strong jolt, though. The Regent has not crumbled into a pile of rubble.

That's great news. We won't have to change the status of you or the building to Closed/Demolished.

The news has downgraded it to a 5.4 quake.

Still standing:
http://tinyurl.com/6kjj9h

It looks like they have put new neon tubing on the marquee letters:
http://tinyurl.com/4pus4e

Ken, I don't think there's any neon on that sign. The letters are faced with red plastic. I haven't been around there at night, so I don't know if they light up or not.

I know the building is being reused, but is there any sign of the old theater left in there?

There are neon tubes on top of each letter now. I didn't see those before.

On my flickr photos above you can see the original brick arch from the upstairs inside. When I was there they said they were going to make the offices up there into a lounge.

Is the theater currently being used for music performances? I received a notice that Albert Lee would be playing at the Regent Theatre in Los Angeles, and I am wondering if this is the same one.

http://www.pollstar.com/tour/searchall.pl?AN=Y&By=Artist&Content=ALBLEE&PSKey=Y

Seab,

Yes, it appears to be the case. That website you linked to is very vague, but I checked a couple of others and they have maps to and pictures of this Regent.

Don,

Thanks for the reply. Would you please post a link or links to the information you referred to? Any idea where tickets are sold? I live north of San Francisco and have been unable to uncover more details.

http://www.groovetickets.com/club.asp?affilID=3074

http://www.myspace.com/safarisams

Have fun!

If it is hosting live performances, the status should be changed to open.

Yes, it's operating as Safari Sams.

I appreciate the help! Thanks again.

I took another look at the Regent sign yesterday. I couldn't see anything that looked like neon tubes.

Here are the tubes I was talking about. Maybe someone knows what they are used for:
http://tinyurl.com/6e8zdo

Do you mean those little spikes on the letters? If it's that then those are for keeping the birds off the letters and getting that stuff all over the signs.

From looking at screenshots of this old movie it looks as though the sign was neon, but its hard to tell: http://lahtc.blogspot.com/search/label/Regent%20Theater

OK, they're bird repellent. Thanks for clearing that up.

The sign was probably neon originally, with neon inside those metal "channel" type letters and lines of neon around the marquee. At some point it seems that the neon was removed to save money, and the letters were covered over with plastic. So what's left is the basic shape of the marquee and the letters -- much cheaper to maintain, but not nearly as cool.

Here is a screen shot from "Uptown Saturday Night" (1974):
http://tinyurl.com/5vyalf

This is strange. I can post this LAPL link in my browser, and it works fine. If I post it here, and hit preview, I get the same message about it being forbidden. I guess that's it for the LAPL photos.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics09/00014126.jpg

"The LAPL web site has been redesigned to better serve our patrons."

LOL

Filming at the Regent on Friday afternoon:
http://tinyurl.com/d748xh
http://tinyurl.com/dy3fd4

You can see both the Regent and the Main in this 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/df6yqs

A two for one sale. It looked terrible in 1983.

http://blogdowntown.com/2009/04/4261-partnership-to-bring-new-life-to-main-streets

Partnership to Bring New Life to Main Street's Regent Theater
By ERIC RICHARDSON
Published: Friday, April 24, 2009, at 01:51PM

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Those walking down Main street might notice something different at the Regent Theater: red letters on one side of the marquee were removed this morning, revealing the intact white neon tubing underneath.

It's the first of many changes for the 1914 theater. Yesterday, developer Tom Gilmore and music promoter Little Radio inked a deal to partner on returning the venue to regular use.

Little Radio took over one of the retail spaces in the theater back in February, moving in a studio for the outfit's online radio station and planning to build out a vinyl record shop. At the time, talks between Gilmore and Little Radio for the theater were in process, but no deal had been reached.

Little Radio's Dave Conway said that new plans have both of those uses moving one door north, to the other of the Regent's two spaces. A clothing store will temporarily occupy the southern space, and eventually Conway plans to turn the space into a cafe.

While programming in the theater will start quickly, and plans don't call for any major renovation work, Conway does intend to do work that will make the space more functional and a better neighbor. The theater today has no barriers between the main room and the sidewalk, and a show earlier this year brought some complaints about noise. "I want people to know that we're going to be making improvements," Conway said, "not just throwing shows."

Gilmore said today that he's excited about the new partnership. "We finally found the right mix," he said of his deal with Little Radio. "It feels natural." Other operators were interested in the venue, but Gilmore connected with Conway's vision for the space and how it fits into the neighborhood. "It was an easy decision," he said.

The theater as of yesterday looked very much as it does in the pic at the top of this page. The panels are down from the marquee as well.

There is a great shot of this theater (circa 1969) at the beginning of "The Meatrack" which is a tacky little production available on Something Weird Video. Well, it could have been "Sticks and Stones" which is the DVD co-feature. It's there none the less. Gotta love those titles, though.

Here are some photos taken today:
http://tinyurl.com/ck5qxs
http://tinyurl.com/d9pll2
http://tinyurl.com/d8xaj9

Hello,

I'm trying to find the theater's contact info. I am interested in possibly renting the space for a summer concert.

I've been searching online and nothing has come up.

Please respond if you know anything.

Thank you!

Here are some photos taken yesterday, one interior and one showing the new marquee. Some kind of art place has opened in the old pawn shop space next to the theater.
http://tinyurl.com/r6nccw
http://tinyurl.com/q8qvps
http://tinyurl.com/qay2oh

Looking good with the neon relit:

http://viewfromaloft.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cb90f53ef01156f9ce3e1970c-pi
http://viewfromaloft.typepad.com/viewfromaloft/2009/05/regent-lights-on.html

What a difference from the baorded up hulk of ten years ago.

Here are some photos taken today:
http://tinyurl.com/lkoqkq
http://tinyurl.com/nry4yh

This is a recent drive-by photo.

That was a surprise-I thought they turned it into a record store. It looks like the makeover was temporary, according to this article:
http://tinyurl.com/nwuq3y

The White Stripes did the same thing for their last record, turning the closed Tower Records on Sunset into Ickythump Records for a few days.

I wonder if they painted over the mural that was above the marquee.

Here is another 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/n89e45