I’m not going to figure out which theater this was, but it’s a funny little story from May 1961:
POCAHONTAS. Ark. (AP)â€"“It was black and it was coming at me, so I jumped in that pickup truck and took off.” Ed Tyler, an employee of a drive-in theater here, literally took off Sunday. A windstormâ€"or tornado, as he called it, picked up the truck and spun it around several times before setting it down. “I was hanging onto the steering wheel with my feet out the doorâ€, Tyler said "I thought I was a gonerâ€. He wasn’t hurt. The storm damaged the theater but apparently hit nothing else.
The drive-in was destroyed by fire in May 1958, according to this lawsuit. Note Mrs. Brown’s possessions included a gun and a wedding dress. Texas is great. http://tinyurl.com/2y3jhu
There was a fire in the 300 block of S. Broadway the other day, on the east (even number) side. The LA Times article stated that much of the original architecture was revealed when the fake fronts were destroyed. I haven’t been downtown since the fire, but I will check it out.
Chewbacca the Wookie was arrested in front of Grauman’s the other day for abusing a tour guide. Someone from the Kimmel show across the street took video of the wookie being cuffed and put in the police car. Supposedly he (or it) said “Don’t mess with this Wookie” on the way to the hoosegow.
This is a 1968 photo. As Joe accurately recalls, there is a parking lot where the building at 314 S. Broadway stands today. Ergo, the current building is not the theater. http://jpg2.lapl.org/spnb1/00017091.jpg
This is a 1973 photo. The Banner would have been the building immediately to the right of the small white hotel sign, heading south on Main: http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics09/00014126.jpg
The theater cashier was shot and killed in a holdup in 1933:
San Francisco Dec. 27 â€" A hanging verdict was returned early this morning against Edward Anderson, 25, confessed slayer of Hewlett Tarr in a theater box office holdup. Anderson insisted throughout the trial that he had not intended to kill Tarr, Curran theater cashier, but through his unfamiliarity with his gun, it accidentally discharged as he pointed it at the cashier through the grillwork of the cashier box office window.
Status should be closed/demolished, following the Sylmar quake in March 1971:
The San Fernando Theater at 303 S. Brand Blvd. was so severely damaged in the quake that it has been razed. John Rennie’s Crest Theater at 214 N. Maclay Ave. also was closed due to major damage. Rennie’s Town Theater at the northeast corner of Truman St. and Maclay Ave. had been razed earlier to make way for a service station and work was under way on this project when the quake struck. San Fernando no longer has a theater.
Here is an excerpt from a June 1974 newspaper article on the demolition:
A Vallejo landmark that served as the community’s leading cinema for nearly 35 years until it was heavily damaged by fire 20 years ago is being torn down to prevent it from becoming a derelict structure. It’s the old Hanlon Theater at 414 Virginia St. where wrecking crews began demolition of the 51-year-oki building early last week under a permit granted Senator Luther E. Gibson, who acquired the building in 1952.
Senator Gibson said it is with regret that the two story structure which once served as Vallejo’s major entertainment center and the city’s only movie palace is coming to an ignominious end. “Many Vallejoans thought the theater might be restored to its former grandeur after it was ravaged by fire or that it could be converted to some other commercial use”, Senator Gibson said, “but the economic facts of the situation are that such re-construction is not practical”.
I took a walk over to 4th Street today to see what was at 242 and 226, depending on where you place the theater. That entire area has been redeveloped into an outdoor shopping mall. As you would expect, there is no way to surmise that a theater once stood at that location.
On a side note, I noticed an interesting mural painted on the side wall of Acres of Books on Long Beach Blvd. The book store’s adjacent neighbor was recently demolished, revealing an advertisement for Harbor U-Drive. One part of the sign states that the business has relocated to Ocean and American, which gives you an idea how old the signage is. I suppose this will be painted over in due course or obscured by new construction. Check it out if you’re in the LBO area.
Here is an article on the razing of the Egyptian in October 1959:
Old Egyptian Theater Razed
The demolition man’s jackhammer is finishing what the city’s changing traffic patterns started and television helped alongâ€"putting the Egyptian Theater out of business. The stately old movie house at 226 E.4th St., mecca of three generations of motion-picture-goers, is being razed. Built in the early 1920s, the Egyptian was the rage of the Southland when it opened its doors with a premiere showing of a silent flicker, “Little Old New York.” “They came from miles around, driving Model T’s, riding bikes and a few in buggies to see it,” recalls an oldtimer. “It was plenty plush and the decor and architecture inside and out was in an Egyptian theme.”
The 1,000 seat theater made the transition from silent films to tallies without a hitch and for a number of years was the chief outlet in the city for MGM films. Thousands of World War II servicemen remember the red-white-and-blue bunting outside and the
special ticket rates. After the war it was completely remodeled, but the Egyptian was headed downhill. Television cut into its market and it passed from a first-run to a second-run house. Then the city made 4th St. a one-way street and attendance dwindled further. Lack of parking was another problem. And, ironically, the site is to become an automobile parking lot.
Here is an account of a fire at the Arcade on 6/19/65:
CRISFIELD â€" A Crisfield landmark was heavily damaged Friday night when fire of unknown origin burned through the balcony and roof of the Arcade Theatre on Main St. “Thank goodness the movie was over and the building vacant when the fire broke out,” said Mrs. Paul Maddrix, wife of one of the owners of the Arcade, “or there might have been panic among the children.” Mrs. Maddrix said the theatre was showing a movie that appealed especially to the younger set, and there were 300 or more young people in the building during the show.
She said the movie, “Beach Party” ended about 9.30 p.m. and the fire broke out about 11:30 p.m. Two business concerns adjoining the theatre, Beverly’s Sweet Shop, and Daniel’s Radio Repair Shop, were extensively damaged from smoke and water. Firemen said the sweet shop had several people in it at the time of the fire but the radio repair business was vacant. There were no injuries reported, either to firemen or patrons in the nearby shop.
I’m not going to figure out which theater this was, but it’s a funny little story from May 1961:
POCAHONTAS. Ark. (AP)â€"“It was black and it was coming at me, so I jumped in that pickup truck and took off.” Ed Tyler, an employee of a drive-in theater here, literally took off Sunday. A windstormâ€"or tornado, as he called it, picked up the truck and spun it around several times before setting it down. “I was hanging onto the steering wheel with my feet out the doorâ€, Tyler said "I thought I was a gonerâ€. He wasn’t hurt. The storm damaged the theater but apparently hit nothing else.
The drive-in was destroyed by fire in May 1958, according to this lawsuit. Note Mrs. Brown’s possessions included a gun and a wedding dress. Texas is great.
http://tinyurl.com/2y3jhu
Here is a page with photos of the theater:
http://tinyurl.com/2mogjl
There was a fire in the 300 block of S. Broadway the other day, on the east (even number) side. The LA Times article stated that much of the original architecture was revealed when the fake fronts were destroyed. I haven’t been downtown since the fire, but I will check it out.
Here are proceedings against one William Weaver, who allegedly torched the Erie in May 1933:
http://tinyurl.com/2atbtv
Chewbacca the Wookie was arrested in front of Grauman’s the other day for abusing a tour guide. Someone from the Kimmel show across the street took video of the wookie being cuffed and put in the police car. Supposedly he (or it) said “Don’t mess with this Wookie” on the way to the hoosegow.
Here is a February 2000 article that discusses renovation plans:
http://tinyurl.com/33h2cb
Very prominent is an understatement. Wasn’t the guy in the commercial standing on the marquee?
Status should be closed/demolished.
The Tracy is at the end of Seaside in this 1961 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/276p44
OK, dialing the wayback machine to 1940, you will see Joe’s building at 314:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics30/00064857.jpg
LAPL says this is 7th and Hill. I think not:
http://tinyurl.com/yohp3a
Here’s an interesting 1973 photo. I guess the tie shop was handy if you were in urgent need of a cravat:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067402.jpg
What about the 5th Avenue? That’s still standing, isn’t it? It’s near the Academy on Manchester.
This is a 1968 photo. As Joe accurately recalls, there is a parking lot where the building at 314 S. Broadway stands today. Ergo, the current building is not the theater.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/spnb1/00017091.jpg
I don’t think we’ve seen this 1938 photo yet:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics32/00065597.jpg
Here is a photo dated 1940 from the LAPL:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067422.jpg
This is a 1973 photo. The Banner would have been the building immediately to the right of the small white hotel sign, heading south on Main:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics09/00014126.jpg
The theater cashier was shot and killed in a holdup in 1933:
San Francisco Dec. 27 â€" A hanging verdict was returned early this morning against Edward Anderson, 25, confessed slayer of Hewlett Tarr in a theater box office holdup. Anderson insisted throughout the trial that he had not intended to kill Tarr, Curran theater cashier, but through his unfamiliarity with his gun, it accidentally discharged as he pointed it at the cashier through the grillwork of the cashier box office window.
Status should be closed/demolished, following the Sylmar quake in March 1971:
The San Fernando Theater at 303 S. Brand Blvd. was so severely damaged in the quake that it has been razed. John Rennie’s Crest Theater at 214 N. Maclay Ave. also was closed due to major damage. Rennie’s Town Theater at the northeast corner of Truman St. and Maclay Ave. had been razed earlier to make way for a service station and work was under way on this project when the quake struck. San Fernando no longer has a theater.
Here is an excerpt from a June 1974 newspaper article on the demolition:
A Vallejo landmark that served as the community’s leading cinema for nearly 35 years until it was heavily damaged by fire 20 years ago is being torn down to prevent it from becoming a derelict structure. It’s the old Hanlon Theater at 414 Virginia St. where wrecking crews began demolition of the 51-year-oki building early last week under a permit granted Senator Luther E. Gibson, who acquired the building in 1952.
Senator Gibson said it is with regret that the two story structure which once served as Vallejo’s major entertainment center and the city’s only movie palace is coming to an ignominious end. “Many Vallejoans thought the theater might be restored to its former grandeur after it was ravaged by fire or that it could be converted to some other commercial use”, Senator Gibson said, “but the economic facts of the situation are that such re-construction is not practical”.
I took a walk over to 4th Street today to see what was at 242 and 226, depending on where you place the theater. That entire area has been redeveloped into an outdoor shopping mall. As you would expect, there is no way to surmise that a theater once stood at that location.
On a side note, I noticed an interesting mural painted on the side wall of Acres of Books on Long Beach Blvd. The book store’s adjacent neighbor was recently demolished, revealing an advertisement for Harbor U-Drive. One part of the sign states that the business has relocated to Ocean and American, which gives you an idea how old the signage is. I suppose this will be painted over in due course or obscured by new construction. Check it out if you’re in the LBO area.
Here is an article on the razing of the Egyptian in October 1959:
Old Egyptian Theater Razed
The demolition man’s jackhammer is finishing what the city’s changing traffic patterns started and television helped alongâ€"putting the Egyptian Theater out of business. The stately old movie house at 226 E.4th St., mecca of three generations of motion-picture-goers, is being razed. Built in the early 1920s, the Egyptian was the rage of the Southland when it opened its doors with a premiere showing of a silent flicker, “Little Old New York.” “They came from miles around, driving Model T’s, riding bikes and a few in buggies to see it,” recalls an oldtimer. “It was plenty plush and the decor and architecture inside and out was in an Egyptian theme.”
The 1,000 seat theater made the transition from silent films to tallies without a hitch and for a number of years was the chief outlet in the city for MGM films. Thousands of World War II servicemen remember the red-white-and-blue bunting outside and the
special ticket rates. After the war it was completely remodeled, but the Egyptian was headed downhill. Television cut into its market and it passed from a first-run to a second-run house. Then the city made 4th St. a one-way street and attendance dwindled further. Lack of parking was another problem. And, ironically, the site is to become an automobile parking lot.
There was a fire that damaged the theater in 1947:
http://tinyurl.com/2ht56l
Here is an account of a fire at the Arcade on 6/19/65:
CRISFIELD â€" A Crisfield landmark was heavily damaged Friday night when fire of unknown origin burned through the balcony and roof of the Arcade Theatre on Main St. “Thank goodness the movie was over and the building vacant when the fire broke out,” said Mrs. Paul Maddrix, wife of one of the owners of the Arcade, “or there might have been panic among the children.” Mrs. Maddrix said the theatre was showing a movie that appealed especially to the younger set, and there were 300 or more young people in the building during the show.
She said the movie, “Beach Party” ended about 9.30 p.m. and the fire broke out about 11:30 p.m. Two business concerns adjoining the theatre, Beverly’s Sweet Shop, and Daniel’s Radio Repair Shop, were extensively damaged from smoke and water. Firemen said the sweet shop had several people in it at the time of the fire but the radio repair business was vacant. There were no injuries reported, either to firemen or patrons in the nearby shop.