Globe Theater

The architect were the firm of Morgan, Wall Morgan.

Theatre owner Oliver Morosco also had another theatre in the downtown area of Los Angeles. He had the old Burbank Theatre on Main Street.

The Globe is currently an all night dance club called the "Club Orion".

The Orion is full of Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect. To all the candy Kidz out there.
Love,
Buddy BlEu

Even though the Globe Theatre is closed, it is still very much alive at the Club Orion, I wish I could have seen it a long time ago, but anyway if anyone knows of any pictures of the inside of the Globe or knows who to go to to get some pictures, please email me at happyhrdkor17@aol.com!! I really am interested in the history of this building so hopefully I find out some more cool stuff about it. Thanx!! :-) U GO BUDDY BLEU!! UR AWESOME!

During a Los Angeles Conservancy Broadway tour in 1995 I entered this theater - actually the swap meet that then occupied the space - and I was able to see the magnificent ceiling and balcony. The swap meet remained open until a few years ago and has now been replaced by a single store front. The back area from where the ceiling and balcony could be viewed is now inaccessible to the public.

The letters spelling out "Globe" have been removed from the marquee out front but the globe itself remains. Possibly the current club owners had something to do with this. Conversely, the removal of the letters makes it much easier to see "Morosco Theater" printed on the masonry directly above the marquee.

I also have records of this being referred to (in 1942) as the Newsreel Theatre.

even though its no longer the globe im sure the people that love it as orion think it is just as splendiferous as it was way back when! i know i do. Im sure i will make the trek back down from my cow town in oregon again sometime- yup yup people, orion is really that fantastical.

This theater has had four names: The Morosco, The President (in the 1930s), The Newsreel (in the 1940s, before that name was transfered to the Tower Theatre) and The Globe.

The letters spelling out "GLOBE" have been cleaned up and reinstalled.

any news as to when it will open? anyone?

Here is an old postcard which shows part of the theatre in 1931 when it was called the President...and includes a view of Broadway.

This theatre is now operating as Club 740. Website - with many photographs of a radically altered and cleaned-up interior - is here: http://www.740la.com/

I poked around the front of the theater today. There is still no way to access the theater from the businesses out front. The entrance to the nightclub is in the alley behind the building. Perhaps the Conservancy will offer another tour in the future.

http://www.gmrnet.com/graphics/theatr1k.jpg

This is a photo of the former Globe Theater as the Orion Night Club.

CALLING ALL THEATRE / MOVIE ENTHUSIASTS!!!

T'he Los Angeles Theatre' on South Broadway, LA is playing host to the UK television show 'Dead Famous LIVE'. We are currently looking for people who would like to come along as part of the studio audience.

'Dead Famous LIVE' is a studio entertainment show all about Hollywood History and the paranormal. We will be welcoming celebrity guests on to the show and investigating famous locations around Hollywood which are rumoured to be haunted including the Los Angeles Theatre itself.

This is an invaluable chance to get access to the Los Angeles Theatre, the place where Charlie Chaplin's 'City Lights' premiered in 1931 and to have a thoroughly great day out! (And its free!!)

We're transmitting 'Live' back to the United Kingdom so expect it to be exciting and fun!

We will be filming on three days from 11th - 13th November between 11.30am - 4pm. If you are interested in coming on one or all of these days then email me for tickets!

george.hughes@twofour.co.uk

I look forward to your responses!

From the LA Public Library:

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics49/00044363.jpg

I remember when the Orion hosted Tecknoclub on Saturday nights.. it was off the hook back then. I moved away for a couple of years and thought about going once I came back, only to find that they had closed the doors (boo-hoo)..
I haven't been back since they've turned it into a "posh" nightclub, but seeing the pictures, even though they've made a lot of changes, has brought back some cool ass memories..
I wonder if the narrow alley is still accessible, we all used to go out there, crowded as hell, to get some air, cool off, meet up with some old friends, chill with some new, and smoke.
Now I need to dig out my old pictures, I know I have lots from this place.

PLUR,
RAH! :)

This is another photo of the former Globe Theater.

Letters O and B on the right-hand side word GLOBE have fallen off. Not sure if they fell into the street or back behind the marquee.

Maybe the letters were stolen. Investigators should look for a guy named Bo.

Here is a recent photo of the former Globe theater. It appears that the letters are still missing.

Maybe you should look in the box office.

Recent pic:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k79/hollywood90038/dwntwnGlobeMar22200701.jpg

Here is a July 2007 photo. The letters are back:
http://tinyurl.com/ypkoxw

Here is a 1947 photo from the LAPL:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics21/00045333.jpg

Is that a new armored mobile theater? I think I'll turn off the email notification for this theater too.

Here is a 1950 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2xo7pk

All of the letters were gone from both sides of the marquee this morning.

Here is a September 1928 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2uj499

The President was closed in July 1934:
http://tinyurl.com/3a5f26

Here is a 1930 ad:
http://tinyurl.com/2fasa4

Give and Take with Jean Hersholt and George Sidney was released in December of 1928.

From the UCLA collection of L.A. Times and Daily News photos, here's the Globe with the name \"Newsreel\" on its marquee. The occasion was an April, 1948 demonstration by Costa Rican emigres against their government at home. Down the block, the future Newsreel
Theatre (and former and future Tower Theatre) can be seen with the name "Music Hall" on its vertical sign.

Falling apart:
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/GlobeFeb16200801.jpg

The letters spelling out "GLOBE" have been replaced with a fresh coat of red paint. No doubt part of the current revitalization of Broadway.

Here is a recent photo that shows the red letters.

Now Showing! The Headless Brides!

Perhaps Mrs. Ichabod Crane.

Corpse Bride was released in September of 2005.

LOL!

I was downtown last week. The Globe looked like Hollywood90038's recent photo. Does anyone know if they're restoring the neon or something?

Last July the marquee was advertising a night club. The club may be gone, that's why they took those panels down. Just a guess.

Actually, there is a refurbishing of that part of Broadway going on thanks to funds provided for the project. There has been work going on at the Los Angeles and Palace Theaters as well and both of them have "Bringing Back Broadway" on the marquee. I don't know the details. I thought that nightclub was gone thanks to one too many visits by LAPD but the website link above is still up and running. Personally, I'd like to see the facade made to look like it did when it was the Morosco.

There is a 1/28/08 article from the LA Times about the renovation project posted on the Los Angeles Theater page.

I thought this was interesting.

I drove by the Globe today and noticed that they have finally replaced and restored the GLOBE letters on the marquee. not only that, the neon inside was lit and it was beautiful. Im glad that they finally have finished it. I wish I had a camera. But if you are in the area, stop by and look.

I was driving down Broadway tonight as it was getting dark, and the neon was lit for the Globe, Palace, Los Angeles and Tower. Quite a sight. I took some pictures on the fly which I will post. I would like to see the neon when it's fully dark at some point.

Here is the photo:
http://tinyurl.com/27cs7n

Here is a 1942 photo from the LAPL:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics49/00074406.jpg

Here's a current photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/achangeinscenerymovies/2781155957/

Here is a photo taken yesterday:
http://tinyurl.com/3pjozg

I hope the interior is better looking than the exterior.

This is part of an LA Times article dated 7/20/30:

Known in its heyday as a "cradle for actors', the old Morosco Theater, more recently the President, will become a motion-picture playhouse in the next thirty days. The theater, built eighteen years ago for Oliver Morosco, has been leased to Fox West Coast Theaters to become Los Angeles' first newsreel theater. In the next few days, workmen will enter the old building for purposes of refurbishing the interior, perhaps to tear out the old fashioned boxes and to install sound-picture projection equipment.

Under the Fox West Coast regime, it will show only newsreels. Programs will run around fifty minutes and will change as fast as new shots of important international, national and local events arrive. It will bear the title "Newsreel Theater".

On February 7th, 2009, the Los Angeles Historical Theater Foundation will be hosting another of its "All About" series at the Globe-Morosco. Tour the theater and learn about its history. Doors open at 10 a.m., event starts at 10:30.

DISCOVER ALL ABOUT THE GLOBE-MOROSCO THEATRE

Globe-Morosco Theatre
744 S. Broadway
Here's a little more about the event mentioned by Don S:

Enter 8th Street Alley
Downtown Los Angeles

Saturday, February 7th, 10:30 am. Doors open at 10 am

Free Admission! All Are Welcome!

THE GLOBE THEATRE

The brutal conversion of the Globe into a swap meet in 1987 and the closure of two other Broadway theatres were the impetus for the creation of the LAHTF in 1988. We are pleased to invite the public in to see how this theatre has been adaptively re-used by the Club 740 and owner-operator Ralph Verdugo. We thank Club 740 for opening their facility to us.

THE EVENT

The tour will take us up to the balcony, closed since the 1930’s, through the basement and up into the fly loft. Please dress accordingly and wear comfortable shoes. Plan to join us for further discussion of the theatre over lunch at Clifton’s Cafeteria immediately following the event.

Ed Kelsey will provide a power point presentation on the history of the theatre. To pique your curiosity, a taste of the theatre and its impresario’s colorful histories follow.

That sounds interesting. I have to work on Saturday, or I would be there. Take some good photos for me.

I don't think I'll be able to make it either...hopefully, someone will go and take some photos.

I am so bummed to be missing this event! It is made worse by the fact that I just attended the Conservancy's theatre tour this past Saturday....

Here are a couple of photos taken today. I hadn't seen the Morosco Theater sign behind the marquee, but I assume it's been there all along. It was more visible live than on these photos, unfortunately.
http://tinyurl.com/bthvft
http://tinyurl.com/awm96l

Revocation Proceedings Pit Club 740 Against Neighbors

http://blogdowntown.com/2009/02/4040-revocation-proceedings-pit-club-740-against

I wonder what the results of today's hearing were?

Another article about the continuing problems of the Globe's "Club 740" vs. loft residents:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-downtown-club7-2009mar07,0,4140412.story

Downtown L.A. residents not loving the night life

Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Revelers hang out outside Club 740 in downtown Los Angeles at closing time. Residents have complained about club-goers who linger for hours and vendors who sell them food.
After complaints of noise and violence, Club 740 has been threatened with closure by the city. Now community members, police, business leaders and others must come up with a plan to help it survive.

By Cara Mia DiMassa
March 7, 2009

When Club 740 opened on Broadway in mid-2005, many saw it as solid evidence of the hip night life that downtown boosters had been trying to bring to the city center.

With the lure of pounding hip-hop, glass-walled VIP lounges and a massive dance floor, Club 740 managed to draw thousands of people to the old Globe movie theater, on a gritty street that also boasted swap meets and discount jewelry stores.

The club quickly distinguished itself -- but not in a way that most people would boast about. Fights inside and outside the club, reports of sexual assaults and gang activity quickly garnered Club 740 a less-than-savory reputation. A man was stabbed in the parking lot behind the club in August 2006; last December, an intoxicated club-goer fell to his death from a third-floor railing.

Police officers and residents complained about the club, and the city began the process to shut it down.

The situation underscores the difficulties that sometimes come with trying to bring edgy night life into revitalizing areas. Downtown for decades was known as a district that pretty much closed down after dark. These days, however, the streets are teeming with night life from various clubs, eateries and bars.

Club 740 is one of several new downtown nightclubs to run into trouble.

Part of the problem is that downtown is becoming a residential area, with loft and condo dwellers who aren't always excited about rowdy behavior well into the morning hours.

The Chapman Flats, a 168-unit apartment building, opened last year next door to Club 740. There's a dry cleaner on the ground floor. Nearby, condos at the renovated Eastern Columbia building have fetched in the millions of dollars.

Club 740's new neighbors quickly joined a chorus of others questioning whether a club that stays open sometimes as late as 4 or 5 a.m. belongs in the area. They complained about patrons who lingered in the parking lot behind the club for hours and vendors who hawked food and goods to those patrons.

Damian Jones, a spokesman for the club's owner, Ralph Verdugo, said the club has taken steps to quell the violence and soundproof its property. He insists that Verdugo and the club are partners in the revitalization happening in the district.

"He has really cleaned up the area," said Jones of Verdugo. "The club is a vibrant part of the bring-back-Broadway movement."

But earlier this year, the Los Angeles Planning Department began proceedings to revoke the club's conditional use permit. Criminal activities near the club "are jeopardizing and/or endangering the public health in the area," said a report in preparation for the hearings, "... thereby constituting a public nuisance and contributing to the deterioration of the adjacent community."

After a four-hour hearing on the matter, a zoning administrator ordered community members, police, business leaders and others to put together a plan for how the club might adapt in order to survive.

"A big part is working together, between the residents and the owners," said Russell Brown, president of the Historic Business Improvement District, who has been involved in the negotiations.

Last year, police pushed to close Crash Mansion, which had seen its own share of criminal activity; eventually, that club folded after its liquor license was suspended and the Board of Equalization put a tax hold on it.

And Versus, which opened last November inside the old Los Angeles Stock Exchange building, was forced to close less than a month later after city inspectors required upgrades to its sprinkler system and bathrooms. The club's website promised a reopening in February 2009, and a call to the club was not returned.

The zoning department's investigation into Club 740 came after Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar, whose district includes that stretch of Broadway, pushed for an examination of the club after a string of violent incidents there.

"There was a time when Broadway was kind of forgotten in the evening," he said. "So if you had incidents happening in a parking lot or outside a club, very few people would notice. It was kind of no-person's land. There was no one to say that this activity is happening on these streets. A lot of the incidents didn't even get reported to police. Now, with more residents living nearby, I do think it is getting on people's radar."

Tamara Kamci, resident manager of the Chapman, said residents were "not trying to close them down by any means. That's not our thing. We just want to quiet it down, especially with the noise in the parking lot."

Jones said Verdugo had already invested $1.5 million in making the old theater "a good, strong and successful venue for downtown." He said that included posted roving security guards outside the club. But, he added, "at a certain point, there is only so much they can do. If the people are on a public sidewalk or in the parking lot next door, they can't do everything."

Several people familiar with the negotiations about how the club might adjust to suit its neighbors said they expected several conditions to be established in order to ensure the club's ongoing operation. Those conditions would include limits on hours of operation, hours of alcohol service and the use of outside promoters, as well as mandatory training of employees and increased security.

Huizar said that as officials seek conditions from the club management, there is very little wiggle room for compromises. "If a club exists there, they have to comply with all the rules and regulations," Huizar said. "They can't be a nuisance. It doesn't matter whether they are downtown or in Eagle Rock or elsewhere."

Jones said that the management of Club 740 wants to work with Huizar's office, the LAPD and neighborhood groups "to figure out how we can be a productive member of downtown."

"There are issues when downtowns get revitalized," he added. "Things need to get worked out."

Here is a photo taken last night:
http://tinyurl.com/ct5xpa

Here are 1980 and 1983 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/d33vv8
http://tinyurl.com/dx27x3

Here's a photo from the LAPL that was mislabeled as being the Burbank (er... no). It says it's from 1913.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics28/00033950.jpg

An ad for the Newsreel can be seen on the back of the theater building in this 1939 photo from USC:
http://tinyurl.com/ccvlp6

DB, When the theatre opened 1913 it was called the Morosco Theatre. Oliver Morosco also leased the Burbank Theatre over on Main Street.

The Globe auditorium doesn't look too shabby:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79761301@N00/3498450837/in/pool-72675154@N00

About seven or eight pictures here. Use the index to view the rest.

Here is a June 1938 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/ly5r7o

The LA Historic Theatre Foundation will be restarting its popular "All About..." series this Saturday, Sept 26. Meet at the Million Dollar (doors open at 10:30, presentation starts at 11), then tour the Million Dollar and Globe/Morosco Theaters. It's free! See you there.

In 1955, as a young boy, I came with my grandmother from a small town in Orange County into downtown Los Angeles. The city was unlike any place I had seen before; it was very exciting. We went to the Globe and that was a new experience for me too. I had never been in a place so large. I couldn't wait for the movie to start. Then the lights went down and the film started. The first thing I heard was "One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock rock, five, six, seven o'clock, eight o'clock rock..." I had seen movies and I knew you didn't hear rock and roll blasting from the movie screen like that. It didn't happen. But in the first moment of "Blackboard Jungle" it did, and I'll never forget that moment. I don't remember what my grandmother's reaction was but I thought it was wonderful. It was my first great movie experience in a great old theatre. Unfortunately, once you grow up, your experiences don't have that same intense impact as when you were a kid. It's never the same and it's too bad.