Warrens Theatre
401 W. 7th Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90014
401 W. 7th Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90014
19 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Metropolitan Theatres, Pantages, Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp.
Architects: Benjamin Marcus Priteca
Functions: Retail
Styles: Greek Revival
Previous Names: Pantages Theatre, Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre, Warners Theatre
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Nov 25, 2003 — Southern California Cameos
Opened as the second Pantages Theatre in downtown Los Angeles (the Arcade Theatre was the first) on August 16, 1920 with vaudeville and a movie “The Courage of Marge O'Doone” starring Pauline Starke. This B. Marcus Priteca designed theatre included Greek treatments for owner Alexander Pantages. The theatre’s exterior is coated in white terra cotta. Pantages ran the theatre for nine years.
Following a three weeks closure for refurbishment, which included the installation of 2,000 new seats, it reopened as the Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre on September 26, 1929 with Nancy Welford in “Gold Diggers of Broadway”. Al Jolson was guest of honor for the evening. The theatre served as the downtown theatre for Warner Bros. until September 1, 1960 when it was taken over by Metropolitan Theaters who renamed it Warrens Theatre. Metropolitan ran it for another twelve years.
After being sold by Metropolitan, the theatre became a church before becoming a retail outlet for the Jewelry Exchange. The original seats on the main floor of the auditorium have been removed to make way for retail stalls. The balcony is still intact and its seats have not been removed.
To see a little of the inside of this theatre, watch the Barbra Streisand film “Funny Girl” (note the exterior is from the backlot at the Burbank Studios).
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 87 comments)
I feel it was a kind of an honor to go to the Warrens near it’s demise, of course I did not know it at the time. It was the early 1970’s and I saw “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight” and “She Freaks” plus another I can’t recall. The snack bar backing was glass and you could see the movie from the lobby. Beautiful and useful!
Warrens Theatre is seen a few times in this `60s Texaco commercial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPk-lRVpDq4&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3RJBQ1NoeceR_VPAyChQAbVXXjtEOo5pHYXd2E6S2H1bth8p1edOCxLMA
Reopened as the Pantages theatre on August 16th, 1920. Another ad posted.
September 26th, 1929 reopening as Warner downtown
Warner Downtown theatre opening Thu, Sep 26, 1929 – 11 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.com
That Texaco commercial
Became the Warrens theatre on September 1st, 1960
Exploration video of this theatre
https://youtu.be/AeMswOzMS0c?si=Tz3bINJi1_6MdtFj
The Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre became national headlines during a showing of Edward G. Robinson’s “A Slight Case Of Murder” that turned into an ACTUAL murder.
While a packed audience was in the middle of watching the mentioned movie on February 27, 1938, a 42-year-old man named Harold Williams entered the manager’s office and stole some of the manager’s money. Back in the auditorium, one of the attendees is a man named Sid Mark, who carried an honorary police lieutenant’s badge and a gun. An usher had recognized Marks when he left the auditorium and entered the lobby where he summoned him when he saw the robbery. Marks confronted Williams in the theater balcony, pulled over a gun, and shot Williams dead to the ground. The incident just happened while the noise of gunfire and a gangster fight appeared during the mentioned movie and a few in the audience were aware of the robbery and killing outside.
Unfortunately, Marks was never charged with first-degree murder. This was because the LAPD had been looking for Williams for a while after he invaded a bar room during a floor show the previous week.
So is it Sid Mark or Sid Marks? if there was an article to reference one would know for sure….
Its Sid Marks, who was also the manager of the Olympic Auditorium. The February 28, 1938 edition of the Los Angeles Daily News says that Williams was shot several times, including once in the left ear, once in the left arm, and once fatally through his chest. It was also confirmed that Williams was also the suspect of the murder of a man at a nearby cafe.