Granada Theatre
1044 Temple Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
1044 Temple Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
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Until you fall into the Pacific.
The west is the best. Get here, and we’ll do the rest.
Too bad that only works for LA. It would be great if other cities had something like that.
That’s what’s especially useful about the ZIMAS reports from the city’s zoning department. They have the latest information from the County Assessor, plus they include the years of construction for any buildings on the property.
Thats a good point Joe, but don’t rely too heavily on aerial photos. Some of those aerial photos are a few years old. If a building doesn’t show in one of those photos, it is most likely gone. But if you see the building in the photo, it doesn’t mean that its still standing. Anytime I add a theater and I’m not positive of its status, I just list it as closed.
I’ve come across several Cinema Treasures pages which erroneously listed theatres as closed/demolished when they were only closed. Now I always check the latest aerial photos from Google maps or TerraServer, and see if I can generate a report on the address from ZIMAS (if it’s in the City of Los Angeles) just to make sure.
I would assume thats the reason why this theater is listed as Closed/Demolished.
The Granada’s building has been gone for quite a while. The site is now part of a parking lot for a blocky office building which I think was put up in the 1970s.
I have my doubts as to whether the building is still there. There’s not much left on that part of Temple Street, west of downtow. I will swing by and take a look the next time I’m down there.
Take a Letter Darling was released in May of 1942.
Here is a 1942 photo of the Granada:
http://tinyurl.com/2cdl5q
Are there any pictures of the Granada, either with that name or with the Owl name?
Is this the same Owl that had a Geneva theatre organ at one time? Where is the organ now?
Listed in the city directory as the Owl in 1925:
http://tinyurl.com/3xgjwx
I just added the Owl Theater at Temple and Beaudry. I recall that Beaudry would probably be about ten blocks east of Main Street, so it looks like I goofed. I will admit as such on the Owl page so they can take it off.
Listed as the Granada in the 1939 LA city directory.
The Granada Theatre was also known as the Owl Theatre back in 1929.
The Granada was leased for a time by Harold Wenzler, who also operated the Lux Theatre until it was razed, and later operated the Oaks Theatre in Pasadena.
I worked as a relief projectionist at the Granada in the late 1950s. The booth was far from modern, but Mr. Wenzler had Altec Sound Service on contract for maintenance, and the presentation was always first rate.