Astro Theatre

320 S. Broadway,
Los Angeles, CA 90013

Unfavorite 4 people favorited this theater

Showing 1 - 25 of 60 comments

rivest266
rivest266 on October 28, 2019 at 4:29 pm

This reopened as the Astro theatre on October 8th, 1969 with a triple bill adult program. Spanish movies by the end of 1969. Grand opening ad posted.

Jmartin
Jmartin on October 4, 2016 at 4:06 pm

If horsetrader1010 reads my comment of 9/3/16 can email me at . Jmartin

Jmartin
Jmartin on September 3, 2016 at 8:02 am

We were very poor and lived on welfare in Highland Park. We went to the Cozy Theater many times because the price was cheap (25 cents) and they showed three feature films at a time. We would eat an inexpensive but excellent meal at Clifton’s Cafeteria then go to the Cozy for hours of excellent entertainment. There was another theater nearby that also offered similar pricing with first run movies, but Cozy offered three feature films. Years later I still miss the Cozy Theater. I’d be interested to hear from hosetrader1010 about the history of purchasing, owning and selling the Cozy.

horsetrader1010
horsetrader1010 on January 13, 2016 at 9:59 am

My father owned and operated the Cozy Theater from around 1935 until he retired, or so I thought. I am unaware of the change to the Astro From the time I was 8 or 9, I sold candy, took tickets and “played” usher.

tovangar2
tovangar2 on January 5, 2016 at 9:16 pm

The 1906 permit lists Robert Brown Young as the architect and PM Johnson as the builder. AC Martin did many of the changes in the 1920s, but not, apparently the 1926 conversion of part of the ground floor into the 350-seat Cozy Theater. The Cozy opened in 1926 or 1927. The cornice came off circa 1950 and floors 4 and 5 were lost in 1971. Architect Chas A Ham converted the by-then, 403-seat Astro into a restaurant space in 1977. There’s a post on this building here: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=6994825&postcount=27790.

To search permits go here: http://ladbs.org/LADBSWeb/online-building-records.jsf

Click the link at the bottom of the page and then search by “address”. Hint: for better results just type in the street number and street name, not “St”, “Ave”. etc.

Ed Miller
Ed Miller on June 17, 2010 at 9:52 am

Going back to the comment posted by Tillmany in 2004, I just watched “The Killer That Stalked New York” this morning, and noticed the clever, almost seamless blending of the New York and Los Angeles location work with the Columbia backlot shots. I knew right away that the Cozy had to be in L.A. when I spotted the Bradbury Building. There is one brief shot where the name of the Central Theater is clear, on the front of the marquee.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on June 23, 2009 at 5:07 pm

Here is a June 2009 view of the theater building:
http://tinyurl.com/le92m2

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on October 25, 2008 at 3:21 pm

Still around in January 1960, per the LA Times. “Always Three Big Hits”. Phone number was MA8-3176.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on October 23, 2008 at 7:56 pm

I guess we can accept the opening date of 1927 for the Cozy, as it’s listed in the 1929 Los Angeles City Directory. Still no more word on Albert C. Martin as the architect of either the 1905 building or the later theater conversion, though.

vokoban
vokoban on March 7, 2008 at 8:40 am

I guess they do read their email. Here is a response to my inquiry. I won’t publicly post the name of the person who responded. If you’d like it, email me and I’ll send it. This doesn’t totally negate any possibility of the AC Martin connection, but its probably unlikely:

Dear Jeff,

Albert C. Martin was the designer for the Million Dollar Theater located
at 317 S. Broadway, however, I don’t find any records for the Cozy
Theater located at 320 S. Broadway. Good luck in your search.

Best regards,

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on March 6, 2008 at 8:15 pm

vokoban: It’s entirely possible that the caption writer got the year wrong, and that the Cozy didn’t open until 1937.

LM: Martin also remodeled for Lou Bard the commercial building which became Bard’s Hill Street Theatre in 1920. A Southwest Builder & Contractor item of May 30, 1921, credits Martin with the design of an amusement complex on Sunset Pier in Venice which was to include a 1200 seat movie theatre. In addition, the California Index contains a card citing an article in Architect & Engineer of August, 1918, naming Martin as the architect of a theatre to be erected at the corner of 8th and Broadway in San Diego.

I’ve also found some cards I’ve not seen before in the Index, regarding the Million Dollar project, but I guess I’ll post about those on that theatre’s page.

vokoban
vokoban on March 6, 2008 at 6:56 pm

Well, they might not even respond….but its worth a try! The first movie listing I can find so far for this theater is in 1937…has anyone seen earlier listings?

vokoban
vokoban on March 6, 2008 at 6:33 pm

I wrote a letter to AC Martin Partners inquiring about the architect of this address. If they respond, I’ll post it.

http://www.acmartin.com/nav_page.html

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on March 6, 2008 at 5:25 pm

This building was remodeled some time after 1939, losing its original fancy cornice. In this view of the 1939 fire which destroyed the nearby Gray Building, the cornice is still there. The wide Chicago windows look to have always been there.

I’d say A.C. Martin is certainly a possibility as architect of the theatre, the building, or both. He was born in 1879, and is known to have designed theatres in the 1910s & 1920s. The Cozy would have been a pretty small project for a guy who was in 1927 part of the team designing L.A.’s new city hall, though.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on March 6, 2008 at 5:08 pm

Right. I could say nothing, or I could make a qualified statement and then hopefully get some corroboration. I wouldn’t have said “Please change the architect to Albert C. Martin”. I thought it was enough to raise the question and then go from there.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on March 6, 2008 at 4:51 pm

I’m no expert, but that doesn’t look like a 1905 building to me, unless it was completely done over in the twenties.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on March 6, 2008 at 4:49 pm

I did say “it appears”. Not citing as the gospel truth.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on March 6, 2008 at 2:22 pm

LM: The source for Martin as architect of the Cozy must be the caption to the 1955 photo linked from his previous comment. However, given the questions that have arisen about the accuracy of the information in the caption for a photo of the Regent Theatre in what appears to be the same book, a corroborating source would be nice— especially given the fact that the assessors info for the Cozy’s building gives a construction date of 1905. If the theatre opened in 1927, it must have been only a conversion of existing space.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on March 6, 2008 at 6:59 am

It appears that the architect was Albert C. Martin.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on March 5, 2008 at 7:17 pm

I decided to check this building out after work today. The middle business in the photo below is clothing. I asked the owner if I could browse the merchandise, subsequently I began wandering around the store. The interior has a drop ceiling, so no evidence of any theater is visible. At the very back was an entrance which looked promising as it appeared to lead to a large space. Unfortunately, the owner caught me peeking and pretty much harassed me out of her store. I did tell her that her $110 Dodger jackets were overpriced.
http://tinyurl.com/ysdyko

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on March 4, 2008 at 8:33 pm

The Cozy and the Central to the north can be seen in this 1955 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/369yjh

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on February 28, 2008 at 1:29 pm

I saw a photo of the Cozy today in one of the Images of America books. It was on the first floor of the office building that you cn see in a few of the pictures already posted. It had a triangular marquee, nothing out of the ordinary. The Central was also visible a few doors to the north.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on September 28, 2007 at 10:43 pm

Returning to the Cozy once again, I find that the building in which it was located, including addresses 318, 320, and 322 S. Broadway, was erected in 1905 according to the report generated by the city planning department’s zone information system.

vokoban
vokoban on September 12, 2007 at 7:36 am

Still looking for the DNA….I’m going to add this theater but don’t know what name to use. I guess I’ll use the Capitol since that’s the last name I’ve been able to find for the place.