Victoria Theatre
2570 W. Pico Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90006
2570 W. Pico Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90006
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The house that would become the Victoria Theatre was the subject of an item in the March 15, 1913, issue of Southwest Contractor & Manufacturer. The item said that plans and specifications for a brick store, office, and theater building, 57x140 feet, to be built at the southwest corner of Pico Boulevard and Berendo Street, had been filed on March 7. Frank L. Stiff was the architect.
No, I was parked on the street at 3:55 p.m. so there was a ptential ticket problem. I had to hustle back to the car.
The Victoria was listed in the city directory in 1914:
http://tinyurl.com/235wvt
did you walk in there and look around?
Here are two photos from July 2007:
http://tinyurl.com/2hw9ll
http://tinyurl.com/yul6dv
The theater dates at least back to 1925, according to an ad in the LA Times.
There’s some great footage of this theater in Rudy Ray Moore’s “Petey Wheatstraw”.
Here’s an article from the LA Times about a robbery at this theater:
(Nov. 20, 1936)
While counting the box office receipts of Victoria Theater, Pico Boulevard and Berendo street, last night, G.F. Bromley, manager, was robbed by and armed bandit. The bandit, 25 years of age, entered the theater office, Bromley said, struck a gun in the manager’s ribs, grabbed the bag containing $120 and fled.
The Victoria Theatre was adapted for reuse as a ballroom meeting hall at some point in time – most likely in the 1960’s. Unlike its neighbor, the Midway, which saw no structural changes, the Victoria saw extensive remodeling. The auditorium floors were leveled and a kitchen and bar were installed in the rear of the auditorium under the projection room. The bathrooms were on the first floor and the outer and inner lobbies were combined for a large central lobby. An office was also added on the first floor as well. When you walked down a long hallway it lead to the meeting room. The stage area remained the same through most of the 1980’s. In the fall of 1981 a punk rock concert was thrown in the building with local bands including Circle One.
Though the marquee still proudly declared “VICTORIA”, there was very little left of the theater to remind you of its past.
The Victoria Theatre is located at 2570 W. Pico Blvd.