Quinn's Superba Theatre
518 S. Broadway,
Los Angeles,
CA
90013
518 S. Broadway,
Los Angeles,
CA
90013
7 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Universal Chain Theatrical Enterprises Inc.
Architects: Arthur H. Memmler
Nearby Theaters
Quinn’s Superba Theatre was located on the site where the Roxie Theatre is today on S. Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. It was a conversion of an existing building to the plans of architect Arthur H. Memmler. It opened on July 30, 1914 with 1,600 seats.
Quinn’s Superba Theatre was next to the Cameo Theatre (formerly Clune’s Broadway Theatre) and the Pantages Theatre (later Arcade Theatre) (both have their own pages on Cinema Treasures). It was last operated by Universal Chain Theatrical Enterprises Inc. who closed it on December 11, 1922 with Herbert Rawlinson in “One Wonderful Night”. The interior was gutted and it was converted into Tait’s Coffee Shop which opened in late-March 1923. Tait’s Coffee Shop was closed in June 1931.
The building was razed to make way for the Art Deco style Roxie Theatre which was the last theatre built on S. Broadway, opening November 25, 1931 (it has its own page on Cinema Treasures)
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
Some more wayposts from the Los Angeles Times:
July 31 1914: ‘Quinn’s Superba, the latest pretentious motion picture of Los Angeles, had its formal opening last night. The Superba was constructed at much expense, the management saying that almost $100,00 was spent before the theater could open. There are 6000 electric bulbs. In the theater proper they are obscured. The ceiling presents something unique in frescoing. The exits are ample, and the entrance presents electric bulbs shining behind onyx and marble.’
Aug 2 1914: ‘Indications are that Quinn’s Superba, which had its formal opening Thursday evening, will take its place as one of the popular motion picture palaces of Los Angeles… The Superba has one of the most beautiful theater interiors in the city, and the exterior is a blaze of light.’
Nov 8 1914: Quinn announces he has secured the rights to show Paramount Pictures hereafter.
Nov 29 1915: THEATER RUNS ALL NIGHT
‘What the management of Quinn’s Superba Theater declare to be a world’s record in the moving-picture business was set yesterday morning when, at 9 o’clock, the picture house completed a twenty-four-hour continuous run of its show. In that time thirteen performances were given each lasting a little less than two hours, and approximately 12,000 persons were admitted. At 3 o’clock in the morning, according to the management, all the seats were sold. The 5 o’clock attendance was lighter.’
May 31 1919: Carl Laemmle takes personal charge of the Superba to celebrate Universal’s seventh birthday.
Aug 16 1921: SHORT SKIRT HOOPLA AT SUPERBA
‘Here girls, here’s your chance at a prize. Manager James W Anderson of the Superba Theater, announces offering a prize for the “shortest skirt†worn at his theater Wednesday. There is but one stipulation, and that is that the women seeking to qualify for the prize must be between 19 and 55 years of age. Measurements will be taken in the lobby of the theater, and all entrants to the contest need but to signify the fact at the box office.
‘Gladys Walton in Short Skirts, this week’s attraction at the Superba is the incentive for the contest.’
The 1922 obituary notice in the house says that Laemmle’s Universal had purchased it six years previously. The Universal people refused to answer rumors that they had sold it to the coffee shop man.
Here’s the Superba-as-plain-Superba after it was no longer Quinn’s:
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And here’s its final incarnation as Tait’s coffee house:
View link
Nick’s second link doesn’t work anymore. Here’s the photo showing Tait’s Coffee House. This photo was taken during the period when the Pantages had become Dalton’s Theatre.
The Historic Los Angles Theaters site makes a good point. The Roxie’s stagehouse is rather unusual for a 1931 theater. Is it possible that some or all of the shell of the original Superba house was kept intact, with only the front building demolished and most of the theater building itself only gutted and renovated, and is still existing today as part of the Roxie? Is there any way to know?
This is about the Roxie but it still isn’t clear about the construction, but the cost seems a lot for a refurbished building:
LA Times, June 21, 1931:
Constuction work on a theater and store building at 516 South Broadway (maybe the address was changed later) began last week, the playhouse to be known as the Roxie and the building to contain four storerooms. The cost is estimated at $100,000.
Announcement of the project was made by G.A. Metzger and Harry Srere, who, with associates, are the lessees. The contract for construction has been awarded the J.M. Cooper Company. G.Y. Ridenbaugh of the Charles G. Andrews Company, realty broker, and P.L. corrigan represented the lessor and lessees.
The structure will have a frontage on North Broadway of eighty-one feet. The depth of the property is in excess of 165 feet. The theater will have a seating capacity of 1600.
The October 3, 1914, issue of The Moving Picture World had an effusive description of Quinn’s Superba Theatre:
about the opening:
Quinn’s Superba opening Fri, Jul 31, 1914 – 26 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.com
July 30th, 1914 grand opening ad posted.
A notice that a permit had been issued to add to a building at 516-520 S. Broadway and remodel it for use as a motion picture theater for J. A. Quinn appeared in the April 18, 1914 issue of Southwest Contractor. The architect for the project was Arthur H. Memmler.
An early announcement about Quinn’s Superba appeared in Motography of February 7, 1914: “J. A. Quinn, owner and manager of the Garrick and Lyceum theaters, has signed a lease on the property at 518 to 524 South Broadway, below Fifth street, Los Angeles, and will remodel and transform it into a picture theater with a seating capacity of 900. The theater will be opened about April 1 as Quinn’s Superba.” Plans were clearly altered before construction, as the theater ended up larger and took longer to build than this item said.