Palace Theatre

Was in the theater on June 26th, it’s 100 birthday! Saw a 3 day old print of “ Sunset Blvd” 3 times! Was working as head usher for the reopening/birthday event. WOW, what a great day to see it back it working order. new seats, new carpet, new wallpaper, fresh coats of paint and oil on wood. She is ready for her next life, a multi purpose venue. Only 1030 Seat now out of the 2200 that she had before but that’s enough. I would love to have a variety show there, jugglers & other performers then a short film. Maybe someday!

LawMann, “Earthquake” opened at the Chinese Theatre across the street and later moved over to the Paramount Theatre.

Here is a view from December 1951, from USC:
http://tinyurl.com/28mavhm

I’m posting the same comment to different theaters.Check out “Ncis Los Angeles” In tonights episode the climax takes place in an abandoned theater in L.A. The name of the theater was the Palace. There was a lot of shots. of the auditorium and the theater in general.

As seen on ABC’s “Castle” (which is actually set in New York), March 29: View link

Great photos.

It is a beautiful old place but what to do with these old theatres on Broadway? The immigrant Latino population is moving on that once used these places for Spanish films and churches. The young white condo buyers that are moving in are too busy to see live shows and watch movies on their Ipods and flat screen TVs at home. I don’t see any commercially viable uses for these places other than for infrequent special events and as filming locations. The new Club Nokia and Nokia theatre at the LA Live complex nearby have a lock on any live performances for halls of this size.

I’ve just seen the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation’s page about the Palace. It has a few interesting pictures but also has some errors in the text. It says that the third Orpheum in Los Angeles (the Palace) was built when the second Orpheum burned down, but in fact the second Orpheum didn’t burn down, and had a long post-Orpheum life as a movie theater called the Lyceum.

The page also says that the first Orpheum was built in Los Angeles in the 1880s. That’s a bit ambiguous, but if it means that the Orpheum Circuit began in Los Angeles it’s not quite right. The first theater in what became the Orpheum circuit was opened in San Francisco in 1887, and in 1894 its operator, Gustav Walter, entered a partnership with Martin Lehman, owner of the Grand Opera House on Main Street in Los Angeles, to present vaudeville shows there under the Orpheum banner. As a circuit implies more than one theater, the Grand could be considered one of the first two theaters in the Orpheum Circuit, as it was the first house Walter and Meyerfield operated outside San Francisco, but it was never the flagship of the circuit.

Incidentally, the Wikipedia article about the Orpheum Circuit also contains some errors. Most significantly, it is wrong in saying the company was founded by Martin Beck. Gustav Walter and his assistant Morris Meyerfield started the circuit. Beck, originally a vaudeville troupe manager from Chicago who became another of Walter’s assistants, acquired control of the company several years after it was founded.

Here is a night shot. The Los Angeles marquee is also lit, on the left.
http://tinyurl.com/dgzran

Here is a 1939 photo from the USC archive:
http://tinyurl.com/ddm8ul

Great slide show from last week. Let’s hope this place can be turned around like the Orpheum.

Here is a night view from 1983:
http://tinyurl.com/c4z5vj

View link
Saturday Matinee At Broadway’s Palace Theater
By WILL CAMPBELL

And the photos that accompany the article:
View link

(I still need to Photoshop mine)