Balboa Theatre

8713 S. Vermont Avenue,
Los Angeles, CA 90044

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Showing 1 - 25 of 34 comments

JackCoursey
JackCoursey on July 6, 2015 at 12:00 am

The building is now home to the Pan Andreas West Theatre Studios. The 23,000 square foot facility consist of 5 studio sound stages with 3 levels, several dressing rooms,and make-up and wardrobe rooms.

Scannon50
Scannon50 on April 8, 2010 at 4:38 pm

Wow… what a blast from the past… Platt’s records and taps on our shoes. The older I get, the more I realize how lucky we were to grow up in the 50’s and 60’s. I went to Mount Carmel for one year, and then moved to San Diego with my parents in 1965. I make it back to L.A. about once a year, and try to drive by the old house on 85th St. I just retired after 38 years from the Port of San Diego. I’ve bought a fixer-upper at the beach, just to keep my old ass busy. Between fishing, surfing, my Photography bussiness, and the house… I’ll have plenty of things to keep me occupied. And Bill, yes, Roberta DiMartini was quite pretty, if I do recall. My old cohort John Vignery told me she married Wayne Philips after high school. As I look back, it’s nice to see all the positive memories of childhood in L.A. shine through. Take care. E-mail me if you want. Steve

rickyrecon45
rickyrecon45 on February 23, 2010 at 7:22 pm

I lived at 624 East 91st Street when my next door neighbors the DeContreas' at 626 went to Mount Carmel. I attended manu a night game and watched Mount Carmel beat Serra in our great brown and white uniforms. Teh I moved to 9001 Orchard Avenue at 90th and Hoover for Bret Harte Junior High. This is when I discovered the Balboa of course. Remember the Congress Theater down on 76th and Vermont? Platt’s Records? We finally moved to 109th Place and Normandie for Washington High. Finley was on Classmates under Bret Harte for awhile. Steve Cannon is probably still on Classsmates inder Washington High. Im e mail is jimmypage2622002 at yh dot com.

WJCoady
WJCoady on February 23, 2010 at 4:09 pm

I remember that Steve Cannon. He was a grade ahead of me and had a really pretty girlfriend named Roberta! I spent many Saturday afternoons at the Balboa watching the matinees. What a beautiful place! I also went to St. Michael’s Elementary School and Mt. Carmel. In fact, I went to a reunion at SMS a few years ago. They also have a website. Great memories of the Balboa. When I moved to Northern California in the early 70s, I discovered a similar theater treasure in the Senator Theater in Chico, CA. It seemed quite similar to the Balboa until it was cut up into a multiplex then restored as a concert venue.

rickyrecon45
rickyrecon45 on February 8, 2010 at 8:22 pm

Hello To Steve Cannon and Allen Finley. Jimmy Page here. Let’s go dwon to Machester and one half block east and get taps on our shoes again!

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on October 16, 2009 at 8:32 pm

The mosque has moved out. The building is for sale.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on April 6, 2009 at 9:58 pm

Here is a 1983 photo, pre-mosque:
http://tinyurl.com/dn9wl7

Scannon50
Scannon50 on January 15, 2009 at 8:36 pm

Jim Wurbel… I have no idea what happened to St. Michaels Girl’s High School. Mount Carmel is long gone… but still has all-years Reunions. I was in L.A. last year for a birthday for Uncle Joe… 98 years young. I drove by the church on Manchester… there was a wedding taking place… bride and groom on the front steps… pictures being taken, rice being thrown… St. Michaels looked like a cathedral. It’s good to know people are still participating in the parish. Maybe I’ll have to attend a Sunday Mass after I retire. I hope all is well with, and those you love in this New Year… Steve Cannon

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on November 20, 2008 at 10:32 pm

Here is part of an LA Times article dated 10/31/33:

Kidnapped by two bandits and forced to drive around for more than four hours with a gun poked in his side, George F. Rehers, manager of the Balboa Theater at 8713 S. Vermont, was released late yesterday after he had been relieved of two bank pouches containing $500 cash and more than $300 in checks, according to police reports.

Rehers told police he had left the theater office about 11:30 a.m. en route to a neighborhood bank and was just entering his automobile when the two men, one of whom carried an automatic pistol, appeared on the opposite side of the car.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on October 14, 2008 at 2:20 am

Not gone, exactly. The Balboa and Congress are still with us, just not theaters anymore.

Allenf
Allenf on October 14, 2008 at 1:56 am

I lived on 83rd st and Vermont. Spent many afternoon’s at the Balboa and the Congress. Use to sell news papers on the corner of Manchester and Vermont in the 50’s. Left the area in 1963 sad it is all gone.

Allen Finley

jwurbel03
jwurbel03 on June 19, 2008 at 3:35 pm

Steve,

Thanks for the reply and your memory is correct. My dad moved everyone to Phoenix in 1961. They moved back to Orange County in 1965, but I stayed. I tried to keep up with some of my St Michael’s classmates, but for the most part, I haven’t had any communication for a number of years. A little sad, but so it goes.
One question if you know. What happened to St Michael’s girl’s high school? I know Mount Carmel is gone.
Take care. Jim

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on June 18, 2008 at 8:50 pm

I just drove by this theater today. I pointed it out to my wife, along with the Southside and the Congress. Kind of a mini-CT tour.

Scannon50
Scannon50 on June 18, 2008 at 8:33 pm

Jim… yes I have a brother named Jerry, and I assume you were the older brother of Chris and Burt… if my memory serves me right. The Balboa was great… as were the Rio and Academy. We left L.A. in 1965 for San Diego. I’ve been here ever since… very few visits back to old neighborhood… take care, Steve

jwurbel03
jwurbel03 on June 18, 2008 at 12:59 pm

If Steve Cannon is still out there, I would be curious to know if he has a brother named Jerry. I am from the old neighborhood as you call it and went to St Michael’s grade school. I spent a lot of time at the Saturday matinees. I recall that you could get in for 9 cents in the 50’s. That number makes no sense today and I could be wrong. A great place to go though.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on October 19, 2007 at 10:45 am

Here is a 1954 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2lpw9o

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on July 19, 2007 at 8:15 pm

Here is an article from the LA Times dated 4/4/26:

NEW ADDITION TO SHOWHOUSE CHAIN

Another neighborhood theater, the West Coast Balboa, located at Eighty-Seventh and Vermont, has been completed and will open on the 6th, according to Mr. Gore, heaad of West Coast Theaters, Inc. This is the sixth theater that the organization has opened in the past ninety days. Twenty more are in the course of construction.

The Balboa Theater represents an investment of more than $250,000 and is of Class A construction. The lot is 80x130 feet on the west side of Vermont, just south of Eighty Seventh Street. The building was designed by L.A. Smith, and is of the Spanish type. It will seat 1250, and is designed in an intimate, cozy style which makes it an ideal neighborhood house, and the policy of the management will be to present the finest feature pictures and as complete a program as can be seen at any of the downtown theaters.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on July 2, 2007 at 9:17 pm

The LA Times was advertising a Jurdan theater at 8717 S. Vermont on 9/6/25. It would have been just south of the Balboa, which opened in 1926. Unless someone has some information to the contrary, this is not a listed theater.

Scannon50
Scannon50 on June 16, 2007 at 8:25 pm

Mary Louise Marquess???

Scannon50
Scannon50 on June 16, 2007 at 8:24 pm

Any of the neighborhood kids still around? From the 50’s or 60’s… The Balboa was the place to go… Steve

engine31
engine31 on May 16, 2007 at 11:50 pm

Another great piece of American history now off limits to Americans

Scannon50
Scannon50 on October 3, 2006 at 6:19 pm

The Balboa was my childhood/early teen playground in the 50’s and early 60’s. I stole more than one kiss from girls from St Michael’s. I saw “West Side Story” there on a Saturday afternoon… against my parent’s advice. The balcony was open to those of us with a little cunning… as were the “bird cages” on the side… and the alley exit. The last movie I saw there was “Morgan the Pirate”, starring Steve Reeves… maybe ‘62 or '63 … a free movie on Washington’s Birthday. It turned into a riot… shades of a future L.A. … one heck of a place to grow up. Get back to me with your stuff about the neighborhood… Steve Cannon