Southside Theatre

11243 S. Vermont Avenue,
Los Angeles, CA 90044

Unfavorite 2 people favorited this theater

Additional Info

Architects: Clarence J. Smale

Functions: Church

Styles: Streamline Moderne

Nearby Theaters

Southside Theatre auditorium

Opened on September 21, 1949 with Burt Lancaster in “Rope of Sand” & a Sneak Preview movie". The Southside Theatre auditorium was constructed with a Lamella timber roof (similar to a Quonset Hust style). It was operated by Franchon & Marco. All seating was on a single level.

It is currently a church in the southwest area of Los Angeles.

Contributed by William Gabel

Recent comments (view all 21 comments)

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on November 17, 2008 at 6:10 pm

That’s my recommendation for the style.

jdfofgardena
jdfofgardena on January 24, 2009 at 12:17 am

I had my first make-out session there in 1963 with Chris Obradovich, we were both kicked-out so we continued the sloberfest on the curb across the street (we weren’t theatre savvy enough to go to the back row). I don’t have a real good memory these days, but that’s the kind of stuff you don’t forget; the curbside affair was just as fun, we were bound to miss the movie anyway. The picture brings back fond memories!

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on February 20, 2009 at 6:00 am

I wouldn’t call this a quonset hut theater. A true quonset hut has no walls, but has the arc of its roof extending all the way to the ground like this. The term quonset hut refers to a type of construction rather than to an architectural style, anyway. I’d just as soon see Cinema Treasures drop “Quonset Hut” as a style

What most of the theaters identified at Cinema Treasures as quonset huts really had were what are called barrel vault or tunnel vault roofs, on top of standard, if sometimes low, walls (and judging from the photos the Southside’s walls don’t appear to be any lower than the walls of most other single-floor theaters.) Given the period during which barrel vault roofs were common, most theaters that had them got modern or art moderne decoration.

Many of the theatres that had true quonset huts for their auditoriums were hybrid buildings, in any case, like the Avon Theatre in Bothell, Washington, which had a boxy and decidedly modern entrance. Others, like Star Theatre in La Puente, California, were entirely quonset hut buildings which had little more than a bit of moderne detailing and signage attached to their facades. Still, such theaters have quonset style construction, but modern architectural details.

Read William’s description of the Southside in his comment of December 16, 2003, above. The style of the theater as he describes it sounds modern to me. The entrance depicted in the photo looks modern, too.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on May 2, 2009 at 9:08 pm

Here is a photo taken last night:
http://tinyurl.com/c6w48p

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on June 26, 2009 at 5:56 pm

I got a ticket on Imperial after leaving the church, which I am forwarding to Ross Melnick to pay.

rickyrecon45
rickyrecon45 on February 10, 2010 at 6:30 am

The Southside was the last time I saw Dennis Burnham which would be around 1964-5. He was wearing his usual forest green sweater and surfer look. They said he’s in Hawaii still surfing.

rivest266
rivest266 on October 12, 2019 at 6:07 pm

This opened on September 21st, 1949. Grand opening ad posted.

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