Florence Mills Theatre
3511 S. Central Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90011
3511 S. Central Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90011
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Architects: Arthur Lawrence Valk
Previous Names: Globe Theatre, Amusu Theatre, Mills Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Globe Theatre was built in 1912. Last known as the Florence Mills Theatre, it stood in South Central Los Angeles until demolition came in March 2013.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 32 comments)
It looks like she only lived to the age of 31, but her husband died at the age of 102 in 1990. Quite a disparity.
He outlived four wives, the last one being Dr Gertrude Curtis, New York’s first Black dentist, and also the widow of Cecil Mack (R.C. McPherson), joint songwriter of The Charleston, Just a Cousin of Mine, That’s Why They Call me Shine and many others. Florence Mills' husband ended up owning a share of the royalties from the Charleston, enough to make anyone wealthy
Bill Egan
Hello all, I feel I should chime in as I grew up there. I first at least since the 1970’s, this theater has Never functioned as a movie house. I has been like Noah’s Ark sitting their. The structure looks pretty much the same as the photo’s Ken has shared with us here. It’s kinda weird because the neighborhood has changes dramatically since I was a boy but I do not think the locals know or knew it was a theater.
‘The introduction is a bit bewildering. That section of Los Angeles is hardly “long lost.”’
I thought the long lost referred to the theater district, not the actual area. Another thing that has changed is that it’s largely Hispanic now, not black.
Bill, in the last shot Ken posted on 3/3/09, we’re looking up past the liquor store sign at the front right corner of the building. At the very top are white letters on a black background that read Florence. From other angles, it’s possible to see that it reads Florence Mills Theatre.
Don S, The “long lost” meaning for the theatre district that once was in this area. Just like how Main Street once had many theatres before Broadway became the new district.
Yes, William. I was commenting to Warren, who was “bewildered.”
South Central is a good area for a photographer interested in architecture: old buildings tend to get reused, rather than knocked down.
I think that this item from an April, 1912, issue of The Moving Picture World must be about the Globe/Florence Mills Theatre, which was built that year:
The Florence Mills is in the midst of being demolished. Here is a picture of the Florence Mills, in decline, but before the wrecking ball. http://www.florencemills.com/buildings.htm#theatreLA
Larry Harnisch’s “Daily Mirror” weblog has posted an ad for this theater that ran in the July 17, 1947 issue of the Los Angeles Sentinal, the city’s African-American newspaper. The ad promotes the house as the Flo-Mills Theatre.