Congress Theatre
7510 S. Vermont Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90044
7510 S. Vermont Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90044
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Architects: Clarence J. Smale
Functions: Church
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Nearby Theaters
Opened on May 25, 1939 with Joe E. Brown in “Flirting With Fate” & Cary Grant in “Gunga Din”. The Congress Theatre was one of many neighborhood theaters that dotted the streets of Southern California that are now all but memories of a day at the movies.
The Congress Theatre was closed in the late-1950’s and is now in use as a church.
Contributed by
William Gabel
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 18 comments)
The L.A. city planning department’s zoning information system locates this building at 7506 S. Vermont, so the address has apparently been adjusted a bit over the years. The system’s report gives a construction date of 1939 for the building, not surprising given that Ken’s photos above reveal it to be yet another fairly simple art moderne design typical of that decade’s later years.
A 2005 book called “Art Deco Los Angeles”, by Suzanne Tarbell Cooper and Amy Ronnebeck Hall, names Clarence J. Smale as the architect of the Congress Theatre.
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://snipurl.com/hl2os
Here is a September 1958 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/yktuwfn
I attended this theater many times to see 2nd run movies in the 50s and I “thought” I had been there as late as 1961. Is it certain that it closed in the late 50s ?
Boy do I remember the Congress. My Grandfather would take me up to the show in his pickup from 624 East 91sat Street. You could count on the Congress to have all the ghost and outer space movies. I watched many of the great movies from the 40’s there. The kids used to run up and down those carpet stariways to the bathrooms. I was an outer space movie there I can’t remember in which a woman got out of a swimming pool in a flesh colored bathing suit to simulate being in the nude. A little exciting but not the real thing.
Here is a recent photo of the former Congress Theatre. It looks as though the street has been recently repaved, but the sidewalk still needs some work.
Clarence J. Smale was the architect of the Congress Theatre.
This opened on May 25th, 1939 with Hollywood stars in person with “Flirting with Fate” and “Gunga Din”
The building is all tagged up and not in use. Such a beautiful building, I hope some organization comes along to save it, repurpose it, and it doesn’t get torn down.