Here is an article in the LA Times dated 12/13/31:
FIRE HITS STRAND THEATER
The Fox Strand Theater, 1035 South Pacific Avenue, San Pedro, suffered $5000 loss by fire yesterday morning when cleaning fluid knocked over by a stage hand ignited. The theater was empty.
The stage hand suffered burns about his hands and arms. The structure under the stage was charred and the sound machinery disabled, while smoke damage was heavy.
There’s a “theatorium” visible in this 1910 photo. I don’t know if this is an earlier version of one of the known theaters on the Pike: http://tinyurl.com/2rd5nk
A photo of the entrance in the LA Times dated 12/26/84 stated that the drive-in would soon be torn down to make way for an industrial park. The drive-in had been showing Spanish movies.
An article in the LA Times on 8/17/78 discussed the future of the Belmont, which was then in serious disrepair. One potential buyer wanted to fix up the theater and show classic films. Another potential owner wanted to put racquetball courts in the building. Take a guess who won.
A subsequent article about the theater owners' appeal of the jury verdict states that the last film was shown at the Plaza on December 31, 1964. The last ownership group bought the theater in 1965 but never re-opened it to show films. The Plaza was torn down in 1971.
Here is an article from the LA Times dated 3/5/72:
Condemnation Settlement OKd by Jury
A Superior Court jury has made an award of $80,000 in a condemnation suit involving the Community Redevelopment Agency and the owners of the former Plaza Theater. The theater, built in 1928 as a legitimate theater and later converted to a movie house, was located at 4355 Plaza Square and has been torn down.
Owners of the land produced expert testimony that the land was worth $400,000. Agency experts placed the value at $73,200. The site is included in a 36 acre, $11 million redevelopment project near Hawthorne and El Segundo Boulevards. Planned for an eventual commercial regional shopping center, the project is expected to include a Montgomery-Ward store, a J.C. Penney store and a third department store.
Here is an excerpt from an LA Times story dated ¾/68:
For years a huge sign overlooking Exposition Park stood out as a familiar Los Angeles landmark. It towered above the Figueroa Theater at Santa Barbara Avenue. “Figueroa Theater” was emblazoned on a massive steel frame, luring moviegoers to such films as “Stanley and Livingston” and “Boom Town” in the years just before World War II.
Now the theater, built in the mid 1920s but dark for many years, is being torn down and a gas station will go up on the site.
Here is an excerpted article from the LA Times dated 12/21/54:
Historic Mason Opera House to Come Down
Passing of a famous Los Angeles landmark was revealed yesterday with the announcement that the Mason Opera House at 127 S. Broadway will be torn down. Frank Fouce, owner of the theater, said it has been sold to the state. He said the state had acquired title to a major portion of the block for expansion of the Civic Center.
The Mason’s star began to fade in the early 20s, when the Biltmore theater became the leading legitimate theater. In recent years the Mason has been a Mexican film theater. Final presentation before the state takes possession will be the showing of a Mexican film “Pueblerina”, starring Columba Dominguez.
Here is an LA Times excerpt about the demolition. The story is dated 3/17/41.
OLD LYCEUM THEATER SOON TO BE TORN DOWN
The Lyceum Theater, on Spring Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets, is to be torn down to make way for a parking station. To a modern generation of showgoers this may mean less than nothing, but to old timers who remember, it is an event to be chronicled in letters huge as life itself, because this marks the passing of a landmark in the world of entertainment.
There is an interesting article in the LA Times dated 9/23/84 concerning the demolition of the theater. If you have access to the LA Times archives, there are numerous photos of the demolition. The accompanying story is too long to reproduce here. It does state that the theater opened in 1935 and was closed in 1972. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The county bought the site from the estate of car magnate Errett Cord for 10.45 million dollars in 1979. The plan at that time was to use the space for a park.
Here is a condensed (ahem) version of an LA Times story dated 5/17/96:
The Winnetka Drive-in Theater in Chatsworth, one of only two left in the San Fernando Valley, will be torn down later this year to make way for one of the largest indoor movie theater complexes in the state. On the site of the drive-in at Prairie and Winnetka avenues is to be a multimillion-dollar megaplex with shops, restaurants and 26 movie screens capable of seating 5,500 viewers, Pacific Theatres announced Thursday. It is scheduled to open in June 1997. The demise of the Winnetka Drive-in, which the company said was built in the 1970s, will leave the San Fernando Valley with only one outdoor movie theater, the Van Nuys Drive-in, also owned by Pacific Theatres.
Opening date was March 31, 1949. Seating at the opening was 1008. Construction cost was $400,000.
Here is an article in the LA Times dated 12/13/31:
FIRE HITS STRAND THEATER
The Fox Strand Theater, 1035 South Pacific Avenue, San Pedro, suffered $5000 loss by fire yesterday morning when cleaning fluid knocked over by a stage hand ignited. The theater was empty.
The stage hand suffered burns about his hands and arms. The structure under the stage was charred and the sound machinery disabled, while smoke damage was heavy.
I don’t think it’s listed on CT. It probably came and went in a few years.
The State is on the far right:
http://tinyurl.com/yqvsr9
Here is a view from behind the theater:
http://tinyurl.com/yqvsr9
I wish I could have seen it in its heyday.
There’s a “theatorium” visible in this 1910 photo. I don’t know if this is an earlier version of one of the known theaters on the Pike:
http://tinyurl.com/2rd5nk
Here are the photos from the CASL:
http://tinyurl.com/39mlx3
http://tinyurl.com/2qutnc
http://tinyurl.com/3dcr2y
http://tinyurl.com/39dh3d
http://tinyurl.com/2rcg4t
http://tinyurl.com/2oglqy
http://tinyurl.com/2k2pct
http://tinyurl.com/36hmoz
http://tinyurl.com/2aw66q
You can see the UA in the middle of the picture, on Ocean Avenue:
http://tinyurl.com/3459x5
You can see a theater under construction in this photo, but I can’t read the sign to what the name is:
http://tinyurl.com/3bfts4
It’s still in business. I walked by there today, and they were showing the new Die Hard film. We’ll see how it goes.
I liked the last one. I imagine the style should be changed to Art Deco.
I think that’s the angelfire website. Try googling that.
No, we would fit right in.
A photo of the entrance in the LA Times dated 12/26/84 stated that the drive-in would soon be torn down to make way for an industrial park. The drive-in had been showing Spanish movies.
An article in the LA Times on 8/17/78 discussed the future of the Belmont, which was then in serious disrepair. One potential buyer wanted to fix up the theater and show classic films. Another potential owner wanted to put racquetball courts in the building. Take a guess who won.
A subsequent article about the theater owners' appeal of the jury verdict states that the last film was shown at the Plaza on December 31, 1964. The last ownership group bought the theater in 1965 but never re-opened it to show films. The Plaza was torn down in 1971.
Here is an article from the LA Times dated 3/5/72:
Condemnation Settlement OKd by Jury
A Superior Court jury has made an award of $80,000 in a condemnation suit involving the Community Redevelopment Agency and the owners of the former Plaza Theater. The theater, built in 1928 as a legitimate theater and later converted to a movie house, was located at 4355 Plaza Square and has been torn down.
Owners of the land produced expert testimony that the land was worth $400,000. Agency experts placed the value at $73,200. The site is included in a 36 acre, $11 million redevelopment project near Hawthorne and El Segundo Boulevards. Planned for an eventual commercial regional shopping center, the project is expected to include a Montgomery-Ward store, a J.C. Penney store and a third department store.
Here is an excerpt from an LA Times story dated ¾/68:
For years a huge sign overlooking Exposition Park stood out as a familiar Los Angeles landmark. It towered above the Figueroa Theater at Santa Barbara Avenue. “Figueroa Theater” was emblazoned on a massive steel frame, luring moviegoers to such films as “Stanley and Livingston” and “Boom Town” in the years just before World War II.
Now the theater, built in the mid 1920s but dark for many years, is being torn down and a gas station will go up on the site.
Here is an excerpted article from the LA Times dated 12/21/54:
Historic Mason Opera House to Come Down
Passing of a famous Los Angeles landmark was revealed yesterday with the announcement that the Mason Opera House at 127 S. Broadway will be torn down. Frank Fouce, owner of the theater, said it has been sold to the state. He said the state had acquired title to a major portion of the block for expansion of the Civic Center.
The Mason’s star began to fade in the early 20s, when the Biltmore theater became the leading legitimate theater. In recent years the Mason has been a Mexican film theater. Final presentation before the state takes possession will be the showing of a Mexican film “Pueblerina”, starring Columba Dominguez.
Here is an LA Times excerpt about the demolition. The story is dated 3/17/41.
OLD LYCEUM THEATER SOON TO BE TORN DOWN
The Lyceum Theater, on Spring Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets, is to be torn down to make way for a parking station. To a modern generation of showgoers this may mean less than nothing, but to old timers who remember, it is an event to be chronicled in letters huge as life itself, because this marks the passing of a landmark in the world of entertainment.
There is an interesting article in the LA Times dated 9/23/84 concerning the demolition of the theater. If you have access to the LA Times archives, there are numerous photos of the demolition. The accompanying story is too long to reproduce here. It does state that the theater opened in 1935 and was closed in 1972. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The county bought the site from the estate of car magnate Errett Cord for 10.45 million dollars in 1979. The plan at that time was to use the space for a park.
The LA Times reported the demolition of the Meralta on 12/31/78. However, the address was given as 10912 S. Downey Avenue.
Here is a condensed (ahem) version of an LA Times story dated 5/17/96:
The Winnetka Drive-in Theater in Chatsworth, one of only two left in the San Fernando Valley, will be torn down later this year to make way for one of the largest indoor movie theater complexes in the state. On the site of the drive-in at Prairie and Winnetka avenues is to be a multimillion-dollar megaplex with shops, restaurants and 26 movie screens capable of seating 5,500 viewers, Pacific Theatres announced Thursday. It is scheduled to open in June 1997. The demise of the Winnetka Drive-in, which the company said was built in the 1970s, will leave the San Fernando Valley with only one outdoor movie theater, the Van Nuys Drive-in, also owned by Pacific Theatres.
There is a photo of the Dane on this page:
http://tinyurl.com/yrtqxn