Alpha Theatre

This former Fox house seated 656 people and was located at 4065 E. Gage Ave. in the city of Bell.

The Alpha Theater is currently being used as Las Trancas Banquet Hall. After the theater closed, it was renovated into a Hall and named Alpha Hall, until it's current owners purchased the building and changed the name in 2003.

The City of Bell or any interested residents should consider getting the site on the Historical Places Register. It would be a great asset to the city to have a working theater and restore it to it's glory days. Anyone interested, please contact me.

The Alpha Theatre was featured in the Better Theatres section of Motion Picture Herald, 5/28/1938. The architect is named there as S. Charles Lee.

Interestingly, Southwest Builder and Contractor of 10/15/1937 carried the announcement that S. Charles Lee was preparing the plans for a complete remodeling of the Maybell Theatre in Bell for Fox West Coast Theatres. I wonder if the Alpha could have been the remodeled Maybell?

This website has a photo of the Las Trancas Banquet Hall. On that site, the architect is given as S. Charles Lee. There is also an aka name of Fox Bell.

For sale - 3.245 million:
http://tinyurl.com/2xb92t

If this theater was built in 1922, then it probably opened as the Maybell Theater.

An Estey theater organ opus 1983 size 2/10 was installed in the Maybell Theater in 1922.

Here are some April 2008 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/4tuz5a
http://tinyurl.com/4lhbqh
http://tinyurl.com/4f3quz

"Available for corperate events". I bet the corperations just flock to their door when they see that sign.

The L.A. County Assessor's office gives 1922 as the original construction date for this building. With the other evidence in comments above, that should confirm that this theater was the Maybell, opened in 1922, and remodeled by S. Charles Lee in 1937.

The re-opening of the remodeled Maybell Theatre took place early in 1938. Here's something from Boxoffice Magazine, February 5, 1938: "With the opening last week of Frank Valuskus' new Bell Theatre in Bell, Fox West Coast is rushing work on its new Bell house, now almost completed. Valuskus, operating at ten cents, will have two FWC houses as competition, the circuit's Alcazar also coming in that zone."

(Note: The correct spelling of the name of the owner of the Bell Theatre was Valuskis.)

Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cyuvk5

UPDATE: The theater has been sold. A public notice of ownership application has been posted outside. The new owner plans to turn the theater into a Family Mexican Restaurant. The previous owners renovated and preserved the Art Deco interior. No word on whether the new owners will reatin the architectural significance of the building.

I note that S. Charles Lee has not been added as the architect. Is that because he may have only done the remodel in 1938?

The remodeling was quite extensive, so Lee should be credited. Also the aka Maybell Theatre should be added.