Old Town Music Hall

Also known as the El Segundo Theatre from 1940 to 1950, when it was located at 142 Richmond.

The organ discussed above can be heard on the silent film compilation "Slapstick Encyclopedia" which is 18 hrs of classic silent comedy. Unfortunately, while it states the organ was recorded there it does not say who played it.

I went to a screening at this theater last night; they were showing "Song of the Islands," a little musical with Betty Grable and Victor Mature. Before the feature they had a performance on the Wurlitzer, a silent Laurel and Hardy short, and a singalong to several old tunes. It was a fun show.

The interesting thing about this theater is that the workings of the Wurlitzer are all visible behind the console (the small screen was raised during the performance), and they have been edged in fluorescent paint. Black lights make them glow, and you can see the various drumsticks and tambourines and baffles moving while the organist plays.

p.s. Their popcorn is very good.

Visited this special theater on October 2 for the screening of the silent film Nosferatu. The entire event was outstanding. The organist played and pre-movie concert, accompanied the comedy, a sing-a-long, and the movie without ever having a sheet of music in front of him. Amazing!! Can't wait to return on March 19 for "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Go experience this fantastic venue.

Visited this special theater on October 2 for the screening of the silent film Nosferatu. The entire event was outstanding. The organist played a pre-movie concert, accompanied the comedy, a sing-a-long, and the movie without ever having a sheet of music in front of him. Amazing!! Can't wait to return on March 19 for "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Go experience this fantastic venue.

El Segundo should be listed as an aka, advertised as such in the LA Times on 1/22/50. Features were "Roseanna McCoy" and "Easy Living".

Crime in El Segundo on 10/29/79, according to the LA Times:

Three Arrested in Theater Hold Up

El Segundo police arrested three men on suspicion of robbing the employees and patrons of a silent movie theater at gunpoint, and beating the manager when he attempted to escape.

After robbing the employees and firing one pistol shot at the projection room ceiling, the pair forced the employees into the theater auditorium and told the patrons they were going to be robbed. Moviegoers at first thought it was a Halloween prank, but quickly complied with orders to hand over their valuables when three more shots were fired into the ceiling. Owner William Coffman, 53, was beaten when he tried to escape.

When the bandits fled with their loot in a trash sack, they discovered that El Segundo detectives had been watching the compact car in which a confederate was waiting for them. Coffman was treated at the scene by paramedics and was released for treatment by a private physician.

There's a typo in the aka at the top, should be El Segundo Theater.

This is a photo of the Old Town Music Hall.

It's still going, apparently. I lived in El Segundo for about six years, but I never went to one of the shows. El Segundo is a nice little town, but location-wise leaves a little to be desired as it's between the LA airport, a huge Chevron refinery and an equally large sewage treatment plant. Sometimes when the wind blows right you get a nice whiff from all three.

It sounds like New Joisey. LOL

Them's fightin' words, pal. Of course, I did leave Jersey as soon as possible and never went back. Still a great state, though.

Here are some June 2008 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/5pycgh
http://tinyurl.com/5q3xuc
http://tinyurl.com/6pqkfg

There is a reference in the LA Times on March 1, 1913 to an unidentified theater in El Segundo:

A photoplay theater has been opened here by Alfred Fielder, formerly of Anaheim. A record crowd witnessed the opening show. Mr. Fielder aims only to show the best of pictures and make the show one of the best in this section.

Good luck finding that one.

Probably a storefront.

You'll have to ask Ken Roe for help with that one.

Here is a December 2008 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/6kj7le

The L.A. County Assessor's office says that this building was built in 1921, with an effectively-built date (indicating major alterations) of 1923. Southwest Builder and Contractor had items in its issue of June 11, 1920, saying that Edward L. Mayberry Jr. was designing a brick moving picture theater at El Segundo for E.L. McMurry.

The State Theatre apparently closed in the mid-1930s, and remained dark for almost nine years. Boxoffice of August 19, 194, said that Norman W. Rowell had renovated and reopened the 350-seat house as the El Segundo Theatre.

Both an architect and an engineer, E.L. Mayberry is most closely associated with Long Beach, but worked throughout Southern California. He is credited as the engineer for architect George Washington Smith's second Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, a legitimate house which later presented movies. The Lobero today is primarily a music venue, though it also serves as a venue for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

There's a typo in the middle paragraph in my comment above. The Boxoffice item cited was in the August 19, 1944, issue.

The name State Theatre was restored to this house in 1951, according to the July 28 issue of Boxoffice that year.

I found a September 16, 1968, Boxoffice item mentioning that the Cinema Showcase in El Segundo had been reopened. This is the only reference to the name in Boxoffice, and a Cinema Showcase in El Segundo isn't listed in any of my old copies of the L.A. Times from that period. Has anybody else ever heard of it?

There was a Showcase Cinema in Downey, CA operating in 1968; perhaps Boxoffice misidentifed the location?