Punch Line Café

The “spooky old abandoned, derelict apartment building” was the Garden Court Apartments.

I’m having trouble picturing where the Avon was. That block of Hollywood Blvd consisted of the Hillcrest Motor Building and the Garden Court Apartments throughout the 20th century. The apartment building stood from 1917 to 1984; the Hillcrest building (later a Shakey’s Pizza, Motorama Museum, Hertz/Avis car rental, and always a collection of misc stores on street level)1929 to present. The apartment building was replaced by the current shopping center (former home to the Galaxy Theatre).

The Garden Court was at 7021 Hollywood Blvd. and the building on the opposite corner of Hollywood and Sycamore, which currently houses Author’s Services, is 7051. Given the Avon’s listed address being 7039, that would require some sort of building wedged in between the apartment building and the corner of Hollywood and Sycamore. However, every picture I’ve found shows that parcel of land being a small parking lot up until the shopping center was built.

But there was also a spooky old abandoned, derelict apartment building on the north side of the street in those years. I’m thinking a couple of blocks west of the Chinese, so, west of the Avon as you were remembering. I think it had a specific name, too, but I’m totally blanking on that. But it was a pretty well known abandoned structure back then, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find pictures.

ChasSmith; no I don’t think so, it’s been along time but the Avon was not a corner theatre, for one thing, however, it did run 16mm Bell and Howel projection. As I recall, if standing in front the theatre on the street and facing the theatre; to your right would be Grauman’s Chinese theatre with a big white spooky looking Hotel either between the Avon and the Chinese theatre or directly to the left of the Avon. Across from the Chinese theatre was a 1st run Loew’s house (on Hollywood blvd,of course).

During this era/time you could open a theatre with less restrictions if it had 50 or less seats or perhaps it was less than 50 seats (49 seats). This ordinance was perfect for this type of theatre (Gay) and made good Business Sense. Low investment to test a new and unknown market vs. high investment for a larger and nicer house with Higher Risk that you would or could be raided at any moment. Remeber Vince Miranda’s Pussycat porn houses running deep throat were getting raided like crazy all over during that era so there was Very High Risk in opening a Gay theatre so a 50 seat house fit the bill. Looking back I can now say it took Shan Sayles lots of balls to start the Continental Theatre chain, which is another story of it’s own lol.

This was a Great little theatre next door to Grauman’s Chinese Theater, home to the hand & footprints of the Hollywood Stars,
located at the northeast corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Orange Drive, just west of Highland Avenue.

The Hollywood, Avon theatre along with the San Francisco, Nob Hill (Adult theatre still in existence and doing very well) and the LA, Park where among the first Gay theatres in American and had a direct impact on gay social evolution and acceptance of gays in the United States. Many of Hollywood’s whos who attended screenings at the Avon under cover of Private Membership.

I thought that ad looked familiar.

This was one of those retail adult stores turned into a theatre. It was not a true theatre, just a adult store.