Capri Theatre
6258 Van Nuys Boulevard,
Van Nuys,
CA
91401
6258 Van Nuys Boulevard,
Van Nuys,
CA
91401
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing 23 comments
1952 photo added courtesy of David Kroger.
Plans for what would become the Rivoli Theatre were announced in the March 18, 1921, issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor. Greenberg & Siebert were the developers of the project, which was designed by the Architectural & Engineering Co., which had its offices in the Story Building in Los Angeles. I’ve been unable to discover anything about this generically-named firm.
On January 28, 1972, I saw my first film in California at the Capri. I had just arrived from the Washington, D.C. area. That night “Play Misty for Me” and “Diary of a Mad Housewife” were playing there. Although I settled in nearby North Hollywood, this was the only time I went to the Capri.
This photograph of the Rivoli Theatre was taken by George Mann in 1926.
Hate to see monuments from ones past bite the dust. I worked at the Rivoli in late 1953 qnd 1954. Tore tickets, sold goodies, and set the marque. What a time. Also, ancient history. :)
Hi POB, Glad you and your mom liked all the photos of this theatre. I wish I would have taken more of them. Take care :)
my mom worked @ the Rivoli when she was 14 in ‘57. she got a kick out of the photos.
Yes Chuck, I think it would be best to list the theatre as you say, or both ways. The last time I went to the Capri, dad too us kids to see the original version House of Wax (1953) in 3D. I think that was about 1966 or so. I posted a couple of other photos and Google map on the Photos tab.
On the night before Easter ‘71 I went to the Capri to see MASH with Butch Cassidy as double bill with a good friend. It was smaller than the main Van Nuys theater, but a nice memory. Thanks to Joe for the info on street names in the Valley!
Joe — Many thanks for the information on Sherman Way — and the link about Valley street names. Your research is much appreciated.
Now that the site has been renewed, I will see if I can post a couple of photos here. I have two of the demolition of the Capri from around ‘76 or '77, where the whole block is boarded up. The block then became the “Federal Lot” for parking. TOday I see an office building has been built in that spot. I will get my photos up asap.
Bill: Originally, parts of the current Chandler Boulevard, Van Nuys Boulevard, and Sherman Way were all named Sherman Way. The interurban cars of the Pacific Electric Railway ran down the center of the street, which was named for land developer and Pacific Electric bigwig Moses Sherman, one of Henry Huntington’s business partners.
Here’s a web page about street names in the Valley.
If the Rivoli at 6258 Van Nuys Blvd opened in 1921, what is one to make of the listings in the 1922, 1923 and 1924 L.A. city directories for a Rivoli Theatre at 260 Sherman Way, Van Nuys?
If you’re on Facebook, there’s a photo of the Capri in the Valley Relics group’s album
View link
The Rivoli/Capri theatre was located on Van Nuys Blvd. between Erwin St on the South, and Sylvan on the North. 6528 was their address. The Post office is at 6200 Van Nuys Blvd right at Delano St. The Capri was a block North.
Contrary to earlier post, the theatre (and entire block) was NOT razed to build a post office. The PO was one block further South.
Erwin St. is now blocked off to traffic. The block had the Capri theatre, a billiards hall on the North side of it, and an unclaimed freight building and a shoe repair shop on the corner of Erwin.
After the block was demolished, a parking lot for the federal building occupied the space. The post office had already been built by this time.
I have 2 good photos of the Capri, although the block was boarded up for demolition, I am guessing around 1976 or 1977.
When I get the photo digitally watermarked, I will post it here for this theatre. BTW, I have seen other photos on the net, showing the Rivoli and the other business on that block.
My dad was the projectionist at the Capri and I remember going to work with him and watching the original Oceans 11 billed with The Apartment. Probably saw both moives 20 times then went down the street to Cupids and put away several chili dogs
Mark
This is from the Valley News in December 1969:
Law enforcement officers began confiscating the Swedish sex film “I Am Curious (Yellow)” from Southland theaters yesterday on the authority of warrants alleging the movie is obscene. Lt. L.M. Dwyer of the Police Dept.’s administrative vice squad said the film had been seized from at least one Valley theater, the Fox West Coast Capri, 6258 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys, yesterday. Another Valley theater, The Guild, 5161 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, was also showing the picture and was expected to be affected.
Warrants have been issued for eight Los Angeles County movie houses. The city and district attorneys' offices acted jointly in obtaining the Municipal Court warrants, which allege the film is in violation of state obscenity laws. The Cine Theater at 226 S. Market St., Inglewood, and the Hermosa Theater, 1300 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach, were raided by sheriff’s deputies and police officers late yesterday afternoon.
Sidney A. Cherniss Jr., head of the district attorney’s special pornography section, said the warrants were obtained after law enforcement officers viewed the film last week and signed affidavits saying in their opinion it was obscene. The controversial movie, a 120-minute black and white production, features portrayals of the sex act. “I Am Curious (Yellow)“ began showing in Los Angeles last May 22 in an exclusive run at two theaters. The movie, rated "X,” was released countywide earlier this month.
Other theaters where the film has been showing are: State Theater, 703 S. Broadway, Los Angeles; Corbin Theater, 19620 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana; Picfair Theater, 5879 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles; Century Theater, 5115 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Dwyer said the film was seized at the Century Theater.
R.L. McConnell, manager of the Capri Theater, declined to talk about the controversy surrounding the film yesterday. He said his movie house was “closed down for a theater audit” and would open again depending on what the audit reveals. A spokesman for the Corbin Theater said she expected that movie house would reopen today with presentation of another film.
Here is a 1959 ad from the LA Times for “Liane, Jungle Goddess”. Click on the ad for a better view.
http://tinyurl.com/l9l4jn
If you look very closely, you can see the Rivoli theater on the right side of the street in this 1940’s shot of Van Nuys Blvd.
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics10/00024965.jpg
The Rivoli was at 6258 Van Nuys Boulevard. It was open by 1921. In that year, a Bessie Harrison Prothero won a naming contest for the theatre, according to an article in the Van Nuys News of June 23, 1921. I don’t know if the theatre was brand new, or was an older theatre being renamed.
In 1935, the Rivoli suffered some $5,000 of damage from a fire, reported in the Van Nuys News of November 30. The theatre survived, and in 1939 both it and the nearby Van Nuys Theatre hosted premiers, the first ever held in the San Fernando Valley, according to a September 13 article in Daily Variety.
On May 30, 1941, Southwest Builder & Contractor announced that there would be a new facade and rest rooms at the Rivoli Theatre in Van Nuys, to be designed by architect Clifford Balch.
By 1960 the Rivoli had been renamed the Capri Theatre. It was still listed under that name in the National General Theatres section of the L.A. Times theatre guide on February 10, 1971.
If this theater was on the site of The Civic Center Post Office (next to the Federal Building) on the corner of Delano St., then its address was most likely 6200 Van Nuys Blvd.; and was probably torn down in the early 1970s—which is just a guess. There is, in fact, still a bar & grill just down the block and across the street as of 2007.
My father owned a bar just south of the Rivoli on the opposite side of the street. It was very much like the Lido Theater in LA and frequently played the same double bills. I was never in it when it was the Rivoli, but was after its name changed.
I see no one remembers the Rivoli Theatre in Van Nuys, but I do. I was a kid, but I mostly remember the decorative art deco box office, located under the marquee (the usual spot). This was not one of the better Fox West Coast Theatres, but was one of a series of convenient local family-oriented theatres located on Van Nuys Blvd. (along with the Capri, the Fox, and—further north, the Panorama (which was not a Fox Theatre).