Palace Theatre
630 S. Broadway,
Los Angeles,
CA
90014
630 S. Broadway,
Los Angeles,
CA
90014
30 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 121 comments
During the 30’s the Palace Theatre was operated by Fox West Coast Thetares. During the 40’s it was part of the Principal Theatres Corp. of America chain. And then in the 1950’s it became part of the Metropolitan Theatres chain till it closed.
It is a prop from a Adam Sandler film.
Here is an LA Times ad for the Fox Palace in November 1929:
http://tinyurl.com/yocnve
I don’t think this photo has been posted here yet: This is a ca1930 photo from the California State Library website. It depicts Desmond’s clothing store a few doors north of the Palace, but there’s an interesting view of the Palace’s painted wall sign and its vertical sign, both of which bear the name Fox. Fox West-Coast must have begun operating the Palace within a couple of years of the opening of the new Orpheum down Broadway south of 8th Street.
Here is a June 1953 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2sm6zz
Here is the 1965 photo again:
http://tinyurl.com/2vt2rr
Notice that I had the original Orpheum sign has been uncovered.
The facade was power washed this week and the building looks AMAZING!!!! I saw Frank this morning and he said that the Los Angeles is next!
Here is a July 2007 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/228ybe
Here is an undated photo of the Newsreel:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics38/00068773.jpg
Sloshing down Broadway, 1965:
http://tinyurl.com/2xe2es
Triple A team wins PCL championship, 1988:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics38/00053528.jpg
Ah, but I took the photo myself. Can you say the same? 8-P
Here is a 1954 photo from the LAPL with the Palace in the background:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics43/00041056.jpg
Here is a January 2007 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ym4vz8
Here is a 2005 photo from the LA Library:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics28/00063879.jpg
Marquee, 1972:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015428.jpg
During the 30’s the Palace Theatre was operated by Fox West Coast Theatres, as was the Los Angeles and Loew’s State Theatre.
I never knew it was called the “Fox” Palace Theatre. And in the 1930s? The marquee read Broadway Palace Theatre when the Orpheum name moved to the new theatre down Broadway in 1928. Later it was called the Palace Newsreel Theatre, based on a mural that remains behind the theatre. But Fox? This will require more exploration.
Thank you for bringing it to light.
Here is a 1930 view of the Fox Palace, open continuously 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.:
http://tinyurl.com/gqkgd
I took a Conservancy tour yesterday; we ALMOST got inside the Palace!! When we approached the theatre, we noticed that the roll-up gate was up. Our tour group quickly moved into the outer foyer, which was nice, but I spotted the fact that one of the lobby doors was a little bit ajar!! I actually opened it, and as I did a Security officer was there, smiling. I was ready to let our docent talk our way in, but then a gentleman with a bag over his shoulder came up behind me from the sidewalk —– the security officer let him in (he obviously had an appointment), and when our docent asked if we could tour, he first asked if we had an appointment, and when told No, he turned us away. Then she asked if we could remain in the foyer, and he said No again. We took our own sweet time moving out of the foyer, while our docent described what she knew about the theatre.
She said that the 2nd floor windows that overlook the entry foyer were actually the ladies' room, and that in the day, ladies would peer out to check out who was arriving!
It was a disappointment to get so close but not be allowed to enter. It seems a lot of theatre owners resist the Conservancy’s requests. I wish they would allow more access.
Carey: The L.A. Public Library’s on-line photo database contains at least these two pictures of the Palace, c1928, with the “Broadway Palace” name on it:
Front View
Side View.
The information about the name “News Palace” (adopted in 1939) is covered in my comment of Dec. 8, 2004, near the top of this page. I’ve never seen the Daily Variety article itself; only the index card displayed in the California Index section of the L.A. Library web site.
The theatre began its life as “Orpheum Theatre” in 1911. In 1926, when the new orpheum was built down the street. The name of the theatre changed to either the “News Palace” or the “Broadway Palace.” In the late 1990s, the new owners began to refer to the theatre as the “Downtown Palace Theatre” to distinguish it form the Palace Theatre is Hollywood. Do any of you know (and have written or photographic sources) of any other names used by the theatre. I’ve heard a rumor that it was called the “Orpheum Palace” for a time though I can’t find any verification. I’d appreciate a response, on or offline. Carey Upton, Manager of the Palace Theatre
William, are you sure about the Skouras-ization of the Palace in 1947? When I began going to the theatre in the early 1960’s, the auditorium had the same, ornate Renaissance decor seen in old photographs of it (and the style “Renaissance” needs to be added to the theatre’s information at the top of the page, buy the way.) I don’t remember the lobby as clearly, but I certainly don’t recall it having any of the art moderne style for which Skouras was so famous. I do know that the ticket foyer had had its ornate decoration largely covered over by then, but it wasn’t particularly art moderne, either- just sort of bland. If Skouras was responsible for that, it wasn’t one of his better designs.
The Palace Theatre in 1947 got an Skouras-ized interior remodel.
I think you all became a news source.
“The steep decline of downtown’s theaters came in the years after World War II, alongside the rise of the suburbs â€" and the shopping malls that came with them. Movie theaters sprang up elsewhere, and people had few reasons to drive downtown.
Some of downtown’s movie palaces were destroyed in the ensuing years, often to make way for the burgeoning car culture. The Metropolitan Theatre â€" opened by Sid Grauman in 1923 on 6th Street and later called the Paramount Theatre â€" was demolished in 1962, replaced with a parking lot and, later, the International Jewelry Center. The RKO Hill Street Theatre, at 8th and Hill, was razed six years later, also for a parking lot.â€
From
Movie Tradition Fading to Black
Seventy years after its neon heyday, downtown Los Angeles is struggling to keep its last cinematic venue afloat.
By Cara Mia DiMassa, Times Staff Writer
February 17, 2006
View link