Symphony Theatre

The Los Angeles Times on September 9, 1923 reported on an unnamed theatre and hotel to be built at N. Tamarind Avenue and E. Magnolia Street in Compton. The proposed 860-seat theatre, designed by Richard D. King and Frank M. Goodwin, was to have an exterior of Moorish design.

In November of 1923 the LA Times noted that the theatre, operated by Ramsey & Bemus, was expected to open within the next four months. There, however, had been some delay while waiting for the stone to arrive from Bedford, Indiana. According to the Times Neighborhood Theater Guide, the Symphony Theatre had its formal opening on May 12, 1924. By 1927 it was pert of the L. Lou Bard chain Far West Theatres Inc.

Compton was hit particularly hard by the March 11, 1933 quake. The Times said 17 people were declared dead and almost all of its 3,000 buildings were either razed or severely damaged. Damage was estimated Conservatory at $5,000,000 (more than $87 million in 2013 dollars). On March 24, all Los Angeles Fox Theatres donated 25 percent of their proceeds to quake relief.

The Hotel Aranbe and theatre was listed on the Sanborn Maps of 1925 but even by 1938 the maps show no rebuilding on the Symphony Theatre’s old block. The location would be approximately where the shopping center parking lot is today.

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