Grand Theater

I have found this theater listed as one of Los Angeles' principal downtown movie houses in a map book which was probably published about 1950 (the page with the copyright date is missing, but the map of downtown shows the Hollywood and Harbor Freeways still under construction, and rapid transit tracks still running along Aliso Street.) At that time, the theatre was operating under the name Grand Playhouse.

Joe;
The Film Daily Yearbook 1941 has a Grand Internationale Theater, W. 7th St and S. Grand Ave with a seating capacity of 1,700. Could this be the former Mozart Theater?

No, I think that would be the theater listed on this site as the Criterion (or Fox Criterion), and which opened as the Kinema, sometime in the early 1920s. The Criterion was in the 600 block of Grand, just north of 7th Street. There are a couple of pictures of it in the L.A. Library photo database (I think the search terms with which I found them were "Theater Kinema") The Mozart was an older theater, and smaller, I believe. In 1941, it might have been operating as the Orange Grove.

Thanks Joe;
I have just posted some details up on the Fox Criterion (former Kinema) listing on this site.

Sorry I can't help out with any further details on the Mozart, as there is no Orange Grove Theatre listed in 1941, in fact no theatre at all on Grand apart from the Grand Internationale. I will keep my eyes open though.

It would not surprise me if the Mozart was closed for a while, during the depression years, and re-opened later. I do now vaguely recall having read an article sometime in the early 1960s (perhaps in the L.A. Times, or Los Angeles Magazine) which mentioned a theater on Grand Avenue called the Grand, and said that it had been for a while Downtown's only art house, during the late 1940s- early 1950s. As the Criterion was already gone by that time, the theater mentioned was probably the Mozart.

In any case, I'm sure that the theater was gone by the early 1960s. My memory of that stretch of Grand Avenue, across the street from Robinson's Department Store, is fairly dim, but I think that at that time the building just below the alley south of Seventh Street housed a restaurant which had been there for decades, and south of that was only a stretch of parking lots. The restaurant probably had an address of about 720, so the theater building had most likely been next door to it, or another door or two south.

The Mozart opened on August 14th, 1913. There is some evidence that it was still operating, under the name Grand Playhouse, in the late 1940s.

At the center top of this photograph at the USC digital archives, there can be seen the rear of a theatre with the painted sign "Strand Theatre' on its wall (use the archive's "zoom" feature to enlarge the section and make the writing legible.) This is probably the Mozart, which I believe was the only theatre on that block of Grand Avenue. I've also found that the name Orange Grove was used for this theatre in the mid-1920's, not the 1940's.

Incidentally, though the photo is labeled by the archives as being from 1921, it must be from 1920 or earlier, as demolition of the buildings left foreground on 7th and Broadway, where Loew's State Theatre opened in 1921, had not yet begun.

Joe, this predates the opening you listed for the Mozart. Could there have been another Mozart? There is no real location given, so I don't know if this is a different place. The interesting thing is that it definitely showed films.

(Aug. 7, 1912)
It is rather unusual for a moving-picture house to attract an automobile patronage; but this is a feat that the Mozart Theater accomplised upon its opening night last Monday. Numbers of ladies in dainty, film toilets, attended by gentlemen in evening dress, were among the patrons . Boxes were occupied by Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, Prince and Princess Lazarovich, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Charles Wellington Rand, Miss Lilian Rand and Count Stephen Szymanowski. The Mozart Theater, conducted by a working force of young women, under the management of Mrs. Anna M. Mozart, purposes to offer only the best class of entertainment, both in the line of films presented, and the music rendered by the mellow-toned colossal Fotoplayer, which, the management feels sure, will be a source of pleasure to all its patrons.

Here is a classified add that at least says Grand Ave.:

(Aug. 10, 1912)
CURCH NOTICES-MISCELLANEOUS
------------------------
COUNT GELLESNOFF ON REVELATION
at 11 a.m., Grant Hall, Mozart Theater, Grand ave.

(Sept. 3, 1912)
For and audience to break out into plaudits at a motion-picture entertainment is something unusual, and yet this is what happened during this week's opening performance Monday at the Mozart Theater, when the film, "Only a Miller's Daughter" was being presented. The story is a very clever one, involving the love affair of a young farmer and the miller's daughter, and the admiration of a wealthy young city chap for the same girl....

(Sept. 11, 1912)
IRON BRIGADE REUNION
Col. J.A. Watrous presided over the reunion of the famous Iron Brigade yesterday afternoon from 2 to 4 o'clock in Grant Hall, Mozart Theater building. Watrous is Assistant Adjutant-General of the Grand Army and he was also a hero of that famous fighting machine which has gone down in history with an unsurpassed record for gallantry and sacrifice.

(Sept. 15, 1912)
LITTA LYNN (HULLINGER)
Arranger, Composer, Teacher of Harmony
Pupil of Adolf Weidlig
Studio 24 MOZART THEATER.
Residence Phone. 57342.

Here's a display add that gives a cross street.

(Dec. 8, 1912)
MOZART THEATER-Grand Avenue And Seventh Street
THE BEST IN MOTION PICTURES Today and Tonight: THE HOLY CITY and DON CEASAR DE BEZAN
Continuous, 1 to 5-7 to 11. Prices, 10c and 15c; Matines, 10c.

There are numerous movie advertisements for the Mozart in between the dates of these articles. I guess they had other performance halls or venues in the same building because there are many meetings and church services.

(May 8, 1914)
S.S. Hahn filed suit yesterday for $25,000 damages against J. Harvey McCarthy, William M. Swanson and Horace W. Bowman, for an alleged ejectment from Mozart Theater, March 23, last during a meeting of the Los Angeles Investment Company Stockholders' Protective Association. He alleges that as an interested stockholder, he was told by McCarthy that he must get out and that he was a disturber. He alleges personal injuries by reason of the ejectment.

This is funny to me since Harvey McCarthy is the man who built my neighborhood, including the Carthay Circle Theater. He made up the name Carthay from his last name.

Very strange indeed...

(March 12, 1915)
A programme of "Better Babies" will be given Sunday afternoon and evening at the Mozart Theater, by the Eugenic Congress for better babies in order to show Los Angeles people what kind of babies can be produced in California. The programme will be given in connection with the Eugenic Congress and will show living pictures of many of the babies voted perfect or nearly perfect by doctors. Esther Kaufman, child toe dancer, and Billy Flynn, winner of fourteen prizes and a renowned athlete at 2 years, will give exhibitions. Mothers will be shown the possibilities of their children.

More wackos at the Mozart....

(July 25, 1915)
ECCENTRIC DRESS IN JAIL
The Owner, Well-known Music Teacher, is Held on Charges of Young Negress.
George Carr, a music teacher in the Mozart Theater Building, and a well-known character about the streets because of his eccentric dress, is in the County Jail in default of $1000 bail. The complaining witness is Beatrice Albritton, 14 years old, a colored girl who has been taking lessons of Carr. She also is a ward of the Juvenile Court. Mr. Carr, who wears a silk hat, Prince Albert coat and who passes considerable time on the street corners, was arraigned before Justice Summerfield.

I wonder what type of lessons he was giving that girl....

This is the last mention I can find so far of the name Mozart Theater:

(Nov. 3, 1916)
Lady Cameron Lodge, Daughters of Scotia, will hold a bazaar from 2 to 11 p.m. tomorrow in the Mozart Theater Building, to raise money for its sick benefit fund.

Joe, Edward Kuttner is mentioned in this obituary as the husband, but it sounds like Mrs. Anna Mozart Kuttner should get the credit for opening this theater.

(May 27, 1952)
Funeral services for Mrs. Anna Mozart Kuttner, 80, onetime vaudeville star and operator, who died Saturday, will be conducted at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Utter-McKinley Cresse Chapel, 5860 N Figueroa St. Internment will be in Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Mrs. Kuttner, who lived at 5345 Granada St., had been a resident of Los Angeles since 1912. In that year she founded the old Mozart Theater at 7th St. and Grand Ave., said to have been the first theater here where five and six-reel motion pictures were shown regularly. She and her husband, Edward, who died in 1937, also operated theaters in Elmira, N.Y., and in Lancaster, Pa. Earlier, she and her husband performed in vaudeville. Kuttner at one time was the driver for the noted midget, Tom Thumb. Mrs. Kuttner leaves a siter, Sarah Kennedy.

This may have been the same building:

(May 16, 1908)
One building alone calls for $84,000 of the total. This is a six-story brick and steel auditorium building at No. 730 South Grand avenue, which will be built for George Walker. The lot is 60x157 feet, and the building will cover it. Eisen & Son are the architects. The contract has been awarded F.O. Engstrum & Co.

Maybe it was called Lincoln Hall before Anna purchased it:

(June 11, 1909)
FRATERNAL AID PICNIC.
The Fraternal Aid Association will hold a basket picnic at Eastlake Park tomorrow. In the evening it will give a social at Lincoln Hall, No. 730 South Grand avenue. A fife and drum corps will supply music.

I assume this is the same building since its getting close to the opening of the Mozart. Maybe the whole building's name was changed from the Walker Theater Bldg. to the Mozart Theater Bldg.

(Sept. 24, 1911)
Miss M.E. Kelly has returned from New York City with all the latest ideas in fall styles for the season. Will be glad to see all her patrons Monday, 730 South Grand Ave. Walker Theater Bldg.

Now I'm really confused...maybe Edward Kuttner(or Mozart) did build this theater. This article is very confusing to me. Maybe someone can explain...Joe? KenRoe?

(Sept. 13, 1913)
EDWARD MOZART IS CONVICTED
Declared to be the husband of one woman while for fifteen years he had been living with another, Edward K. Mozart, the local theatrical man, was convicted in the courts of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania yesterday on a statutory charge and sentenced to {illegible} months in prison.
Mozart was prosecuted by Georgia Kane, now living in Philadelphia. She traveled with the defendant. The case hinged on whether the couple had been legally married in Louisville. Mozart's conviction raises numerous legal points. Georgia Kane is now established legally as Mrs. Mozart, according to eastern dispatches. Her son, born in Albany, N.Y., in 1895 is acknowledged as Mozart's son, although the mother is said to have represented herself as the wife of one Robert Krouse at the time of the boy's birth.
The verdict which established Mrs. Mozart and her son under the inheritance law in case of Mozart's death is also expected to take away those priveledges from Anna May Kennedy, who for the past fourteen years has been known as Mrs. Mozart. Mozart married her in Washington State fourteen years ago.
Mozart is under sentence by the Philadelphia civil courts to contribute to the support of Mrs. Georgia Mozart, and an attachment is out for him. A detainer will probably be lodged in Lancaster to take him to Philadelphia when he finishes his sentence next February.
Since his arrest and extradition to Philadelphia last January Mozart has spent most of his time in Los Angeles assisting Anna M. Mozart conduct the theater bearing the family name at No. 730 South Grand avenue. Two weeks ago he informed his friends and business associates that he must return to the East on a matter of business. To those who recalled his apprehension on a charge brought by an alleged first wife in the Pennsylvania courts he declared his confidence of acquital.
At that time the Los Angeles Mrs. Mozart denominated the proceedings as the "effort of an adventuress, who was my husband's partner in a vaudeville sketch thirty years ago, to get all she can out of him. Everybody in Lancaster, Pa., where I was brought up, knows that Mr. Mozart and I are legally married, and that the other woman has no claim. The action is brought under the common law procedure in force in Pennsylvania recognizing marriages if the woman can prove a certain number of years in residence with a man."
Mozart is well known in Los Angeles where he cut quite a dash as a moving picture impresario. Since his departure for Philadelphia a fortnight ago Mrs. Mozart has disposed of the theater on Grand avenue, and last evening could not be found at her home No. 1635 West Twenty-third street. At the theater employees who have been associated with her in the conduct of the house said they had not seen her during the day but were confident that she had not received any bad news from the scene of the trial. "Every letter since Mozart's departure," said Operator Reynolds, "either from himself or his lawyers has been optimistic and expressed confidence of a favorable outcome."
The Philadelphia claimant to the name was discovered at the time of the arrest to be living at No. 1628 Vine street in the Quaker metropolis, and is said to have displayed a marriage certificate to prove that she was legally wedded to the Los Angeles man in 1880 when she was but 15 years old.

This item is before the above 1916 article, but the name of the building is different. Joe was right when he said this theater was mysterious.

(Feb. 13, 1916)
A surprise party for the entire membership of the Colorado Society will be given by one of its past presidents, Mrs. S.L. Carpenter, at the Brooks Theater Building, No. 730 South Grand avenue, next Friday evening. A unique vaudeville entertainment will be the feature of the affair.

vokoban: My date of August 14, 1913 for the opening of the Mozart Theatre is from a card in the L.A. Library's California Index database. It quotes an L.A. Times article of that date (part III, p.2, column 2), which purportedly announces the grand opening of the theatre. It's possible that the person who typed the card made a mistake (mistakes are not uncommon in that database, I've found.) It also seems quite possible that the article quoted on the card might have referred to an opening under the new management which took over after (as the 1913 article you posted above says) Mrs. Mozart "...disposed of the theater on Grand Avenue...."

I have now found another card in the database (by using the spelling "theater" rather than "theatre") which says that the Mozart opened as the Walker Theater in 1908. The place certainly had a colorful history-- though not so colorful, it appears, as that of Mr. Mozart (or Kuttner) himself.

I looked through that whole page trying to find that announcement with no luck. Maybe it was the evening edition, since the page I have access to is for that date and says Thursday morning. Apparently, this building was filled with different meeting halls and the Walker Auditorium as well as the theater. There are consistent events going on at this address all overlapping in time. The different halls listed are Lincoln Hall, Garfield Hall, and in the late 20's Roosevelt Hall, which may be a renamed hall of the previous. There is not much about a movie theater after 1916 until around late 1923 when it is listed as Fine Arts Theater. In March 1924 the name changes to Grand Avenue Theater and then in 1926 the name changes to Orange Grove Theater.

I've been doing some more searching on this location and I keep coming up with more names. I have articles that I will post tomorrow, but so far these are the different names I've found for this theater. This one might hold the record for name changes.
Walker Theater(1908-1910)
Nielsen Theater(1910)
Walker Theater(1910-1912)
Mozart Theater(1912-1916)
Grand Avenue Theater(1923-1924)
Fine Arts Theater(1924)
Orange Grove Theater(1924-1929)
Actors' Theater(1929-1935)
Grand International Theater(1935-1937)
Grand Theater(1937-1946)

The photo I linked on March 1st dates from about 1920 or a bit earlier, and I'm pretty sure the sign on the back of the theatre says "Strand", so there's another name to fill at least part of that gap between 1916 and 1923.

My very first comment at the top of the page tells about the map book which lists the theatre as the Grand Playhouse.

Does the source for the Grand International name include the address of the theatre? One of William's comments at the Fox Criterion page claims the Grand International as the name of that theatre in the 1940's. Maybe both theatres used that name at different times?

Thanks Joe, as you probably noticed, the only empty gap from opening to closing is from 1916-1923, so I'll try to find something on the Strand. Maybe it will close the gap or maybe it will turn up a few more names. The Grand International is definitely the same theater. The reason I know is that there are a few mentions of it as previously the Orange Grove and when it drops the International part and becomes the Grand the same thing is mentioned as well as the address. It never shows up with the 'Internationale' spelling and the name changes to just Grand only two years later. It seems unlikely that the Criterion would use almost the same name at the same time period, in such close proximity, but I'll do some searching on it.

Here is the opening of the Walker Theater. I presume this is the same space that would become the Mozart.

(Dec 18, 1908)
The Walker Theater on Grand avenue, between Seventh and Eighth streets, opposite the postoffice, will give its first performance next Monday evening. The new theater is in the new six-story Walker Auditorium Building, which contains, in addition to the theater, assembly halls, lodge halls and studios. The theater has a seating capacity of 900, and is tastefully decorated in quiet tints in the art nouveau manner, with much ornamental staff in gules and rosettes. The color scheme is green and gold-brown, touched with gold. The parquet and balcony are fitted with opera chairs, and it is intended to reserve all seats. The main lobby of the theater occupies the entire sixty feet of frontage. It is to be brilliantly lighted, and decorated with ornamental staff work and tinting. The color scheme of the lobby will be in different shades of restful greens, which will be carried over to the pagoda-shaped box office directly in the center of the lobby. The theatrical attractions of the Walker will be vaudeville and moving pictures. The management believes that this is the first time a building has been especially designed for this sort of entertainment. The lessee and manager, J. Harry Pleper, has just returned from the East, bringing with him the latest and best devices used in up-to-date moving-picture theaters. The Walker has secured the Sullivan & Considine vaudeville circuit, which is a guarantee that some of the best "stunts" to be had will be shown there. In addition, the programme will have first-run motion pictures, travellettes, and illustrated songs by singers of genuine merit. An orchestra has been engaged.

This name for the theater only lasted a short time. It sounds as though they spent a lot of money to fizzle out. After 1910, the name returns to the Walker Theater until 1912 when it changes to the Mozart Theater.

(March 03, 1910)
A change is in prospect at the Walker Theater, on Grand avenue, just south of Seventh street. C.A. Quintard has taken the house on a lease for ten years, and will commence today to make extensive alterations, which will amount, practically, to tearing out and completely rebuilding the inside of the theater. It will be known in the future as the Nielsen Theater, and it will be opened on April 2 by a stock company headed by Miss Hortense Nielsen, a sister of Alice Nielsen. First-class stock performances are promised, and it is probable that a number of high-class plays, notable among which are several Ibsen, Jones and Pinero plays, will be done at the remodelled theater. The company, it is said, will number several well-known players in its list, and rank and file will be of good sort. The Walker Theater has had a varied history since its opening. It was utilized as a sort of musical comedy stock house, was devoted to vaudeville, and recently has been occupied by the LeMoyne stock company.

(April 13, 1910)
Hortense Nielsen, supported by Mace Greenleaf and a good sized company, is offering for her second week in the new Nielsen Theater, Seventh and Grand avenue, "Frou Frou," Augustin Daly's comedy. Especial attention has been paid to the mounting of the production. Mr. Greenleaf has the role of Sartoris, and the rest of the people are happily assigned. "Frou Frou" will hold the boards for the remainder of the week, with matinees tomorrow and Saturday.

This is the first mention of the name Orange Grove Theater:

(Aug. 21, 1924)
A step toward making Los Angeles a self-sufficing theatrical center, independent of the East even for major musical-show attractions, has been taken through the incorporation of the Orange Grove Theater Company. Harry Carroll, song writer, Orpheum headliner and producer of musical shows in New York is at the head of it. Carroll reached Los Angeles Monday from Denver after completing part of an Orpheum circuit tour in that city. He had been seen at the local Orpheum a few weeks ago. His arrival marks the beginning of the final stages of preparation for the opening of the new theater. It is the former Fine Arts Theater on Grand avenue, near Seventh street. The opening has been set for the night of Thursday, Sept. 4.

I guess it opened on time:

(Aug. 31, 1924)
The form of amusement long desired by Los Angeles playgoers, a musical revue, will be given them with the opening, Friday, of "Harry Carroll's Pickings," at the newly-named Orange Grove Theater, Grand avenue near Eighth.

This is when the Orange Grove merged ownership with the Majestic:

(June 12, 1926)
The Majestic and Orange Grove theaters were merged into one organization yesterday when a deal was closed by Michael Corper, Ralph Spence, Will Morrissey and Arthur Freed. Corper will officiate as director-general of both theaters, holding a controlling interest over all productions which Spence and Morrissey are to stage at the Majestic. Morrissey, it was announced, will open at the Majestic Sunday evening, the 20th inst., with a new edition of his Music Hall Revue....

I guess they showed movies occasionally again here, although not blockbusters yet:

(May 22, 1927)
Orange Grove
"The Naked Truth," a hygiene film indorsed by doctors and health promoters throughout the country, is showing for a limited engagement at the Orange Grove Theater for women only.

This is when the name changed to the Actors' Theater. This one would last until early 1935.

(Nov. 24, 1929)
It is dangerous to want things too much, for we so often get them. but no one could persuade Ruth Renick that it isn't sumptuously enthralling to have one's dreams come true. The first materialization of this dream will be seen when the new Actors' Theater produces "The Passing of the Third Floor Back," starring Henry B. Walthall and Ruth herself at the old Orange Grove on December 2. Over a year ago, Ruth Renick began cogitating upon this dream. Her Actors' Theater was to mean so much, and combine a school of acting, voice music, elocution as well as the production of fine old plays and new ones alternately...with casts made up of well-known actors, and the audience composed of mostly actors, too.

Once again there is a name change for this theater:

(May 19, 1935)
The new Grand International Theater, formerly the Orange Grove, on South Grand avenue, will open Thursday night with the American premier of the Swedish feature picture, "The Song to Her," with Martin Ohman, grand opera star, as the singing lead of the production. According to J.L. Johnson of the new Grand International group, which is buying theaters on coast for exhibiting foreign pictures only, the theater will be renovated and remodeled throughout for the premiere.

By 1937, they dropped 'International' and this theater became known simply as the Grand Theater. From 1935 until about a week before the demolition, the theater showed first run foreign films with a few American silent movie revivals including Son of the Sheik. Most of the films were Russian, Swedish, Polish, French and even a few Balinese movies.

This article has a few inaccuracies (the address, building date, and lack of a mention of the Mozart) but at least it gives a fairly reliable demolition date. It's interesting that this theater most likely started out as a movie house and then went to live performance and then back to movies.

(July 4, 1946)
FINAL CURTAIN TO FALL AT OLD GRAND THEATER
It was the entertainment center of Los Angeles 35 years ago, celebrated artists treading its boards before bejeweled audiences. Now, it's showing old movies advertised for their spiciness. And on Saturday, the final curtain will be rung down at the old Grand Theater, 750 S. Grand Ave. It's going to be a parking lot. Built in 1907 by the late George W. Walker, the theater was known for years as the Walker Auditorium and was the home of the stage hits of the day. Then, its name was changed to the Orange Grove Theater and musical hits were staged there. Before being renamed the Grand Theater and converted into a motion-picture house about 10 years ago, it was known briefly as the Actors Theater. Principal historian of the old theater is Joseph H. Jones, the elderly elevator operator. He went to work there 18 1/2 years ago when some of its grandeur still remained. The theater building is a six-story structure housing offices and meeting rooms. All tenants except present operators of the theater have vacated as wreckers prepare to take over next week.

Joe has good eyes. The Mozart changed names to the Strand Theater in 1916. This theater fills in the gap between 1916-1918 or thereabouts. The name changed to the Strand in 1916, but it gets very difficult to weed through the articles beginning in the 20's since there was a Strand on Catalina, in Pasadena, at Moneta & Vernon, and just about every other major city in the country at that time. But at least we can add the name of Strand replacing the name Mozart in 1916. Here's the articles:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Feb 17, 1916)
The new Strand Theater, formerly known as the Mozart, on Grand avenue near Seventh street, will open Sunday afternoon. The policy of showing eleven reels of first-run feature photoplays has been adopted. Sarah Bernhardt will be seen in the opening attraction in "Jeanne Dore," a highly dramatic spectacle dealing with the ups and downs of Parisian life, and Harry D. Carey, well-known local matinee idol, will appear in "A Knight of the Range," declared by critics to be one of the best western melodramas ever produced. The house is being remodeled this week in order properly to stage these big productions. There will be a large orchestra.

I didn't realize Sarah Bernhardt had a limb amputated:
(Feb 21, 1916)
The Strand Theater on Grand avenue, near Eighth street, opened yesterday with Sarah Bernhardt's latest film play, "Jeanne Dore," which is an excellent vehicle for the great artist's powers. "Jeanne Dore" is nevertheless a very unpleasant play, its quality being compensated for only by the fact that Bernhardt does some tremendously convincing acting. And this despite the fact that the picture was made shortly after the amputation of her limb, and the evident fact that she is weak and therefore does not move about much.

(Dec. 8, 1918)
FOR MUSICIANS ONLY
Professional School of Picture Playing.
Strand Theater, Grand Avenue.
The art of playing to pictures with dramatic and musical intelligence. Class and individual lessons with actual moving picture. Course includes Orchestral Pipe Organ, Piano, Violin, Conducting, Repertoire, Interpretation of Pictures, Accompanying, Improvisation, Transposition, Picture Cueing and Scoring.

Yes, Sarah Bernhardt had her right leg chopped off following an accident in 1914:

In 1915, during an unfortunate performance in the title role of Victorien Sardou's drama La Tosca, Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) injured her right leg so badly that it had to be amputated. While she was recovering, the manager of the Pan-American Exposition (in San Francisco) asked for permission to exhibit her leg, offering $100,000 for the privilege. Bernhardt cabled this reply: "Which leg?"

She hummed the "Marseillaise" as she was wheeled down the hospital corridor and afterwards used a wheelchair, disdaining prostheses and crutches - bearers instead carried the divine Sarah around in a specially designed litter chair in Louis XV style with gilt carving, like a Byzantine princess. Immediately upon leaving the hospital, she filmed Jeanne Dore (1915), again directed by Louis Mercanton. She was shot either standing or sitting; this in fact pinned her down and forced her to use facial expression rather than movement and helped her performance. The five-reel film, distributed by Universal in the U.S., got rave reviews and reflected well upon both its game star and the industry as an art form. (From Richard Gordon's "An Alarming History of Famous and Difficult Patients: Amusing Medical Anecdotes from Typhoid Mary to FDR." St. Martin's Press; 1997)

A number of years ago, David Kirby published a book of poetry with the titel "Sarah Bernhardt's Leg." I've never read it, but I do like the title.

But back on the subject of the Mozart, I see that the May 8, 1908 article you quoted in your comment of March 1st gives the name of the original architects of the theatre as Eisen & Son. This must have been Theodore A. Eisen (1852-1924) and Percy A. Eisen (1885-1946.) T.A. was the Eisen in the firm of Curlet, Eisen and Cuthbertson which designed the old L.A. County Courthouse on New High Street in the 1880's. Percy was later a partner in the firm of Walker and Eisen which designed many Los Angeles area theatres in the 1920's and later. T.A. was also in partnership with Sumner P. Hunt for a while in the late 19th century. The partnership of Eisen & Son was disolved in 1917.

This theatre certainly endured a lot of changes in its less than 40 years. I suppose the instability was partly the result of its having been outside the main theatre district of Los Angeles. At least we now have the name of the architects, a firm opening date of the first Monday after December 18th, 1908, a closing date of the first Saturday after July 4th, 1946, and an opening night seating capacity of 900. Now, if someone can only find some pictures (of more than just its back wall) under one or another of its identities.

I'll have to read about Sarah's leg....I don't know if this link will work, but you can see a sign for the Mozart Theater at the far left. This picture says it is looking east, but it is actually more north east. You can see Clune's in the background.

http://digarc.usc.edu:8089/cispubsearch/sidview.jsp?object_name=chs-m15304&ORN=CHS-5663

Can anyone read the sign on the side of the building on the far right of this photo? All I can make out is Grand Ave. Theater. I dont put much faith in the dating of these photos, but if this is really 1912, it should be either Walker or Mozart if its even the correct theater.

http://digarc.usc.edu:8089/cispubsearch/sidview.jsp?object_name=chs-m835&ORN=CHS-7361

vokoban: It looks as though that is the Mozart building in that second picture. It's the right distance down Grand Avenue, and is the right size. In fact, I recognized the cursive writing on the sign immediately, as I've seen a sign exactly like it, though much faded. It was (and according to a November 24th, 2004 comment by ejaycat on the Fox Pasadena page here, still is) on the wall of the former Clune's Pasadena Theatre. Apparently, Billy Clune ran the Grand Avenue house for a while, too.

As for the date of the picture, it must be fairly close to 1912, and more likely earlier than later, given the fact that the southeast corner of 7th and Grand is still occupied by a house converted to commercial use, no cars are in sight, and the pavement looks very primitive. Even by the early 1920's, that corner looked very different.

I think this is the same house on the southeast corner of 7th and Grand during happier times.

http://digarc.usc.edu:8089/cispubsearch/sidview.jsp?object_name=chs-m834&ORN=CHS-7128

All the USC links have expired. Here is one posted a while ago by vokoban showing the Mozart:
http://tinyurl.com/ylp2pm

Oh, rats! I probably have at least sixty USC links scattered about this site alone. It's going to take ages to track them down and update them. I notice that the archive isn't supporting the zoom feature anymore either. I'm going to miss that.

Here's the new location for the picture I linked to in my comment of March 1, 2006, way up there near the top of the page. Unfortunately, without the zoom feature it's just about impossible to make out the "Strand" name on the back wall of the theatre.

While I'm at it, here is the picture in vokoban's first link of March 4th, and also the picture in his second link of that day, showing the "Clune's Grand Ave. Theatre" sign painted on the side wall of the building. I can't find the new location of the picture he linked to on March 5th.

Thanks for reposting those links Joe. I wish they would enable the zoom feature again. The detail was amazing on those scans.

I have a panoramic map of Los Angeles in 1909 which shows the Walker Theater on the east side of the street.

Did you get that map in jpeg2000 format from the Library of Congress, Scott? If so, its pretty amazing. I don't know how accurate it is but I spend hours looking at all of the details.

It's from the LOC but I bought a printed version from a seller on E-Bay. I got the giant version (about 4 feet by 5 feet) which I had framed. Looks nice on my wall. The detail is quite amazing. Even though the map is huge, the print is tiny and provides a lot of insight to the city at that moment in history.

Here is a photo from the CA state library. The date is in question:
http://helios.library.ca.gov/soca/behrman/behr-0043.jpg

Here is a February 1942 ad from the LA Times. The Russians were still the good guys then:
http://tinyurl.com/2dsvby

Here is an October 1915 ad when the Mozart was known as the Brooks Theater:
http://tinyurl.com/23zd5x

There should be an aka name of Brooks Theater.

Here is a 1920 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2shcug

Darling Mine with Olive Thomas and Walter McGrail was released in August of 1920.

Here is a 1946 photo from the LAPL, shortly before demolition. I also have included the caption as there is a reference to another aka, Actor's Theater. I thought Joe would like that:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics41/00070227.jpg

Grand Theatre, located in the Walker Auditorium Building at 750 South Grand Avenue, is to be demolished to make room for a parking lot. Built in 1907 by George W. Walker, the six-story theater was known as the Walker Auditorium and was the home of the theatrical hits of the day. It was renamed the Orange Grove Theater and became a music performance hall. Before being renamed one last time as the Grand Theatre in 1936 and converted in to a motion picture theater, it was briefly called the Actors Theatre. The building includes offices and meeting rooms. Photo dated: July 3, 1946.

Paging Joe Vogel - we have another aka for you...

Here is a January 1928 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/4zvwpb

I think I posted something similar on Mar 3, 2006 above but I've never seen that photo. I think this building was similar to the still standing Friday Morning Club (Variety Arts) on Figueroa right north of Olympic. A theater with a few auditoriums and meeting rooms above. Thanks for the photo!

If the 1946 photo was taken shortly before demolition, then the Grand would have been its last incarnation, and should rightly be the name under which the theater is listed.

In 1945 there is a Grand Theater located on South Main which isn't this theater. There is also a Grand Internationale Theater with a location of 7th and Grand. It had 1700 seats. Could that be another name for this theater?

Kenroe and Joe Vogel address the Grand Internationale at the beginning of the posts on this page.

The Fox Criterion has no aka name of Grand Internationale. If the Fox Criterion was the Grand Internationale and the Fox Criterion was demolished in 1941, why would the Grand Internationale still be listed in 1945? We need an ad or an article giving the address for a Grand or Grand Internationale Theater to help solve this mystery.

The Fox Criterion Theatre operated till around 1941 and had a fire which closed the theatre. The theatre later reopened after being closed for a few years as the Grand Internationale. And was later razed to make way for a office building. The site did not add all the info in the Criterion's opening comment.

Thanks William. In that case, the Fox Criterion should be listed as the Grand Internationale since that was the last name that it operated as.

I wish they would use the name of the longest incarnation and best known name for a theater instead of the last used name. The first known name has the same problems. Many times the last/first used name is fairly obscure and makes it difficult to locate on the site, especially for new users who might not realize that it is possible to search by previous names. Sometimes stringent rules don't benefit the big picture. I think it should be up to the operators of this site to choose the name that makes it easiest to find.

I agree.

Found a little bit on Anna Mozart.

"Mrs. Anna M. Mozart ran the Mozart Theater in Los Angeles, a high-class place charging ten to twenty-five cents and running special features for a week., with music supplied by the mechanical Photo-Player Orchestra (she played operatic concerts on it.)"

p. 47 of the 1994 paperback edition of "The Transformation of Cinema" by Eileen Bowser

Here is an item from Boxoffice magazine in June 1946:

LOS ANGELES-The Grand Theater, leased by Herb Rosener from the George T. Walker estate, and which is part of the Walker Auditorium Building here, will end its 50-year career in July. It will be demolished. The site will provide extra parking space for the J.W. Robinson department store.

Rosener, who has operated the house for the past twelve years, also runs the Studio, Laurel and Esquire. All specialize in foreign films. He plans to construct another theater to replace the Grand when building conditions permit.