Orchestrion Theatre
527 S. Spring Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90013
527 S. Spring Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90013
1 person
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I’ve just noticed that the address is visible on the awning of the middle store in the bay-windowed building in the second photo Velostigmat linked to. It was 533. Counting north, 527 would have been in the dark building with the office furniture and stationers shops in it, assuming that that building had been built by 1910 (which it probably was, given its style.)
Here’s a better picture. The Orchestrion would have been in one of the two buildings. View link
It seems that 527 S. Spring would have been right next door to the Arcade Building. Might this building have been the Orchestrion Theatre?
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics30/00064910.jpg
darn.
I concur. I walked by this site today. Status should be closed/demolished.
This building has been torn down, since there is an empty lot on Spring between the Alexandria Hotel (1906) and the Broadway-Spring Arcade Building (about 1925).
I find the name of this theater interesting. An orchestrion is a coin-operated automatic piano, similar to a player piano but used in public places, that has several additional instruments, especially percussions. Some of the firms that made these machines in the 1900-1930 era also made instruments for silent film accompaniment.