Mayfair Theatre
214 Santa Monica Boulevard,
Santa Monica,
CA
90401
214 Santa Monica Boulevard,
Santa Monica,
CA
90401
11 people
favorited this theater
This theater opened as the Majestic Theatre in December 1911.
In 1973, it became the Mayfair Theatre/Music Hall and can be viewed along the popular 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.
Sadly, the theatre was damaged in the Northridge earthquake on January 17, 1994, and sat empty and unused until January 2011, when it was demolished, leaving only the facade standing.
At the time of closure, it was used for comedy and music acts.
It was one of four theatres in downtown Santa Monica, others being Fox Criterion Theatre, El Miro Theatre and the Hitching Post Theatre.
Contributed by
William Gabel
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 81 comments)
Maybe they removed the top to restore it and replace later…who knows.
This article dates the name change from Majestic to Mayfair:
LA Times(September 30, 1967)
Double Bill Will Open Mayfair Theater
The Mayfair Theater, formerly the Majestic, in Santa Monica, will have its grand opening Friday at 7 p.m. The opening attraction is "The Long Duel" starring Yul Brynner and Trevor Howard, together with Otto Preminger’s "Hurry Sundown" with Jane Fonda and Michael Caine.
If he came to Santa Monica in 1920, he would be the 2nd or 3rd owner of the theater since it was built in 1911.
(October 16, 1934)
Robert Armour Is Dead at Home
SANTA MONICA, Oct. 15.-Robert Armour, 71 years of age, owner of the Majestic, Santa Monica’s oldest theater, died today at his home, 25 Alta avenue, after a lingering illness. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he came to the United States in 1906. He formerly was in business in Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Butte and Spokane and came to Santa Monica in 1920. Besides his widow he leaves one brother and one sister in Australia. Funeral services will be Thursday.
I worked as a doorman/usher in 1965-66 at the Majestic (then), while I was in college. It was a fun place and I got to tear a lot of famous actors tickets, who came there so as not to be noticed.
I was a late bloomer and got my first kiss there from a cheeky candy girl.
The projectionist and I kept our motorcycles backstage, and one night at closing, we rode up the two aisles and out through the lobby. Ü
Currently watching the first ever episode of THE ROCKFORD FILES on the Season 1 set and James Garner stops there during one night scene. You get to see the outside lit up and the inside as well.
They’re presently digging out the space for the underground parking. The building next door, which was Angelo’s Pawn Shop, is gone. All that’s left is the facade, propped up with some girders.
Hi, my name is James Dillon,i was the manager from 1968-1971.
please contact me if you know anyone who was working there at that time. please contact me at (5033071078)
thankyou
re: postings of rigoldst on 12/24/04 and mv on 2/6/05:
Even as pre-teens in the late ‘60s, we kids knew the Mayfair wasn’t up to par with the other local theatres like the Criterion, Wilshire and El Miro. For one, the screen seemed so much smaller, even smaller than an elementary school auditorium screen. Once, at intermission, we counted the rows of seats and I believe there were 15, maybe 20 at most. So of course films like “Marooned” and “The Battle of Britain” had much less impact than they would have at another, larger venue. (Unlike mv, I was too young to catch grindhouse fare like “Night of the Living Dead” and “The Corpse Grinders,” which probably would’ve made the Mayfair my favorite neighborhood theatre!) Other films, like Hitchcock’s “Topaz” and the Burt Reynolds missing link drama “Skullduggery” seemed duller than perhaps they really were. But the Mayfair definitely had a friendly, small-scale charm about it, especially for younger viewers. It was the first theatre I’d ever visited that had a restroom vending machine that sold magic tricks, rubber spiders and other novelty items…and where can you find that nowadays?
I just uploaded a flyer for a small Hitchcock festival in August 1972, my introduction to the Mayfair. I have Joseph Cotten’s signature on another part of it, which he graciously gave while chatting with people outside following “Shadow of a Doubt”.
The theater was indeed tiny. I enjoyed the films from the small balcony and the place felt ancient and almost rickety even then. But it had charm, too. The earthquake damage must have been inevitable, but I’m sorry to see it go.
Is the facade still standing, and if so, what is being built behind it?
Google Earth and Google Street View show the facade with the destruction behind it. (Bing Maps still shows the complete building!) Someone out there will have to update us on this.