Warner Huntington Park
6714 Pacific Boulevard,
Huntington Park,
CA
90255
6714 Pacific Boulevard,
Huntington Park,
CA
90255
16 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 55 comments
Wiltern was my favorite Warner theatre. You must have been a manager working in their theatres.
I got to work at four of the Warner houses in Southern California.
Hollywood Pacific (aka: Warner Hollywood)
Warner Beverly Hills
Warner Huntington Park
Wiltern
it was a great time, had 3-d movies. The change over to Cinemascope and stereo sound. Jack Warner previewed his movies there.
I worked there too, afew times.
Worked there in the 50’s.
Worked There
I remember that working there at that time as a doorman. People came out mad and demanded there money back. Most tickets were prepaid, so they couldnt refund the money, but they said to come back in the next weeks and get a full refund. They started the regular show to cool off the people, but that didnt work. It was scary.
Here is an excerpt from an LA Times story dated 9/18/54:
Huntington Park police were alerted to stand by for a possible riot last night after a giant picture tube burned out during the closed circuit telecast of the Marciano-Charles fight at the Stanley Warner Theater.
The theater’s screen went blank at the start of the eighth round, before the knockout. Admission money had to be refunded. Paramount Downtown played to 85% of capacity. Fox Wilshire, Orpheum and Warners Downtown all reported 75% of capacity.
Here is a December 1950 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/45omd5
Still for lease.
Wow! That is an awesome old theater! My Grandfather was there for the grand opening.
Here are the photos:
http://tinyurl.com/2fjjtm
http://tinyurl.com/25sl7b
http://tinyurl.com/yqg4tu
http://tinyurl.com/2z84hp
http://tinyurl.com/yrqu7f
http://tinyurl.com/276dht
http://tinyurl.com/2hqz38
http://tinyurl.com/29rv5w
http://tinyurl.com/2yx5cm
http://tinyurl.com/yuqcv6
I took some photos yesterday, which I will post later. There is a “For Lease” sign out front. The marquee has some holes in it. This theater has seen better days.
This article is dated 11/24/29 from the LA Times. The Bank of Italy later became Bank of America.
Warners to Build Theater
Huntington Park – Probability that Warner Brothers will erect a theater here was indicated in the purchase this week of two lots on Pacific Boulevard at a price approximating $100,000. The lots which have a combined frontage of 114 feet and depth of 150 feet were owned by James O. Clutter of Los Angeles and George A. Law of San Clemente. It was reported that the purchase was made for the purpose of acquiring a theater site.
The two lots are centrally located on the east side of Pacific Boulevard south of the Chamber of Commerce offices and opposite the Montgomery Ward building. The are also near the site of the proposed Bank of Italy building.
Is this the theater featured near the end of “Ask the Dust”?
I know that most of the movie was shot in South Africa but the imdb lists LA as another filming location. Perhaps the interior shots were somewhere else but there is a brief shot of a Warner marquee.
The Huntington Park Warner Theatre opened on November 19, 1930 according to research by Jimmie Hicks. Joe E. Brown was master of ceremonies. The opening film wa “The Life of the Party,” a Vitaphone film in Technicolor.
The outside of it is so pretty, it reminds me of the Warner Theater in Torrington. If only the community can get together and fix it up, now that would be nice.
There was an interview in the LA Times today with a Mr. Deramo, a chamber of commerce official. He discussed the possible purchase of the building by the city, but for a youth center, not a live theater. That would mean extensive remodeling and gutting of the interior, if it hasn’t been gutted already.
Warners should be restored like their sister theatre in San Pedro. Makes me sad to see it closed, few times i’ve seen it in years. Brings back memories going there. Worked as a door man in the 50’s going to high school. Jack Warner used to preview his upcoming movies there.
The Warner Theater in Huntington Park still stands proudly along Pacific Boulevard, the crown jewel of a mostly Art Deco-Moderne style downtown that was built in the 1920’s and 1930’s and remains surprisingly intact. The City of Huntington Park is attempting to buy the theater from it’s present owner, with intentions of turning it into a playhouse or special event theater. In spite of the fact that it has been empty for years, the Warner is probably the handsomest still-standing former movie palace in Southern California.
Any plans on restoring The Warner? Can’t let a beautiful theater go to waste, it’s a mess! Every time i see it makes me wonder if there’s any thing inside it, old stuff? They should restore it and make it into a museum or play old films but knowing how the people are in the city i don’t think it’d be much success. Anybody agree?
Yeah, thats “The Boulevard” back in the day, all right.
From the LA Library:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics35/00037260.jpg
I remember the Warner, the Park and the California in their better days from when I worked on Pacific Boulevard, from 1969-1975.
I also recall going to the Liberty/Bell/Alcazar on Gage Avenue in Bell in 1969, though I seem to recall it being known as the Alamo at that time; faulty memory, perhaps.
When I was a kid, I lived in San Francisco, and probably went to nearly every Saturday matinee at the Castro from 1958-1962. It was only 20 cents to get in, and maybe another 20 cents for soda AND popcorn.
Also known as the Huntington Theatre, the Huntington Park, and Pacific Warners 2.