The Savoy Theatre is listed at 5326 S. Central again in the 1915 L.A. City Directory. The address as currently listed above on this page definitely has the two middle numbers reversed.
A Playhouse Theatre, at 1236 W. Seventh Street, was listed among the movie houses in the 1915 L.A. City Directory.
Google Maps gets the right location for this parcel, but their Street View feature totally blows it, showing a spot east of the freeway when you try to view anything east of Hartford Avenue.
I’m still convinced that the Playhouse Theatre building has not been demolished.
Yes, the round-cornered building was the First Methodist Episcopal Church, built ca.1890 and designed by architect John Austin. The congregation moved to a new church at 8th and Hope in 1920.
In the 1915 City Directory, an Apollo Theatre is listed at 4821 S. Vermont. As the building was erected in 1914, that must have been the opening name of the Astor.
To very belatedly answer ScottS’s question from May 5, 2007, I think the name above the entrance is “Butler’s.” 608 S. Hill Street is listed as the location of Butler’s Theatre in the 1915 L.A. City Directory.
This earlier photo from the USC Archive (mis-dated as ca.1920, but the tall building on the southeast corner of 6th and Hill, built in 1913, isn’t there yet) shows a different style of facade, without the round arch. It looks vaguely Moorish. This might have been the original theater entrance, or a pre-theater storefront.
The chronology as determined so far would be this:
Probably opened in 1911; Butler’s Theatre from at least 1913; Shamrock Theatre in the early 1920s; Band Box (or Bandbox) Theatre from ca.1924; closed in 1929 or 1930.
Judging from this photo, probably taken between 1928 and 1930, it looks as though the College Theatre might have been converted to retail use even before the old California Club (foreground, on the corner) was demolished. At least the facade of the building (adjacent, to the right of, the California Club) had been flattened and de-decorated, and it looks like there are ordinary store awnings in front, rather than a theater marquee.
Photo is another from the Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive.
The Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive provides this postcard view of Broadway south of 6th Street before Desmond’s was built. The Symphony Theatre occupied the white building with the arched entrance, adjacent to the much taller Story Building on the corner. The copyright date on the postcard is 1916, two years after the Symphony opened. The theater has no marquee in this view, but there’s a big rooftop sign.
The view includes the Palace, then still the Orpheum, a few doors down Broadway. for some reason, the postcard’s colorist chose to make much of the facade of the Orpheum a reddish brown, as though it was faced with brick instead of the bright terra cotta it actually sported.
Finally! Although the building is over two hundred feet distant, and the scan is a bit blurry, here is a photo of Bard’s Hill Street Theatre in the 1920s. The detail in the image is not too good, but it looks as though the theater had the same sort of fancy facade that Bard’s 8th Street had before it became the Olympic.
As there are no photos of the Sierra Theatre yet, I’m posting a link to this 1955 photo of streetcars on Eagle Rock Boulevard, even though the theater is about a block away in the background. So far, it’s all we’ve got.
Patsy: The 1950 remodeling the magazine article referred to was the one that gave the Athens the facade that appears in the postcard view currently at the top of this Cinema Treasures page- the one that looks sort of like a drive-in’s screen tower.
I’ve checked the Assessor’s office web site, and the building on this parcel (extending all the way to the corner of Workman Street) was indeed built in 1912, the year the Starland opened. Apparently the Linclon Heights Bulletin-News was premature in its announcement of the theater’s demolition. It’s been converted to retail use.
Looking at the Google Maps satellite and street views shows that the section of the building with the former theater entrance (now the clothing store Ken mentions) was pretty narrow, and the configuration of the rooftops suggests that this was an “L” shaped theater, with the auditorium extending eastward from a north-south lobby. I never went to the Starland, but the entrance portion looks to be no more than 25 feet wide, if that, and there’s no way they could have crammed an 850 seat theater into that space.
The remodeling of the Starland to the modern style must have been mostly cosmetic, as the Assessor’s office doesn’t give an “effectively built” date for the building. There’s some nice terrazzo pavement on the sidewalk out front, though (see Google street view), in a geometric style which suggests a 1940’s remodeling.
An article about the Colonial Drive-In appeared in the February 4, 1956, issue of Boxoffice Magazine. The architect was Jack K. Vogel. It was the first drive-in in Annapolis, and was built for Durkee Enterprises.
The Ardmore Drive-In was the subject of an article published in the February 8, 1960, issue of Boxoffice Magazine. This was one of many drive-ins designed by Jack K. Vogel, an architectural engineer. The Ardmore included a pair of 60-seat, heated and air conditioned auditoriums flanking the concession area. The Ardmore was built for Ernest and George Stern, of the Associated Theatres circuit.
Boxoffice Magazine of October 19, 1959, featured an illustrated three-page spread about the Vogue, which had recently reopened after undergoing a $225,000 remodeling, designed by architect J. Arthur Drielsma.
I’d forgotten how the carpet extended all the way to the sidewalk.
Under the heading “Indoor-Outdoor Theatre in Buffalo Area,” the October 4, 1965, issue of Boxoffice Magazine published a rendering of the new Young Street Drive-In. The caption said that it was designed by Jack K. Vogel, had a capacity of 1000 cars, and featured two all-weather auditoriums.
Boxoffice Magazine’s issue of October 25, 1965, gives the opening date of National General’s Thunderbird Drive-In as September 1 that year. It also confirms the car capacity as 1,182, and the architect as Gale Santocono.
This page duplicates this earlier listing. Both pages place the Thunderbird in Sacramento, but it was in Rancho Cordova. The correct address is posted in a comment by Lost Memory on the earlier page, and my comments there add additional information.
The Savoy Theatre is listed at 5326 S. Central again in the 1915 L.A. City Directory. The address as currently listed above on this page definitely has the two middle numbers reversed.
A Playhouse Theatre, at 1236 W. Seventh Street, was listed among the movie houses in the 1915 L.A. City Directory.
Google Maps gets the right location for this parcel, but their Street View feature totally blows it, showing a spot east of the freeway when you try to view anything east of Hartford Avenue.
I’m still convinced that the Playhouse Theatre building has not been demolished.
A Merryland Theatre is listed at 1015 E. Seventh Street in the 1915 L.A. City Directory.
Listed in the 1915 City Directory as Gore’s Theatre, 1002 W. 9th, so that definitely is an aka.
Also listed as the Gayety in the 1915 City Directory. This theater would have been almost across the street from the Lincoln Theatre.
Yes, the round-cornered building was the First Methodist Episcopal Church, built ca.1890 and designed by architect John Austin. The congregation moved to a new church at 8th and Hope in 1920.
Also listed in the 1915 L.A. City Directory, same address, under the same name.
The 1915 City Directory lists a movie theater called the Creation at this address.
Listed simply as the Broadway Theatre in the 1915 City Directory.
In the 1915 City Directory, an Apollo Theatre is listed at 4821 S. Vermont. As the building was erected in 1914, that must have been the opening name of the Astor.
The 1913 photo link I posted on Oct 8, 2006, has died. The picture is now here.
To very belatedly answer ScottS’s question from May 5, 2007, I think the name above the entrance is “Butler’s.” 608 S. Hill Street is listed as the location of Butler’s Theatre in the 1915 L.A. City Directory.
This earlier photo from the USC Archive (mis-dated as ca.1920, but the tall building on the southeast corner of 6th and Hill, built in 1913, isn’t there yet) shows a different style of facade, without the round arch. It looks vaguely Moorish. This might have been the original theater entrance, or a pre-theater storefront.
The chronology as determined so far would be this:
Probably opened in 1911; Butler’s Theatre from at least 1913; Shamrock Theatre in the early 1920s; Band Box (or Bandbox) Theatre from ca.1924; closed in 1929 or 1930.
Judging from this photo, probably taken between 1928 and 1930, it looks as though the College Theatre might have been converted to retail use even before the old California Club (foreground, on the corner) was demolished. At least the facade of the building (adjacent, to the right of, the California Club) had been flattened and de-decorated, and it looks like there are ordinary store awnings in front, rather than a theater marquee.
Photo is another from the Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive.
The Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive provides this postcard view of Broadway south of 6th Street before Desmond’s was built. The Symphony Theatre occupied the white building with the arched entrance, adjacent to the much taller Story Building on the corner. The copyright date on the postcard is 1916, two years after the Symphony opened. The theater has no marquee in this view, but there’s a big rooftop sign.
The view includes the Palace, then still the Orpheum, a few doors down Broadway. for some reason, the postcard’s colorist chose to make much of the facade of the Orpheum a reddish brown, as though it was faced with brick instead of the bright terra cotta it actually sported.
Finally! Although the building is over two hundred feet distant, and the scan is a bit blurry, here is a photo of Bard’s Hill Street Theatre in the 1920s. The detail in the image is not too good, but it looks as though the theater had the same sort of fancy facade that Bard’s 8th Street had before it became the Olympic.
The photo is from the Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive.
As there are no photos of the Sierra Theatre yet, I’m posting a link to this 1955 photo of streetcars on Eagle Rock Boulevard, even though the theater is about a block away in the background. So far, it’s all we’ve got.
Photo is from the collection of the Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive at Flickr.
Here’s the full view of the photo Cinematour has, which is from the Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive, some of which is now available at Flickr.
A photo giving a fairly decent view of the Town in the 1940s. I believe the main feature is “Casablanca.”
Patsy: The 1950 remodeling the magazine article referred to was the one that gave the Athens the facade that appears in the postcard view currently at the top of this Cinema Treasures page- the one that looks sort of like a drive-in’s screen tower.
I’ve checked the Assessor’s office web site, and the building on this parcel (extending all the way to the corner of Workman Street) was indeed built in 1912, the year the Starland opened. Apparently the Linclon Heights Bulletin-News was premature in its announcement of the theater’s demolition. It’s been converted to retail use.
Looking at the Google Maps satellite and street views shows that the section of the building with the former theater entrance (now the clothing store Ken mentions) was pretty narrow, and the configuration of the rooftops suggests that this was an “L” shaped theater, with the auditorium extending eastward from a north-south lobby. I never went to the Starland, but the entrance portion looks to be no more than 25 feet wide, if that, and there’s no way they could have crammed an 850 seat theater into that space.
The remodeling of the Starland to the modern style must have been mostly cosmetic, as the Assessor’s office doesn’t give an “effectively built” date for the building. There’s some nice terrazzo pavement on the sidewalk out front, though (see Google street view), in a geometric style which suggests a 1940’s remodeling.
An article about the Colonial Drive-In appeared in the February 4, 1956, issue of Boxoffice Magazine. The architect was Jack K. Vogel. It was the first drive-in in Annapolis, and was built for Durkee Enterprises.
The Ardmore Drive-In was the subject of an article published in the February 8, 1960, issue of Boxoffice Magazine. This was one of many drive-ins designed by Jack K. Vogel, an architectural engineer. The Ardmore included a pair of 60-seat, heated and air conditioned auditoriums flanking the concession area. The Ardmore was built for Ernest and George Stern, of the Associated Theatres circuit.
Boxoffice Magazine of October 19, 1959, featured an illustrated three-page spread about the Vogue, which had recently reopened after undergoing a $225,000 remodeling, designed by architect J. Arthur Drielsma.
I’d forgotten how the carpet extended all the way to the sidewalk.
Under the heading “Indoor-Outdoor Theatre in Buffalo Area,” the October 4, 1965, issue of Boxoffice Magazine published a rendering of the new Young Street Drive-In. The caption said that it was designed by Jack K. Vogel, had a capacity of 1000 cars, and featured two all-weather auditoriums.
Boxoffice Magazine’s issue of October 25, 1965, gives the opening date of National General’s Thunderbird Drive-In as September 1 that year. It also confirms the car capacity as 1,182, and the architect as Gale Santocono.
This page duplicates this earlier listing. Both pages place the Thunderbird in Sacramento, but it was in Rancho Cordova. The correct address is posted in a comment by Lost Memory on the earlier page, and my comments there add additional information.