Los Angeles Theatres

Navigating Your Tour of Historic Los Angeles Theatres

On a Mobile Device: If you're missing the right column navigation bar or links at the top you can go to the bottom of any page and click on "View Web Version." Still can't find what you're looking for? Send me an email at counterb@gmail.com. See you at the movies! -- Bill Counter

Downtown L.A. Historic Theatres

The survey page gives a rundown on the 20 major surviving theatre buildings in the Downtown Theatre District. There are links to pages about each of them for more detail. You might also want to consult alphabetical rundowns on pages for Hill St. and farther west, the Broadway Theatres, Spring St. Theatres and Main St. and farther east. Those pages give you more detail, including discussions about all the theatres that have vanished. In addition, there's a downtown alphabetical theatre list with alternate names and a theatre list by address.

Historic Hollywood Theatres

Hollywood wasn't just about the movies. Starting in the mid 20s it was also a center for legitimate theatre and musical revues at four newly built playhouses. You'll find an alphabetical list of the theatres in the district on the Hollywood Theatres overview page that includes a bit of data on each and links to pages for more details. Down below this list there's also an alternate name directory. Also of possible interest is a separate page with a list of theatres by street address.

Westside Theatres

The Westside started booming with retail and housing in the mid 20s and the theatres followed. Many theatres along Wilshire Blvd., in Beverly Hills, and in other neighborhoods became prime venues for everything from small foreign films to major roadshows. It's a huge territory. The Westside Theatres overview page gives you both a list by neighborhood as well as a survey arranged alphabetically. Also see the list of Westside Theatres: by street address and the Westside Theatres: alphabetical list page which includes alternate names.

Westwood and Brentwood

Westwood Village was the third significant theatre district to evolve in Los Angeles, after Downtown and Hollywood. With the construction of the UCLA campus beginning in the late 20s there was a chance to develop a unique shopping and entertainment district for faculty and students. By the 1970's the area had evolved so that Westwood had the largest concentration of first run screens of any neighborhood in Los Angeles. The Westwood and Brentwood Theatres overview page will give you a tour of the area.

Theatres Along the Coast

Santa Monica had a vibrant theatrical life even in the days when it was a small town isolated from the rest of Los Angeles. And that's just the beginning. The Along the Coast section will give you links to discussion of theatres in Ocean Park, Venice, Hermosa Beach, San Pedro, Long Beach and other communities.

[more] L.A. Movie Palaces

This section fills in all the other areas of Los Angeles County. Hundreds of terrific theatres were being built by the studios and independents all over the L.A. area in the 20s and into the 30s. You'll find coverage of theatres north and east of Downtown as well as in Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, the San Gabriel Valley, Pomona, Whittier, Long Beach and many other far flung locations. Some of those listings have been upgraded and appear on this site, many other links will take you to pages on an older site hosted on Google. The index page has links to all these theatres organized by area.

Searching by theatre name

If you don't find it in the right hand column, head for the Main Alphabetical List, which also includes the various alternate names each venue has used. This list includes those pages recently updated for this site (in bold face) as well as the write ups on an older website. For a narrower focus you'll also find separate lists for Westside and Downtown. As well, there are lists by name on the 10 survey pages for more limited areas like Pasadena, North of Downtown, Long Beach, etc. that are listed on the [more] Los Angeles Movie Palaces page.

Searching by address

If you know an address or street head to either the Main Theatre List by Address, the San Fernando Valley List by Address, the San Gabriel Valley, Pomona and Whittier List by Address or the Long Beach List. If what you're looking for isn't there, you should find a link to take you to a more localized list by address for Downtown, Westside, Hollywood, etc. Also see the survey pages for more limited areas that are listed on the [more] Los Angeles Movie Palaces page.

1927 - Exotic destinations: Grauman's Chinese | Mayan Theatre |

1948 - 1951 - Skouras-ized older theatres: California - Huntington Park | El Portal | Fox Westwood Village | Mesa Theatre |

Mann 6 Culver Plaza / Culver Plaza Theatres

9919 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 | map |

More Culver City pages: Culver City Theatre 1915-1923 | Meralta Theatre 1924-1943, 1945-1983 | City Hall Theatre / Culver City Theatre 1943-1947 | Culver / Kirk Douglas Theatre 1947 - present | Pacific 12 / Arclight / Amazon's Culver Theatre 2003 - present |

Opened: February 14, 1991 as the Mann 6 Theatres Culver Plaza. Thanks to Bob Meza for this 2001 photo, one he shared on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre. The building was on the north side of the street between Dunn Dr. and Hughes Ave. It was just a block west and on the other side of the street from the Culver Theatre, now called the Kirk Douglas.

A February 15, 1991 ad. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org

At least one of the larger houses was equipped for 70mm but evidently there were never any 70mm bookings. Russ Jones notes that two of the larger theatres were THX certified.

Seating: 1,470 seats in six auditoria. 1 - 147 seats, 2 - 176 seats, 3 - 173 seats, 4 - 396 seats, 5 - 380 seats, 6 - 199 seats. Thanks to Bill Gabel for the breakdown. Russ Jones notes that all of the theatres were upstairs, on top of the retail and restaurant spaces along the front and east end of the building.

Architect: Unknown

After Mann dropped the location in May 2007 it was run as an independent called the Culver Plaza Theatres. Michael Snider comments: "It became a second run house, and considering the large senior population in the area it fulfilled a real need as such."

Closed: December 2011

Status: It was demolished beginning in August 2012. There's now a new condo and retail building on the site.

Interior views:

The lobby mural. Thanks to Mark Cambbell for this September 2008 photo as well as others appearing here that he shared on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre.

A snack bar view. Photo: Mark Campbell - Cinema Tour - 2008

One of the auditoria. Photo: Mark Campbell - Cinema Tour - 2007

One of the other screens. Photo: Mark Campbell - Cinema Tour - 2007

Yet another auditorium shot. Photo: Mark Campbell - Cinema Tour - 2008

More exterior views:

2003 - Thanks to Mark Smith for sharing this photo from his collection.

2006 - Another shot from the collection of Mark Smith.

c.2007 - The east end of the building at the corner of Washington and Duquesne. Photo: Mark Smith

2007 - Looking east. Photo: Mark Campbell - Cinema Tour

2009 - Photo: Mark Smith

2010 - Photo: Mark Smith

2011 - A gloomy June view east on Washington. On the right that's the Culver/Kirk Douglas Theatre on the other side of Duquesne Ave. Image: Google Maps

2011 - The back of the building. At the right we're looking south on Dunn Dr. toward the theatre entrance on the corner. Photo: Google Maps

2011 - A December 18 post-closing view taken by T N Jones that appears on Flickr.

2011 - A marquee detail. Thanks to T N Jones for sharing it on Flickr.

2012 - An entrance shot in August after demolition was underway. Thanks to Mark Smith for sharing his photo.

2012 - The corner later in August. Image: Google Maps

2012 - The vista south on Dunn Dr. in August. Image: Google Maps

2012 - A closer look at the back of the building in August. Image: Google Maps

2012 - A September view north. On the right it's Hughes/Duquesne Ave. The entrance to what had been basement parking is mid-block, just in front of that car. Image: Google Maps

2012 - The east end of the building in September. Image: Google Maps

2022 - Looking east across Dunn Dr. at the corner that had been the theatre entrance. Image: Google Maps

More information: See the pages about the theatre on Cinema Treasures, Cinema Tour and the 70mm in Los Angeles section of the site From Script To DVD.

Pacific's Century Drive-In

3560 W. Century Blvd. Inglewood, CA 90303 | map |

Opened: June 30, 1949 with Kirk Douglas in "Champion" along with "The Big Cat," starring Lon McCallister and Peggy Ann Garner. This Pacific Theatres operation was located on the south side of the street between Crenshaw Blvd. and Hawthorne Blvd.

Thanks to Bill Gabel for locating the 1949 trade magazine photo. At the time of the shot they were running "Edward My Son" with Spencer Tracy and Deborah Kerr. The co-feature was "Not Wanted," a film about an unwanted pregnancy starring Sally Forrest and Keefe Brasselle. Both were June releases.

A June 30, 1949 opening night ad. Thanks to Comfortably Cool for locating it for a post on Cinema Treasures.

Architects: William Glenn Balch and Louis L. Bryan of the firm of Balch & Bryan.

Capacity: 1,100 cars originally. It was 918 as a Cinerama operation.

Cars at the boxoffice. It's an undated photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

Intermission time in 1949. It's a photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

A 1964 view to the north by Howard D. Kelly that's in the Kelly-Holiday Mid-Century Aerial Collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. Also see a 1961 shot.

Cinerama at the Century: They ran 3-strip Cinerama films from April 17 to June 30, 1964.

Looking northwest after the installation of the Cinerama screen in 1964. At the left it's the snackbar building. The jacked-up van farther forward housed the three Cinerama machines. The smaller structure even closer to the screen was the normal projection booth. It's a photo by Howard D. Kelly that's in the Kelly-Holiday Mid-Century Aerial Collection at the Los Angeles Public Library.

A detail from the May 1964 photo above. That's the Hollywood Park track in the distance.

Screen size was 62' by 180' with a 30 foot deep curve. The bottom was 25 feet above the ground. The throw was 310 feet. The lamps were Ashcraft Core-Lite, lenses were by Bosch and Lomb, sound was by RCA. A separate dubber wasn't used. The center machine had an RCA mag head on top. These special Cinerama prints for the B machine had two mag stripes, as had been done for mono backup in Cinemiracle installations. The sound was on one stripe, the second was just for balance in the film gate.

An ad from April 12, 1964, while the Cinerama installation was underway. Thanks to Greenbriar Picture Shows for including this ad and the one below on their "Cinerama Out Of Doors" page.

"This Is Cinerama" opened April 17, 1964 for a three week run.

On the marquee: "This Is Cinerama." It's a photo looking east by Howard D. Kelly that's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

A May 1964 view to the southeast by Howard D. Kelly. It's in the Kelly-Holiday Mid-Century Aerial Collection at in the Los Angeles Public Library.

Looking to the northeast. It's a photo by Howard D. Kelly in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Also see a slightly different view to the northeast.

A May 6 ad for "Seven Wonders of the World" and "McLintock!" This program ran for five weeks. Thanks to Roland Lataille for locating the ad for the Century Drive-In page on his site InCinerama. See the page for several additional ones.

"3rd Smash Week!" Thanks to Greenbriar Picture shows for locating the ad.

"Many more drive-ins are to be converted," said Bill Forman, head of both Pacific Theatres and Cinerama, Inc. This story about the Cinerama installation appeared in the June 8, 1964 issue of Boxoffice:

Thanks to Roland Lataille for sharing the Boxoffice story on the Century Drive-In page on his site InCinerama.

A June 10 ad for "South Seas Adventure" and "The Wackiest Ship in the Army." This was the last of the Cinerama presentations. June 30, 1964 was the closing day. Thanks to Roland Lataille for locating the ad.

The Cinerama screen was later removed. The Century got twinned in 1973.

Closing: It was demolished in the 1984.

Status: It's now the site of a Costco and other development. The new SoFi Stadium is across the road.

More information: See the InCinerama page about the Century. Cinema Treasures also has a page about the theatre.

Check out Brian D. Zachel's post about the theatre on the Cinema Treasures Facebook page for many interesting comments.

At least two other drive-ins ran three-strip. See Roland Lataille's pages on the Super 50 Drive-In in Ballston Lake, New York (running "Windjammer" from July 6 to July 27, 1960) and the Twin Drive-In in Cincinnati (running "Windjammer from July 20 to August 8, 1960).

The truck for "Windjammer" at the Twin in Cincinnati. Thanks to Roland for locating this item that appeared in the July 18, 1960 issue of Boxoffice.

A few drive-ins ran 70mm. The Twin Drive-In in Cincinnati evidently ran "Around the World in 80 Days" in 70mm in August 1959. See Roland's page on the Mann's France Avenue Drive-In in Minneapolis, one that advertised as being Cinerama equipped when it opened in 1966.

Magic Johnson 12 / AMC Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15 / Rave Cinemas Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza / Cinemark Baldwin Hills Crenshaw 15

4020 Marlton Ave. Los Angeles 90008 | map |

Opened: June 30, 1995 as the Magic Johnson 12. The complex, now with 15 screens, is a block west of Crenshaw on the south side of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. It's behind the mall, where a Von's grocery store had once been. This is the south side of the building, facing a lot and parking deck. There's no entrance to the theatres from the MLK side. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

Website: cinemark.com/theatres/ca-los-angeles/cinemark-baldwin-hills-crenshaw

Seats: The count was 2,643 in 15 auditoria following the Rave remodel of 2011. Screen #2 is a THX house seating 325 that's now branded as Cinemark XD. Across the hall, the other XD house, screen #3, seats 278.

Architects: Unknown

This was first in the Magic Johnson chain, a joint venture between Johnson and Loew's, then owned by Sony. Thanks to RideTheCTrain for locating the ad for a post on Cinema Treasures.

It was expanded to 15 screens in 1998 with an opening on May 29. The three new ones were small stadium-style auditoria added on the east end of the complex. Later it became the AMC Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15. A June 10, 2010 story about the "decommissioning" of the theatres from mall owner Capri Urban Investors appeared on the site PR Newswire:

"Movie Theaters to Get a Makeover at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza; New Operator to Bring First Class Moviegoing Experience -- Starting Monday, the movie theaters at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza are getting an extreme makeover. The mall's owner... will transform the current theaters into a modern, state-of-the-art multiplex featuring stadium seating, new amenities, digital technology, 3-D screens and new decor throughout. The theater upgrade also calls for a new operator, which Capri plans to announce later this month.

"'We are thrilled to be bringing in a new theater operator at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza,' said Ken Lombard, Partner and President of Capri Urban Investors, LLC. 'We are currently finalizing a new contract with an operator that truly understands Los Angeles, the urban marketplace, and has an absolute commitment to delivering the best movie experience you'll find anywhere. Transforming the mall is about giving shoppers more choices and better amenities, and having a new state-of-the-art multiplex is an important step in that direction.'

"The transformation will begin with an immediate decommissioning of the existing theater, to be followed over the next several months with an extensive remodel of the theater complex both inside and out that will provide a completely new movie-going experience..."

AMC closed it on June 13, 2010. After a $10 million renovation it was reopened by the Rave Motion Pictures chain and reopened on June 28, 2011 as the Rave Cinemas 15 Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.

Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this ad. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org

All of the original auditoria were fitted with stadium seating during the Rave renovations. See "Former Magic Johnson Theaters reopens as Rave Cinemas," Roger Vincent's June 28 story for the L.A. Times. Chris Utley had an opening day report:

"It is considerably smaller than it was during the Magic Johnson era. Lobby is drastically smaller with one concession area servicing the whole theatre (a nightmare waiting to happen for the poor soul who gets to the theatre 5 minutes before showtime!). Auditorium seating ranges from 90 to over 300. The 300 seaters are their 'RaveXtreme' auditoriums featuring nicely wide screens (but not tall like Imax or even the wannabe Digital Imax/AMC ETX/Cinemark XD screens) and top notch sound.

"I caught the 2nd half of 'Fast Five' in the X2 Extreme auditorium… pity the poor souls who have to sit dead in front! Regular auds fluctuate between side masking in some and top masking in others. Theatre is all digital projection with 7 auditoriums exclusively dedicated to Real 3D projection."

It became a Cinemark operation in November 2012 with the Rave branding still used until 2016. It's now advertised as the Cinemark Baldwin Hills Crenshaw and XD.

A map of the mall, adapted from one on the Mall Hall of Fame page about the center.

The mall, originally called the Broadway-Crenshaw Center, opened in November 1947 as the first open-air mall in the country. Anchor stores included The Broadway, May Co., Vons and Woolworth's. It got a major remodel in 1988 that included a bridge connecting stores on the other side of Santa Barbara Ave., the street now known as Martin Luther King, Jr Blvd.

Interior views:

Looking in the front doors. Screens 1-6 are off to the left, 7 to 15 to the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

The boxoffice area, on the left side of the lobby. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

A closer look at the bar. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

Looking west, down the corridor with screens 1 to 6. At the end are the two XD branded auditoria. #2, the largest, is on the left. #3 is on the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

A peek into the black void of house #2, seating 325. It's branded as an XD theatre and is also THX certified. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

House #3, seating 278. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

The rear of #3. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

Across the lobby to the east corridor for houses 7 to 15. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

The corridor for 7 to 15. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

House #7, on the east side of the lobby. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

The rear of #7. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

Looking back out to the lobby. The bar is off to the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

At the bar looking south toward the doors. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

Out to the parking lot. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

More exterior views:

1947 - A look across to the May Co. and the new Von's store. Thanks to Atomic Hot Links for sharing the photo on Flickr.

1947 - A photo taken by Loomis Dean for Life. Thanks to Alison Martino for sharing it on her Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. She noted that the May Co. was over on the left.

c.1952 - An aerial view by Ralph Morris that's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

1950s - A shot shared by the Facebook page Historic Los Angeles. Brian Washington shared a colorized version in a post on the Facebook page Lost Angeles.

1950s - Looking north on Crenshaw. Thanks to the Historic Los Angeles Facebook page for sharing the photo.

2007 - The Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. side of the Magic Theatres, designed to look like an entrance but actually fenced off. Image: Google Maps

2009 - On the left we're looking east on MLK toward Crenshaw. That's Marlton Ave. on the right. Image: Google Maps

2009 - A closer look at the MLK "entrance." Image: Google Maps

2011 - Under renovations to become Rave Cinemas. It's a view west on MLK. The galleria-like look on this side of the building was getting redone with a plainer and less-inviting treatment.

2011 - The new look of the parking lot side as Rave. Thanks to Chris Utley for sharing this June 29 photo as a post on Cinema Treasures.

2012 - A view east. Image: Google Maps

2014 - Looking northeast at the parking lot side of the building. Image: Google Maps

2020 - A photo from the parking deck taken by Gilberto San Jardin.

2024 - Looking east on MLK. We're a half block west of Crenshaw. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

2024 - The north side of the complex, along MLK. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

2024 - Looking east, back toward Crenshaw. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024

2024 - The entrance on the south side of the building. It's a photo from the Cinemark Facebook page.

Nearby: Leimert/Vision Theatre | Crenshaw/Kokusai Theatre | Bard's West Adams | Baldwin Theatre |

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page about the complex. Cinema Tour also has a page.