Fischer's Theater

Los Angeles, CA

121 W. First Street

, Los Angeles, CA, United States

(map)

Status:	Closed/Demolished
Screens:	Single Screen
Style:	Unknown

Function:	Unknown
Seats:	Unknown
Chain:	Unknown

Architect:	Unknown
Firm:	Unknown

This small theater was located on the north side of First Street, between Main and Spring Streets, on one of the old downtown blocks which was leveled in the mid-1920s to make way for the new Los Angeles City Hall. It was in operation as early as 1908, from which year a photograph of it is exists. It was a two story building, with almost the entire ground floor front taken up by the theater's entrance lobby, and the highly decorated facade was topped by an electric sign reading "Vaudeville 10 & 20".

By 1912, the operators of Fischer's Theater had taken over the former Los Angeles Theater on Spring Street, which had from 1903 to 1911 been the second Los Angeles home of the Orpheum Theater Circuit. The Spring Street Theater was then renamed Fischer's Lyceum.

More information on what became of Fischer's Theater on First Street would be appreciated.

Contributed by Joe Vogel

YOUR COMMENTS

Here is the aforementioned "Vaudeville 10&20" sign from 1908, via the LA Library:

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015291.jpg

posted by ken mc on Dec 3, 2005 at 3:43pm

It seems as though Fischer's was renamed the Princess and then the Spanish Theater. I don't know if it had any other names before it was demolished for City Hall. This is from the LA Times:

(Jun 17, 1922)
Nearly 150 patrons of the Spanish Theater, 121 West First street, were in peril at 9 p.m. yesterday, when a motion-picture film became ignited and exploded. The audience and the members of the Spanish company on the stage at the time, terrorized by the noise and the burst of flame, rushed for the exits, and for a short time panic ensued. The motion-picture operator, A.W. Donovan, was slightly burned in an attempt to beat out the flames with his hands. He was soon forced to flee.........
The establishment, formerly the Princess Theater, is now a combination house for both the spoken and the silent drama for the benefit of Spanish-speaking people. The flames were extinguished with nominal damage.

posted by vokoban on Dec 25, 2005 at 11:46am

Here is part of a 1909 map. The theater is misidentified as "Fishers":
http://tinyurl.com/3u36xm

posted by ken mc on Apr 13, 2008 at 10:00pm

It looks like there are two AKAs per vokoban's post of 12/25, the Princess and Spanish Theaters.

posted by ken mc on Apr 14, 2008 at 4:49pm

Fischer's Theater had been operating since at least 1906.

I have an ad from the Los Angeles Herald of October 8, 1906, which reads:
FISCHER'S THEATER First st., bet. Spring and Main.
Week commencing October 8.
THE PRICE OF HEIDELBERG
Fred L. Griffiths' romantic farce-comedy with all the Fischer favorites. Latest novelties in vaudeville and motion pictures. Matinees daily, except Monday.
Ladies' souvenir matinee Thursday. Prices 10c, 20c. Reserved seats 25c.

posted by GerryC on Aug 29, 2009 at 8:22pm

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