Arcade Theatre

If you stand across the street from this theatre, and look above the marquee. You will see the word Pantages. (ok it's missing one letter, not bad for 91 years). During the 80's the Arcade theatre was a grind house (that's a theatre that runs three to four features in a day. They start around 9am till about 4 or 5am the next day. Metropolitan theatres was the last chain to operate the theatre. Next door Pacific theatres ran the Cameo on a grind operation also. Currently a store runs out of the Arcade's lobby area. In that move the Arcade lost it's free standing box office.

The Arcade opened in 1910 as the Pantages. The architects were Morgan & Wall.

The Arcade opened as the first Pantages theatre in Los Angeles on September 26, 1910. Its original seating capacity was 1400. It served Pantages for a decade before the second Pantages was constructed at 7th & Hill. In 1928, it was renamed the Arcade to associate it with the new Broadway Arcade Building and became exclusively at movie theatre. It closed in 1992. The lobby is now a store while the auditorium is still intact minus seats in the lower level. It is now used for storage.

The Arcade's address is 534 S. Broadway. It opened on Sept. 26, 1910.

Man, I remember running film in this place in the late 70s, early 80s. It was reel-to-reel (20 minute reels with change-overs). I hated getting out of there at nearly 5am. Bums would buy a ticket just to have a place to crash. And yes, I remember running the Cameo, as well. Being a projectionist was just a cool job to have in those days.

Meredith, its was nice of Ralph to keep you that busy. Ever work with Chester Cole at the Cameo?

Was Chester a black guy? Ralph, what can I say? Let's not forget the rest of the gang. :)

Yes, that's Chester.

In fact, I think I had worked with Chester more recently at the Beverly Center...well, that is if you call 1998 more recently.

He later won the bid for the Odeon in Westwood (Mon-Fri), I worked the Sat & Sun doublings there.

You and I had to have crossed paths. What a small world.

Thats right, it is a small world. The crazy world of Local-150.

Back when I came to L.A. from Chicago, in the office was Frank, Ralph, Ellen and... and... ah, what's his name was the Secretary-Treasurer.

Was it Terri?

McClintook came in later, when Smith came into office. This was a tall, thin, blond guy who later went to San Diego.

Oh, I think his name was Allan.

Also known as the Telenews Theatre (1942) and the Teleview Theatre (1940 - 1945).

For at least part of the 1920s, this was called Dalton's Theatre. Presumably, this was between the time the new Pantages opened and 1928, when this theatre became the Arcade.

I sneaked into the Arcade today. The auditorium is now used as a storeroom for the electronics store that fronts on Broadway. The seats are gone, but architecturally everything else seems to be intact.

This is a photo of the electronics store in the former Arcade Theater.

Here is a picture of the Arcade, circa 1983, courtesy of the LA Library:

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics21/00030133.jpg

Another photo with the electronics store as occupants:

http://www.gmrnet.com/graphics/theatr1j.jpg

Here is an interesting picture of the Arcade today, courtesy of you-are-here.com:

http://www.you-are-here.com/theatre/arcade.html

One more:

http://www.you-are-here.com/theatre/arcade2.html

An expanded view of the William Reagh photo at the top of the page:

http://helios.library.ca.gov/soca/reagh/1989-1911.jpg

Another photo of the Arcade Theater can be seen here.

Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/r2c83

This theatre was also known as Dalton's Theatre.

I have two advertising postcards from 1943 for a theatre identified as Newsreel Theatre and Magazine Theatre at the 534 So. Broadway, LA. The ads say "Telenews" and list news stories, mostly about WW II.

This photo shows an advertisement for the Pantages on the side of the building:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008037.jpg

This photo shows Dalton's Theater:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008051.jpg

I took a walking tour with the LA Conservancy yesterday, and the docent took us inside the Arcade, behind the electronics store. The store owner was very nice to let our group go back there.

The space was filled with merchandise, so it was a little hard to see. We were cautioned to keep to the aisle, which was steeply raked; our docent's flashlight showed clearly that there were hole and pits in the concrete where the seats had been removed, very dangerous to step in. Some of these holes were probably outlets to a ventilation plenum beneath the seats, others were places where seat hardware had been removed.

The space was quite narrow. There was a ramp up to the stage level, and it was obvious by the way the ramp was contoured that there was a footlight trough along the front of the stage - you could kind of see it beyond the ramp beneath the stuff stored there. The proscenium was a gilded frame. Turning to face the auditorium from the stage you could see painted garlands along the front of the balcony. I think the walls were painted red; they were really peeling a lot, and there seemed to be a lot of water damage. The merchandise stored on the stage was protected by plastic sheeting suspended over it, so apparently the stage roof leaks. There was still a red velour valance hung, and a couple of battens, one that was actually fallen down. There was so much stuff stored in the room, piled up so high that it was really difficult to see much more.

Very few of my photos came out, sadly. It was really amazing to see this theatre.

The tour was definately worth taking; I want to take it again. I advise anyone taking the tour to bring a good flashlight with new batteries, and if you can figure out how to take photos in low light, please do so. We also saw the Cameo, the Los Angeles, the Million Dollar, the Warner and the Orpheum. We came tantalizingly close to sneaking into the Palace, too! Will update those theatre pages.

Here is a photo of the Arcade from 1929:
http://tinyurl.com/qkael

Here is a 1928 photo. You can see the Dalton's advertisement on the side of the building:
http://tinyurl.com/gl5lw

This is a recent photo of the former Arcade Theater.

Alexander Pantages sued to deduct the expenses of his rape trial in 1929:
http://tinyurl.com/ybex7j

Here is a January 2007 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yhgxd5

Recent pic:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k79/hollywood90038/dwntwnArcadeMar22200701.jpg

Here is another recent photo of the Arcade Theater.

Dalton's should be listed as an aka.

Correction: The architectural firm should be Morgan, Walls, & Morgan. Mr. Clements joined the firm during the early 1920s.

That's the same firm that designed Hearst Castle and the Herald-Examiner building. Julia Morgan was the lead architect, I believe.

The principals of the firm of Morgan, Walls, & Morgan were Octavius Morgan (1850-1922), his son Octavius Morgan Jr. (1886-1951) and John A. Walls (1858-1922). Octavius Morgan Sr. was the firm's lead architect and one of the most prolific architects of his era in Los Angeles. Prior to 1910, when Octavius Jr. was made a partner, the firm had been called Morgan & Walls. Both the elder Morgan and John Walls had earlier been in partnership with the aging Ezra F. Kysor, architect of the Pico House and of St. Vibiana's Cathedral, so the company had fairly deep roots in Los Angeles.

As far as I know, Julia Morgan was not related to Octavius Morgan, personally or professionally. Her office was in San Francisco, and the Hearst's Examiner Building was her first commission in the southern part of the state, as well as her first project for Hearst. On that project she was associated with the Los Angeles firm of Haenke & Dodd. Her office had sole responsibility for designing Hearst's castle at San Simeon, which project continued from the 1920s through the 1930s.

OK, I stand corrected. Thanks.

Here is an article from the LA Times dated 8/1/32:

Struck by an exploding stench bomb which was hurled at the stage of the Arcade Theater, 534 S. Broadway, while she was dancing, Miss Henrietta Peterson, 21, was undergoing treatment at the Georgia Street Receiving Hospital for severe cuts and other injuries. The bomb was thrown by an unidentified man late Saturday night.

The USC archive states that this 1896 building became Dalton's Theater. I think they meant that Dalton's occupied the location at a later date. I don't think this building is the current one:
http://tinyurl.com/2l5dp4

ken mc, you posted two shots from around 1928 of the building showing a sign painted on the side of the building saying Dalton's Theatre.

http://tinyurl.com/gi5iw

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008051.jpg

Right. I was saying that the Delaware Hotel, a two story building, must have been torn down to make way for the Dalton building. The caption implies that the hotel later became the Dalton, which I don't think is the case as there is a disparity in size.

Here is the Pantages building in 1910. This must have been close to the opening:
http://tinyurl.com/2s8a2k

Listed as Dalton's Broadway Theater in the 1925 city directory, so that should be an aka.

This is a more recent photo of the Arcade Theater.

I talked my way into the auditorium this week. I've been in many times with the Conservancy but this time I was able to do some exploring. It seems that the lower lever boxes are still intact, or at least their outlines.... The stage is a lot larger then people think it to be - I was able to climb over some boxes to find the original dressing rooms staircase leading underneath the stage. It looks like the original light board is in place and some 1920's era atmospheric lights are above the stage hanging from the grid. The fly loft is a good size and could be easily re-tooled for future usage for live theatre. This Theatre would be the PERFECT mid size venue - between 700 and 900 seats. The rake of the auditorium floor is rather steep, but that makes fantastic sight lines. I wish that the owners knew how much potential this theatre has.... Hell, I with I had unlimited funds and the deed to the building... I've been saying this for years! If only...........

How did you get in?

A Wurlitzer theater organ opus 1057 style 105 was installed in the Arcade Theater on 4/12/1927.

Greg, Man do I know about the if onlys!!! This theater does have great potential. Im sooo Jealous you got a "real" tour, no offence to the Conservancy, of the stage etc. But I guess they cant allow us theater nuts to run amuck, though I think a bunch of us so called nuts is just what this theater needs!! Broadway seems to be in position to become the "everything old is new again "destination for Angeleno's. A mix of theaters(Live and Film) clubs. But I'd love to see NO SHOPS in Theater lobbys, It just seems sacreligious somehow!! But just a thriving mix, revered for its architecture and innovative reuse...If Only!!

The World Series was showing at the Pantages in October 1915, according to this LA Times ad:
http://tinyurl.com/yuf3pv

Thats interesting. I wonder how that was done.

I think they were wired the results and then put the scores on an electronic board.

Here is a 1912 ad from the LA Times. I don't think Mercantile Street is around anymore:
http://tinyurl.com/yv4dwo

Mercantile Street was where the Broadway/Spring Arcade is now.

From yesterday:
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/ArcadeFeb16200802.jpg

Some pictures of the interior:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholasb/2053816509/in/set-72057594139143083/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholasb/2053817651/in/set-72057594139143083/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholasb/2053819633/in/set-72057594139143083/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholasb/2053822545/in/set-72057594139143083/

The Pantages, Clune's and Superba in their heyday:
http://helios.library.ca.gov/soca/behrman/behr-0011.jpg

And a picture of the Pantages soon after taking the name Arcade (though the caption's geography seems all in a spin):
http://digarc.usc.edu/search/controller/view/examiner-m4665.html

I've seen that mis-captioned photo before, and notified them of the error, but they've never fixed it. At least the USC archive has fewer mis-captioned photos than the L.A. library does.

There's a nice ahot of the Arcade at night about 90 seconds into this video:
http://tinyurl.com/53befw

I took a few photos of the auditorium today, but I didn't actually go down into the space. The owner of the electronics store was kind enough to let me look into the back, so I wasn't going to start rummaging around. I will post the photos later.

The interior photos were too dark. Here is one of them:
http://tinyurl.com/4t5p64

Outside:
http://tinyurl.com/4cgxre

The interior photo isn't bad. It could probably be lightened.

Has anyone noticed that the ad on the billboard is for a show that ended in May 2006? Who are they marketing to? Procrastinating art lovers?
http://tinyurl.com/6jafj2

OK, the billboard is on the Cameo next door. Same issue, though.

Funny

Here is a photo taken yesterday:
http://tinyurl.com/5ogox2

Nice

Cool to see current interior shots of this theatre. Looks like its too far gone to make it financial viable to restore. In the current economy, the gentrification of Broadway will stall and these old theatres will continue to decay.

I attended the Conservancy's tour yesterday and was horrified to see the interior of the Arcade. It hurt to look at it. It was a feeling I felt just for the Arcade; the conditions of the other theatres on Broadway vary quite a bit but none of the others screamed "helpless" as the poor Arcade did.

I attended the Conservancy's tour yesterday and was horrified to see the interior of the Arcade. It hurt to look at it. It was a feeling I felt just for the Arcade; the conditions of the other theatres on Broadway vary quite a bit but none of the others screamed "helpless" as the poor Arcade did.

Here is a photo of the Arcade that I took when I was in L.A. last week.

Let's try that again...
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/theseos/SDC10405.jpg

Posting to get this theatre back on my "notifications" list....

Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/c99wzp

Here is a 1938 photo from the USC archive:
http://tinyurl.com/dbqgqf

Here is another 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/d27oyg

Here is a night shot:
http://tinyurl.com/dy567v

Also from 1983.

Here is a photo taken today:
http://tinyurl.com/ndpg2z

Great old photos.