Westlake Theatre

When the Westlake Theatre opened in 1926, it had a Wurlitzer Theatre organ (opus#1294) style 216. It was installed on 3/16/1926.

When I was about eleven years of age, around 1946, I went to the Westlake Theatre about three times a month, until around 1952. This is where I saw all my favorite film noir (first run back then). A large, comfortable movie house; wide, big balcony. Quite lavish interior. Big lobby loaded with every goodie imaginable. Yes, the sign is still there, but the days of DARK PASSAGE, BRUTE FORCE and the BIG SLEEP are long, long gone.

The Westlake Theatre dates back to 1926 and it's architect was Richard M. Bates, Jr. and it is located at 638 S. Alvardo Street.

The Westlake has suffered the unfortunate fate of too many old theaters. The ground floor has been converted to create a swap meet. However the balcony remains and the ceiling is still intact, if in need of repair. The ornate ticket both also remains.

The ornate ticket booth is a place where keys are made and I believe the box office has keys adhered to it the last time I saw it about three years ago.

Sounds like it could be converted back to a theatre if someone wanted to.

I am working on having the movie house restored and fully operational. I was one that went to see Spanish movies as a child and was awed by its beauty. I have considerable backing from elected officials, the private invesement community, the community in Westlake and passion for its completion. I am also working on getting support from the LA Conservancy. Get involved call me (213) 427-1940. We are a group known as Alliance:MacArthur Park.

Good luck it will make a wonderful thetre when restored

For an interior view dated 1973 before its conversion:
http://catalog1.lapl.org:80/cgi-bin/cw_cgi?fullRecord+23470+968+4167+5+0

A whorthwile theater to restore in Los Angeles located near old landmarks like the Ambassador Hotel, the original Brown Derby Restaurant and Bullocks Wilshire (all closed).

Best of luck to Alliance: MacArthur Park with their efforts.

Alternate link for 1973 interior view of Westlake Theatre (later known as Teatro Westlake showing Spanish movies):
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015508.jpg

07/21/04 Wednesday Bill Sims
This was another theater that was within walking distance of my apartment. I was struck by the fantastically painted ceiling! Seats in the balcony were quite comfortable, but the smell of dead rats was a bit disturbing. Nevertheless, I enjoyed going there until it converted to a Spanish-language-only theater. Oh, well. The neighborhood was changing. Everything changes!

Are there any other theatres within this neighborhood ? if we restore the theatre, what kind of performance we can have in this theatre? if we restore the theatre, what we should do for the people having their small bussniss in swapmeet ?

Just wondering... if there's hope for restoring the Westlake for use as a theatre, is there similar hope to be had for the Fox Venice?

There were five theatres in the area of the Westlake, The Westlake (Fox house), Park (now retail, former adult), Vagabond (office or church), and two others that are long gone (one was across the street from the Park and the other was north of the Westlake). Having worked the Vagabond Theatre in the early 90's. The area was not a very safe area after dark. The MacArthur park area was full of drug and gang action. It's a great idea to restore the theatre, but the problem is will people come to the area after dark. The area is Spanish and low income, and there was not much of a night life in the area.

December 13, 1973: "The Reverend Jim Jones is arrested in a cruisy movie theater bathroom in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, Jones had the bad luck to hit on an undercover LAPD vice officer while masturbating in the Westlake Theatre men's room."

The opening date of the Westlake Theater was 22nd September 1926 and it was built for West Coast-Langlet Theaters. It opened with Monte Blue and Marie Prevost starring in "Other Women's Husbands" supported on stage by Charlie Nelson and his Band and a Franchon and Marco "Idea". The Wurlitzer Theatre Organ was a 2 Manual console with 10 Ranks of pipes.

The Westlake closed on 26th June 1991 after screening Spanish language movies for a few years.

The Westlake had a rare Style 216 2 manual 10 rank Wurlitzer. The organ was removed from the Westlake and went to a private home in Taft, California (this 216 is NOT to be confused with the style 216 that was originally installed in the Taft, CA Hippodrome/Fox Theatre). The private home suffered a fire and the organ was removed and reinstalled in First Christian Church in Porterville, CA.

Eventually, the early 1980s, the church tossed the organ and bought a plug-in organ of some sort. The organ was used for parts with the Solo division becoming part of the George Wright home studio organ in the Hollywood Hills. The Main division was installed and remains in the Fox Theatre in Hanford, CA combined with a composite Wurlitzer "Solo" division.

A current photo, more or less:

http://www.publicartinla.com/neon_signs/westlake_theater.html

An older photo by William Reagh:

http://helios.library.ca.gov/soca/reagh/1989-1984.jpg

This is a modern photo of the Westlake Theater.

Is this advertisement referring to another theater on this site or was it there earlier than 1926?

LA Times
(March 13, 1914)
Westlake Theater
South Alvarado, near 7th St.
Now showing high class Mutual pictures and offers its patrons a programme of unusual excellence presenting the Best Pictures in the city. Nothing cheap but the price. 5 CENTS TO All.

(April 23, 1926)
Erection of the new $500,000 Westlake Theater building at 622 South Alvarado street is being rushed and, from present indications, it will be ready for its formal opening about June 1. It was announced yesterday by Richard M. Bates, architect. The building is of Class A construction with exterior facing of terra cotta, according to Mr. Bates, who added that Gladding, McBean & Co. provided the terra cotta. Built for the Westlake Theater Building Company, the structure is 115 by 180 feet in size, and sixty feet in height. It will have a seating capacity of 2000, it was said.

(Sept. 22, 1926)
The West Coast Westlake Theater, Alvarado at Sixth, opening in gala array tonight, will have an auspicious start-if officials of the West Coast Theaters, Inc., and the West Coast-Bernstein circuit are prophets. Under the direction of Gore Brothers and A.L. Bernstein this organization expects to lend every assistance for the premiere opening and dedication, but also the continued maintenance, operation and control along the lines of highest theatrical caliber.

(Sept. 24, 1926)
{Reprinted from yesterday's late edition of The Times)
With the attendant crowds and blazing sun arcs of the typical Los Angeles premiere, the new West Coast Westlake Theater, at Alvarado and Sixth, had an auspicious opening last night. This latest unit of the ever-growing chain of West Coast neighborhood houses, follows closely in treatment the Spanish-Moorish architecture of early Califorina days. Its interior a pleasing symposium of golds and browns, and blue shading into deep purple, the Westlake Theater is one of the most charming of new Southern California showhouses. Reception rooms and promenade open into an upper loggia, overlooking the inner lobby below. Two thousand persons may be accommodated on the two floor of the house....

It's ironic that there are hundreds of listings for this theater almost from its opening for different Sunday church services and lectures and then a reverend was caught doing lewd behavior. I guess if the charges would have stuck all of those people might not have had the Kool-Aid death awaiting them.

vokoban: The theatre in the 1914 ad might have been the one later called the Alvarado, and in its last years the Park. It opened in 1911, but the Cinema Treasures page for it doesn't list Westlake as an earlier name for it, so there might have been yet another theatre on Alvarado near 7th.

(March 27, 1979)
The court file on a 1973 lewd conduct charge against the late Rev. Jim Jones was unsealed Monday, but it failed to answer the questions why the case was dismissed and why police records of the arrest were ordered destroyed. Among the 14 pages of documents made public was a police report that graphically described Jones' alleged actions on the afternoon of Dec. 13, 1973. Describing the incident that reportedly occurred in a restroom at the Westlake Theater, near MacArthur Park, the police report, in part, said: "The defendant (Jones) turned toward the officer...(while) masturbating and showing his penis to the officer." A possible clue to the dismissal is contained in the file. It is a letter written by a San Francisco physician, Dr. Alex Finkle, who said he was treating Jones for urinary problems at the time. In the letter, Finkle, a urologist, stated that Jones had an "obstruction of the outlet of the urinary bladder due to strategic enlargement of the prostate gland. Moreover, there is chronic inflammation of the prostate...and these conditions cause urinary frequency." Finkle went on, "Even prior to seeing me, Rev. Jones had learned that jogging or jumping in place afforded improved initiation of urination. I encouraged his continuing that technique." The physician concluded his letter by stating, "I am stunned to learn of the preposterous allegations (about) Rev. Jones!"

Yeah....right.

I wonder if the 622 South Alvarado address was a misprint. Wilshire didn't go through the lake yet and wasn't it called Orange on the East side of Westlake Park? I don't understand why these articles keep saying Alvarado and Sixth. Wouldn't that be a block north?

Too bad Mr. Jones did not test some Kool Aid additives later that evening. So much for off-topic.

I recently visited the Westlake and after asking the guard nicely was permitted to visit the loggia, was an awesome thing to have been able to see.

Although very cluttered with life size Santa Claus statues poised near the projection room there was still much of its glorious past to be found.

Hopefully a restoration project can be started as the murals are in dire need of restoration.

The Architect is named at top as "Richard D. Bates", but his middle initial should be "M" for Mortimer. He was Richard Mortimer Bates Jr., (1887-1948), an Alabama native who had worked in New York City and who arrived in Los Angeles only a short while before designing the Westlake. He designed mostly schools and banks, and this was probably the only theatre he designed.

I went in this theater last weekend after getting a chance to freely wander around the Elks Club on the other side of the park...spooky but beautiful. I don't want to sound pessimistic, but I doubt any restoration will be done on the Westlake since it is full to the hilt with swap meet junk and the floor has been leveled to the height of the stage. The murals are still beautiful and there are many architectural details surviving, but the building would have to be vacated and used for a different purpose. The tenants there now are trying to make a living and don't seem to look up or have much interest in where they are and the history of it.

I lived in this area very briefly (a few months in 2004) and I drove by the Westlake Theater sign many times, wondering "what might have been." It seems like this was once a beautiful area, but it was terribly depressing in 2004. That would be awesome if it could be restored.

This is a 2006 photo of the former Westlake Theater.

A set of photographs that I took of the Westlake Theatre in January 2005:
Exterior
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/370706292/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/370707030/
Details of front entrance
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/370707618/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/370708116/
Foyer
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/370708791/
Auditorium
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/370709868/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/370710327/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/370710859/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/370711500/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/370712278/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/370712948/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/370713339/

Wow, Ken, what great photos!

I went past this theater the other day when driving on Wilshire, and even before noticing it's huge sign, which is still there, I recognized it as a theater, and couldn't wait to get home to look it up on CT. I passed so many abandoned theaters, now in other uses, or abandoned, and wish I had written the locations down, but figured I'd remember, but it's easier said than done...my memory isn't as good as I thought it was!
Anyway, the place is heavily altered on the exterior, or looks "cheap", but I guess that's because of the type of store it is now.
Inside though, I couldn't belive the detail remaining. A true gem worthy of restoring.

There was an adult film theater down the street in the late sixties - Cluny's, 604 S. Alvarado, "torrid girlie films-for men only".

I walked by the Westlake on Tuesday (June 12) and the gate was pulled down over the entrance. This was mid-afternoon. Perhaps the swap meet is only open on weekends?

That may be the case, although that area seems to be crowded all the time.

Went by on Monday the 18th and it was open. I was impressed by how much of the original cinema is visible. You can see the proscenium arch, the stairs leading up to the balcony (although well blocked, the balcony area, the windows of the projection booth, and the detail along the sides of the auditorium. Must have been quite a beauty in it's day!

I go in there often and it is amazing how much is left. However, almost all possibility of a return to a theater is gone since they leveled the floor for the swap meet.

I will try for some photos the next time I'm in the area.

Can a leveled floor be un-leveled?

Here is a 1935 photo from the USC archive:
http://tinyurl.com/2yn93w

I'm sure with enough money a floor could be un-leveled, but I don't think anyone in that neighborhood is prepared to spend the money. The clientèle surrounding the theater don't seem to even be aware that the building was a theater. When I go in there they look at me like I'm the crazy one looking up at the ceiling.

I had the same experience when I was at the Alameda theater in East LA. "This was never a theater", the owner told me. Sure dude, whatever.

Here is another photo from the LAPL, probably about the same time as the photo at the top of the page:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015506.jpg

If you take a look at the 1935 photo posted on 8/1/07, you can see an interesting building with a marquee (Auto Loans). The LA city directory shows a Deluxe Theater at 656 S. Alvarado, which would be just south of the Westlake. The auto loans building looks like it's on the corner, so perhaps this was a theater ten years previously. I don't think the Deluxe is listed on CT.

An update for anyone who wanders by this page: CRA/LA has purchased the Westlake Theater and is going to restore it! It's not going to be a swap meet for much longer. I guess miracles do happen:


http://www.crala.net/internet-site/Media/upload/Westlake_Theatre_102207-2.pdf

http://www.crala.net/internet-site/Meetings/Board_Agenda_2007/upload/oct1807_17.pdf

Miracles indeed!!! This is fabulous news....thank you neonrocks. At first I was nervous and fearing that it would be gutted like the Linda Lea or split up like Highland Park but after reading the pdf's I think it will be done right since the Conservancy and the National Register will be involved. Whoever is in charge has a massive job ahead of them. The last time I was in the space it seemed that the floor had been leveled. How are they going to fix that I wonder?

I was inside today, for the first time. I took some photos that I will post, but it looks like Ken Roe and I both saw the same things. I don't think he got the Santas in the balcony, though (you'll see). I don't know how he took his photos, but I had to be kind of sneaky about it as the swap meet owners were everywhere. I couldn't use my flash, either.

I can't wait until this is restored, if it happens. I almost wanted to shake the people that were buying t-shirts and say "Hey, look up at the ceiling!"

Here are the photos. Some of them are a little fuzzy, but I was under pressure and I'm not exactly Robert Capa. By the way, it was 95 degrees in LA today. Leave it to me to drive to downtown on the hottest day of the year. That definitely deserves a free Cinema Treasures book.
http://tinyurl.com/2craaz
http://tinyurl.com/22lp6n
http://tinyurl.com/yorauj
http://tinyurl.com/2goq38
http://tinyurl.com/26qhn5
http://tinyurl.com/2ghgcg
http://tinyurl.com/yus3hw
http://tinyurl.com/2fw8j3
http://tinyurl.com/27qbv2
http://tinyurl.com/yr33a3
http://tinyurl.com/2cojyl
http://tinyurl.com/ywyadm
http://tinyurl.com/ypkphn
http://tinyurl.com/28wzqp

Here is March 2008 article and more photos:
http://tinyurl.com/5upomm

This is a 1934 photo, newly arrived on the LAPL site. Besides the theater at the top left, the photo is interesting as it maps out the route that Wilshire Boulevard will take when it cuts through the lake. Some authors have suggested that the decline of the area followed this division. I don't think that they followed that exact route during the construction, however.
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics48/00073526.jpg

Has anyone been by the theatre recently? I am doing an LA/Pasadena theatre photo tour this weekend and am wondering if it is still the same/similar as in ken mc's photos from March or if work has begun.

I drove by a couple of weeks ago. Nothing was going on, just the usual swap meet confusion, along with a brisk trade in fake drivers' licenses.

I never did get the free book, by the way.

I am really excited about the swap meet, I love that kind of thing. Thanks for the update, Ken, hopefully you'll get your book.

I visited the Westlake Theater this past weekend and took a video of the interior. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyX8ZcBUDpA

Also, the CRA has come up with some redevelopment plans for the theater and its environs that are, well, rather hideous:

http://www.angelenic.com/560/westlake-theater-mixed-use-project-conceptualized/

I think we should start making some phone calls to LA City Council and the LA Conservancy. These plans do not match the other historic architecture of the area. What an eyesore this restoration might turn out to be!!

P.S.
I found a picture of the old neon lit up!:
http://www.leslieweinberg.com/images/neon/big/neon032.jpg

Also, here's how the interior used to look when it was still intact:
http://bp2.blogger.com/_bdtuKKCTCf4/RpFM71u0RuI/AAAAAAAADGg/hA7R94r9Mdo/s1600-h/Westlake+T+-+Interior.jpg

What a dump currently. Anything is better than keeping it a cheap Latino swap meet. Gentrification may not suit everyone but its inevitable. If only it had come earlier for the Ambassador Hotel nearby. The plans next to theatre are pretty crappy but its looks very premilinary and will take architects and developers to work it out. Affordable housing? Can't they put in some nice lofts to attract a better clientele? Great improvement for the area. Perhaps the old Park Plaza hotel on the other end of the park can be revived someday.

Six recent photos of the Westlake can be seen at my Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/achangeinscenerymovies/

Here is the LA Times story in the paper today:
http://tinyurl.com/5c5txr

Here is a photo from the adult film days, circa 1985:
http://tinyurl.com/3hxyf5

Having visited the Westlake theater today, I can't say there's much left to save and the neighborhood is a nighmare. Who is going to come to this renovated theater in this poor Latino neighborhood? No one is going to park in this area at night, if you can even find parking. The concrete floor that was poured seems to have destroyed much of the decoration on the side walls of the theater below the small curved balconies shown in Neonrocks photo above. I can't say I was too impressed by the decor that was left. It was rather garrish and cheap looking. I'm all for saving old theaters but this doesn't seem like one worth concentrating a lot of effort on. I'd rather see the Pacific in Hollywood or the Tower, Roxie or Warner downtown restored. The Westlake might work as a Latin American Cultural/Community Center but not as a film venue.

This was my Sunday relief work in the late 70s. It was a nice place to relax and enjoy the little lake across the street. I gotta watch the video above again. I never saw the concession stand in it when I watched it before. Hmmm, okay, let's watch it again...

Yes, this was a real theater, and I did work here.

im sure it can be restored no matter what.and you gotta see it from a "big picture" point of view,like it or not that area is coming up,i call it "the white flight of the yuppies",10 15 years ago melrose was the place to live,now everyone is getting smart and moving south and east because its more affordable.now with parking..who needs cars when you have the subway a few short steps away....this would be the first step in getting that area to cater to more people and not just latinos.just wait and see this is a big step for a great lil community

Here is an item from Boxoffice magazine in January 1960:

LOS ANGELES-N.P. "Red" Jacobs, president of Favorite Films of California and operator of the local Lake Theater, has purchased the Westlake Theater and building at Alvarado and Wilshire. He assumed active operation as of December 30.

Jacobs acquired the Westlake from Fox West Coast Theaters. The circuit had operated the 1,900-seat fim house for many years.

Nice...where do you access that magazine? Did you go to the library or is it online somewhere?

Go to www.issuu.com and put boxoffice in the search engine.

You're a peach.

This theatre is a dump. Not worthy of restoration.

When all of the vendor fixtures, merchandise, and junk are removed I'm sure the situation will look much different. Luckily, there are only opinions on this site and your 'not worthy' proclamation is only an opinion. You should see how Grey Gardens looks now....who would have imagined?

Socal09, I am shocked by your comment! When I had the opportunity to visit the Westlake I was amazed at the condition of the interior of the building, the murals, the box office, facade, and rooftop neon. Consider the building empty, the vendors and temporary walls removed, those bright flood lights in the auditorium replaced by soft house lights. Regardless of one's definition of "worthiness", the Westlake gives no indication that it is not an ideal contender for restoration. If the fire riddled, rotted away by the elements for decades New Granada theatre in Pittsburgh can be slated for restoration, surely the Westlake "deserves" it.

Please do not read this passionate comment as aggressive, I simply did not expect a comment like yours in regard to a theatre with such life left in it as the Westlake.

The CRA discussion was last August. Is there anything new on this one?

Here is a 1983 view of the Westlake:
http://tinyurl.com/db2us5

I took these photos today. Walking around inside, you get a feel for how immense this place is. There is certainly no sign of redevelopment, just the usual swap meet chaos.
http://tinyurl.com/dgj9xk
http://tinyurl.com/c4mzps
http://tinyurl.com/de29rc
http://tinyurl.com/c55wda
http://tinyurl.com/d88bt8
http://tinyurl.com/cxfhyw
http://tinyurl.com/d6ahjc
http://tinyurl.com/cz6trh
http://tinyurl.com/cehksz
http://tinyurl.com/c34vqy
http://tinyurl.com/cffkuh

Here is a 1982 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cq9gdy

1982 Photo

1983 Photo

Great photos ken mc. I had wanted to stop inside that theater when driving by a few times, but just never had the time to stop. It's such a diamond in the rough, and almost waiting to be restored.
It reminds me a bit of a theater in Richmond Hill, NY, the RKO Keiths Richmond Hill Theater...used as a flea market/Bingo hall. When I first went into that theater in the early 80's, it still had all it's original gold leaf paint and colorful ceiling, etc. It's since been repainted with plain beige paint, but still seems like a diamond in the rough like this one.

Here is a photo taken today:
http://tinyurl.com/mk5sf7

Uh oh....this looks bad:

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2009/07/the_community_redevelopment_agency_of.php

Not surprising. Looks like it will be a swap meet for a while.

That's alright. I just hope it doesn't get demolished.

winter 2008:
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/WestlakeTheatre9.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/WestlakeTheatre7.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/WestlakeTheatre12.jpg

Nice photos.....they really show that there is something here to save.

There are more important theatres in LA to save than this one. Bad neighborhood of mostly poor new immigrants. It will probably remain retail for quite some time. The condition of the interior is quite poor.

Here are some photos taken today, after lunch at Langer's:
http://tinyurl.com/ycm59u5
http://tinyurl.com/y9luymx

Recent CRA news:
http://tinyurl.com/y96wwjp

From CRALA.org: the Westlake Theater has been designated in the National Registry of Historic Places. Negotiations to rehabilitate the place are still underway. They have an artistic representation of what the development might look like, and it's an improvement over that "theater with a fungus growing on it" picture previously released.