Sun Theatre
1408 W. Pico Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90015
1408 W. Pico Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90015
1 person
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Additional Info
Functions: Restaurant
Previous Names: Pico Grand Theatre, Sunbeam Theatre, New Sun Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The 650-seat Pico Grand Theatre was opened on January 1, 1912. In 1915 it was renamed Sunbeam Theatre. In 1924 it became the New Sun Theatre whch was renamed Sun Theatre in 1925. It was equipped with a theatre organ (make unknown). It was closed in July 1952.
By the early-2000’s it was occupied by a church. They moved out in 2019 and the building was ‘For Sale’. It became a restaurant.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Legendary theatre organist Gaylord Carter got his start in the 1920s as an organist for a Sun Theatre in Los Angeles.
The building at 1408 doesn’t look like it was ever a theater, so this is probably a replacement.
Here is the current occupant:
http://tinyurl.com/24jhyr
Listed as the Pico Grand in the 1914 city directory.
And, as noted before, this theatre was where Gaylord Carter got his start as a theatre organist at this theatre.
Assessor info in the ZIMAS report for the existing building at this address says it was built in 1912. It must be the theatre, remodeled beyond regognition.
The Sun was first advertised in the LA Times in July 1920. In July 1952, the theater listing states that the Sun is temporarily closed. It does not appear as a theater in the Times after that date.
This house opened on New Year’s Day, 1912 as the Pico Grand Theatre, according to this item from the January 6, 1912 issue of Moving Picture News: “Mr. H. H. Wellinbrink opened his new house, The Pico Grand, at 1408 Pico street, last Monday night. This is one of the largest surburban theaters in the city, having a seating capacity of 650. Four reels of Trust pictures are shown; the admission charged is ten and fifteen cents. Mr. Wellinbrink’s chief operator, Mr. Roy Robbins, has been transferred from the Central Theater to take charge of the new house.”
1408 Pico is listed in the 1912 city directory only under the name “Wellenbrink H H” but in the 1913 edition it is listed as the Pico Grand. From 1915 through 1923 it was listed as the Sunbeam Theatre, a name it shared with a house on Pasadena Avenue (later to be North Figueroa Street.) In 1924 it was listed as the New Sun Theatre, and in 1925 became simply the Sun Theatre.