Carthay Circle Theatre
6316 San Vicente Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90048
6316 San Vicente Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90048
33 people
favorited this theater
The Carthay Circle Theatre opened in 1926. Walt Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” had its world premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre on December 21, 1937. It was the site of innumerable premieres and was one of the jewels of the Fox Theatres empire.
It was at the Carthay Circle Theatre where Mike Todd showcased “Around the World in 80 Days” in 1956. Unfortunately some of the interior of the auditorium was destroyed to accommodate the huge new Todd A-O screen.
The final film to play the Carthay Circle Theatre was “The Shoes of the Fisherman” starring Anthony Quinn. It was demolished in 1969 and replaced by an office block.
Contributed by
Ray Martinez
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Recent comments (view all 138 comments)
Check out Wikipedia. There is a new article on this theatre. See: View link
Lots of cool shots and info on the site.
Here is a February 1953 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/yjjyt54
I grew up in the area and saw many great films at the Carthay Circle Theater. It was just behind my grammar school. I can remember catching pollywogs in the little pound in the tiny park just north of the theater where water from the gold miner’s pan spilled out endlessly. Over the years we often celebrated the Jewish High Holidays at local theaters (our synagogue was too small at that time). The theaters we used were the Wilshire (on Wilshire), the Stadium (on Pico) and the Carthay Circle Theater. Seeing the cantor prostrate himself on the massive Carthay Circle Theater and Wilshire stages on Yom Kipper was truly moving/ impressive.
For the person who wondered on what corner the Picfair was located; it was the NW corner of Pico and Fairfrax.
@Warren G. Harris: There were many films in Cinemascope and B&W – before Longest Day roadshow was Diary of Anne Frank (1959 – roadshow @ 171 min + intermission).
In DAVID SELZNICK’S HOLLYWOOD, he states that GONE WITH THE WIND premiered first in Atlanta on 12/15/39 at the Loews Grand (3 continuous shows daily) , then four days later in New York at the Capitol (3 continuous shows daily) and the Astor (reserved seat; 2 performances daily) and finally in Los Angeles at the United Artist Downtown (3 continuous shows daily) and the Carthay Circle (reserved seat; 2 performances daily). The Los Angeles invited premiere was held the day before on 12/27/39 at the Carthay Circle.
Here’s a photo that a friend gave to me. I scanned it before I put it in the frame. I don’t think I’ve seen this one yet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vokoban/6261222632/in/photostream
A replica of the Carthay Circle has been built at Disney’s California Adventure Park adjacent to Disneyland in recognition of the role the theater had in launching some of Disney’s famous films. Unfortunately, the building only houses a restaurant and cocktail lounge (and probably one of the ubiquitous gift shops so characteristic of Disney parks).
A photo of the replica: View link