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Hollywood Community Theatre

1742 Ivar Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90028  | map |


The site of the Hollywood Community Theatre. Photo: Google Maps - 2017

Opened: 1918.  It was a former bowling alley remodeled by a group that had been started by Neely Dickson in September 1917. The address is between Hollywood Blvd. and Yucca St. on the east side of the street. It's listed as the Community Theatre under motion picture theatres in the 1918 city directory. 

Neely received financial support from Cecil's B. DeMille's brother William as well as from Aline Barnsdall. This was at the time Aline was staging shows at the Los Angeles Little Theatre, a venue on Figueroa later known as the Musart

The Community Theatre was discussed in Henry Christeen Warnack's November 11, 1917 L.A. Times article titled "Hollywood Discovers the Community Theater." The Times covered one show in their March 11, 1918 article "Fifth Production at Community Theater." 

In 1919 after Aline had purchased the Olive Hill property, Neely and her group were offered a corner  piece to build a new theatre with the proviso that they would have to raise the money for construction. The project was discussed in "Plans of Hollywood Community Theater," an August 10, 1919 Times story. That project wasn't pursued.   

An article in the Los Angeles School Journal discusses the windup of the group's second season. The March 1920 issue of Theatre Magazine, on Google Books, has an article discussing the group's third season.

The Holly Leaves issue of September 29, 1922 (on Google Books) discusses plans for a new theatre. It's unknown if it got built.  

Closing: The group was active at least into 1928. The closing date of this venue as a theatre is unknown.

Status: The building on Ivar has been demolished.  

More Information: See a long article on the beginnings of the Hollywood Community Theatre in a 1919 issue of Theatre Arts. It's on Google Books.

John Crosse's 2012 Southern California Architecture article "R. M. Schindler, Edward Weston, Margrethe Mather, Anna Zacsek, Lloyd Wright, Lawrence Tibbett, Reginald Pole, Beatrice Wood and Their Dramatic Circles" has a wealth of information about shows at various little theatres groups in the 1910s and into 1920s.  

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