Los Angeles Theatres

Navigating Your Tour of Historic Los Angeles Theatres

Easy search option #1: Scroll down and select one of the five geographical areas listed below and go browsing. Or hit the section for all the leftovers: [more] L.A. Movie Palaces.

If you have a name -- search option #2: Head for the Main Alphabetical List, which also includes the various alternate names each venue has used. This list includes those pages recently transferred to this site (in bold face) as well as the write ups on the older website. Note: Long Beach is on a separate list on an older website.

If you know an address, more or less - search option #3: 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'll find a link to take you to a more localized list for Downtown, Hollywood, etc.

Also of interest: The L.A. Theatres Facebook page lets you know what new items have been added or pages upgraded. The Theatres In Movies site tracks L.A. area theatres that have appeared in films.

Still can't find what you're looking for? Send me an email at counterb@gmail.com. See you at the movies! -- Bill Counter

This site on a Mobile Device: If you find what you're looking for via this post, terrific. But also note that you can go to the bottom of any page and click on "View Web Version" to get the navigation links at the top of the page and the long list down the right side.

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 theatres in Ocean Park, Venice, Hermosa Beach, San Pedro, Long Beach and other communities.

[more] L.A. Movie Palaces

This section tries to fill in all the other areas of Los Angeles County. You'll find links to separate survey pages on theatres North of Downtown, San Fernando Valley Theatres, Long Beach, Pasadena, Glendale, Theatres, and lots more. The index page has links to all these theatres organized by area.

More resources: If you are still having trouble finding what you're looking for, these pages might help. The alphabetical lists also include alternate names for each venue.

| Downtown Theatres: alphabetical name list | Downtown Theatres: by street address | Westside Theatres: alphabetical name list | Westside Theatres: by street address | Hollywood Theatres: by street address | Main Los Angeles County Historic Theatres list: alphabetical | Main Los Angeles County Theatres list: by address | San Fernando Valley Theatres list: by street address | San Gabriel Valley, Pomona and Whittier Theatres list: by street address | Film and Theatre Technology Resources | Theatre History Resources | Theatre list by Architect | Theatre Tours and Events

Happy touring! Please contact me if you spot errors, links that don't work, etc.

Clune's Theatre

453 S. Main St. and 107 W. 5th St. Los Angeles, CA 90013 | map |

Opened: May 15, 1909 on the northwest corner of Main and 5th. This early nickelodeon was operated by Los Angeles theatre operator and movie making pioneer Billy Clune. The photo of the Main St. side of the building was taken in 1912 by G. Haven Bishop for Southern California Edison Co. In the upper left one can see the back of a similar roof sign facing 5th St. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo in the Huntington Library collection.

The opening day ad in the L.A. Times. Clune was a member of the Elks.

It was rather old news but an item in the July 11, 1909 Times column "Houses, Lots and Lands" mentioned the lease on the land: “R.A. Rowan & Co report the following recent leases through their agency: For the Century Company to the Clune Theater Company was rented the northwest corner of Fifth and Main streets, with a frontage of 70 feet on Main and extending back 150 feet to an alley. The term of the lease is five years and the monthly rental is reported at $1175 which would make the total rent $70,500.” Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Nick Bradshaw for finding the article.

Seating: 1,000

This was an attempt at a "high class" operation, eschewing the more sensational product that was rampant at the time featuring violence, endless chases, and mayhem. Clune's first manager was Robert A. Brackett, a film culture reformer who had earlier exhibited his refined programs (including Gaumont sound films and educational lectures) at the Royal Theatre on Broadway and the Chronophone Theatre on Spring St., a venue later known as Horne's Big Show.

An item in the Times "Art and Artists" column in the September 12, 1909 issue noted that "Last week the pretty theatre had a disfiguring advertising curtain used 'between the acts;' this week it has no such monstrosity." Pasadena artist Walter J. Prichard complained to the management and they agreed to subsitute a scenic drop for the offending curtain. The article noted that forgoing the ad revenue would mean as loss of $200 per month.

A July 15, 1916 article in Moving Picture World discussing early Los Angeles film exhibition gave a 1908 opening date and mentioned that 5th & Main was the heart of the business district at that time. Thanks to Cezar Del Valle for locating the article. It's on Google Books. The article noted:

"Clune's electrical display on this theatre was a real achievement. The theater had entrances on both streets and over both entrances were built gorgeous electric signs that cost many thousand dollars. The interior of this theater, I have been told, would be hard to improve upon even today. It was most beautifully appointed and unusually comfortable, with wide, luxurious seats. This theater made W.H. Clune famous from coast to coast and was a continued success and a veritable gold mine for four years, when the lease expired and the building was razed to make room for the present twelve-story Rosslyn Hotel."

That's 5th St. running vertically on the right with Clune's seen on the northwest corner adjacent to one of the early Rosslyn Hotel buildings. It's a detail from Plate 002 of the 1910 Baist Real Estate Survey from Historic Map Works.

The theatre suffered a fire that was reported in the L.A. Times on September 24, 1913. Presumably it was back in business soon thereafter. Usually it was just listed as at 5th & Main but the 1913 city directory gives the 453 S. Main address.

Closing: The building Clune's was in was demolished to make way for the Rosslyn Hotel building now on the site which opened in 1915.

In 1910 Clune had opened Clune's Broadway (later called the Cameo Theatre) and also had other exhibition adventures. The Cameo page gives a timeline.

c.1903 - Platt's Popcorn Palace on the northwest corner of 5th and Main. It's a California Historical Society photo by C.C. Pierce appearing on the USC Digital Library website. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Hoss C for finding the photo for his Noirish post #21527.

1907 - The corner as seen from the Pacific Electric Building at 6th and Main. It's a detail from a C.C. Pierce photo from the California Historical Society that appears on the USC Digital Library website.

c.1909 - Clune's is seen in the center of this detail from a downtown map by Bird's Eye View Publishing Co. that's on the Library of Congress website. A version of the map with a directory appears on the Big Map Blog.

1911 - Looking south toward 5th St. Clune's is down there beyond the two early Rosslyn Hotel Buildings. It's a G. Haven Bishop photo taken in January for Southern California Edison Co. that's in the Huntington Library collection.

1911 - A detail from another G. Haven Bishop photo ostensibly taken the same night as the previous image. On the left note the vertical sign for the Burbank Theatre at 548 S. Main. On the right in the same block it's the signage for the Olympic, a theatre later called the Gayety. The photo is in the Huntington Library collection.

The Huntington also has a similar view looking south on Main but with fewer stores lit. They also have another one where we see the theatre's roof sign but not the entrance. They date both as 1912 but they're probably a bit earlier.

1912 - Looking south toward 5th St. In addition to the Olympic vertical in the 500 block note that there's a vertical sign up for the Optic Theatre, 533 S. Main. It's a G. Haven Bishop photo in the Huntington Library collection.

1912 - A detail from the previous photo. They're running "The Coming of Columbus," a May release from Selig Polyscope. Note the popcorn wagon in the street with the proprietor sitting in a chair in front of the streetlight.

c.1913 - Evidently this was a later version of the roof sign. It's a G. Haven Bishop photo in the Huntington Library collection. They date it as 1912.

1919 - Looking south toward 5th St. at the new Rosslyn Hotel building (the tallest of the three) that had replaced Clune's. The Rosslyn building on the south side of 5th had not yet been constructed. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.

2019 - The corner site of Clune's. Main St. is on the right. Photo: Bill Counter

More Information: Clune's is discussed on page 126 of Jan Olsson's 2008 book "Los Angeles Before Hollywood - Journalism and American Film Culture, 1905-1915." It's available from Amazon or as a free pdf from the National Library of Sweden.

See the Cinema Treasures page about Clune's, but note the incorrect 729 address.

Clune maintained a shop and office space at 727-729 S. Main. It appears in the 1909 and 1910 city directories under the heading "moving pictures and machines." The 1910 listing just says "Clune." In the 1911 directory his "Clune Amusement Circuit" was listed at 727 1/2 and a listing for 727 indicated that he had an electric sign business there.

Crystal Theatre

247 S. Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 | map |

Opened: Perhaps late 1910. It was listed as the Crystal Theatre in the 1911 city directory under "moving picture theaters."

The building was either constructed or rehabbed as a theatre in 1910, according to building permit records searched by Noirish Los Angeles contributor Tovangar 2. See the comment on Noirish post #30852. The City Planning Department's Zimas database does not show a construction date. In the 1910 city directory the 247 address was a pawnbroker.

The city directory listing in 1912 under "moving picture theaters" was for B.T. Lustig, who also had the Rex and the National (on the site of the Regent).

Closing: It appears that a run of approximately two years was all it got. In the 1913 and 1914 city directories the address is listed as a shoe store.

Status: The assumption is that the building at 245-247 S. Main that housed the Crystal is still there and just remodeled. The 247 space is now the club The Smell. The 245 storefront in the same building is a bar called New Jalisco. The building is just north of the Downtown Independent at 251 S. Main.

The future is uncertain for both buildings as there have a number of property acquisitions on the block. The tenants were given a "heads up" notice in 2016 to advise them that there might be redevelopment sometime in the future. There's more information on the Downtown Independent page.

1939 - Just beyond the Arrow Theatre (later called the Linda Lea) is the building that earlier had been the Crystal Theatre. It's a detail from a Dick Whittington photo in the USC Digital Library collection. The Downtown Independent is now on the Arrow site.

1998 - The Crystal's space as the Centro Mini Market. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Socal09 for the photo. It appears on the site's page about the Linda Lea.

2019 - The Crystal's space as the club The Smell, with the "Not Our President" signage. They use the alley as the entrance. Photo: Bill Counter

Denver Theatre

238 S. Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 | map |

Opened: Perhaps 1910. It's listed as the Manhattan Theatre in the 1910 through 1913 city directories. It's listed as the Denver Theatre in the 1914 city directory.

The location was the east side of the street mid-block between 2nd and 3rd. Farther south on this side of the block were the Electric and the Liberty. Across the street were the Crystal, the Linda Lea and the Nickel.

Closing: Perhaps 1914 was it. The theatre isn't in the 1915 city directory.

Status: Whatever historic buildings were on the site have been demolished. The garage for the LAPD motor pool is now on the site.

Dohs Theatre

166 N. Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 | map |

Opening: 1911 or a bit earlier. It's unknown what the name of the theatre even was. All that is known is that the 1911 city directory had a listing under "moving picture theaters" for William Dohs at this address. In the 1910 directory 166 N. Main had been a restaurant.

David Ross gets the listing as proprietor in the 1912 directory under "moving picture theatres" and in the 1913 directory this address gets a listing for C.R. Walrod. In neither case do we get a hint of the theatre's name.

The theatre was in a storefront in the U.S. Hotel building on the southeast corner of Main and Market St. The Temple Block was across the street. Market St. vanished with redevelopment east of City Hall.

Closing: Evidently it didn't work out too well for these guys. In the 1914 directory a George W. Yarrow has the premises. It was then evidently a combination billiards hall and barber shop.

Status: The hotel building the theatre was in was demolished in 1939.

A c.1938 look at the U.S. Hotel. The storefront with all the trim painted white is 166, the former theatre location. Across Market St. is the Amestoy Block. On the extreme left, although we don't see the theatre, it's the building the Roosevelt Theatre was in. It's a Dick Whittington Studio photo in the USC Digital Library collection.

Dorkel Theatre

1015 E. 7th St. Los Angeles, CA 90021 | map |

Opened: 1915 or a bit earlier, first called the Merryland Theatre. It was on the north side of the street between Gladys Ave. and Ceres Ave. That's about 4 1/2 blocks east of San Pedro St. Thanks to Charmaine Zoe for finding the 1930 trade magazine photo. She has it on Flickr in her Vintage Cinemas: California album.

Seating: 400

It's in the 1915 through 1932 city directories as the Merryland, sometimes listed as at 1013 E. 7th, sometimes at 1015.

Charmaine Zoe notes that the copy with the 1930 photo she found said that the theatre had just been acquired by 27 year old David A. Miller. The previous owners had run it into the red. It was still showing silent movies, plus five vaudeville acts once a week.

The theatre was evidently dormant from 1933 to 1937 -- there are no city directory listings for those years. By January 1938 it had become the Columbia Theatre and it's listed as such in the 1938 and 1939 city directories. In the 1940, 1941 and 1942 city directories it's called the Dorkel Theatre.

Closing: The closing date is unknown. Perhaps it ran into the early 50s. It was gone by the time of the 1956 telephone directory.

Status: It's been demolished. There's a newish warehouse building now on the site.

El Rodeo Theatre

807 E. 5th St. Los Angeles, CA 90013 | map |

Opened: 1911. It was on the north side of the street between Stanford Ave. and Gladys Ave. The location was a block west of the Southern Pacific depot on Central Ave. The trade magazine Nickelodeon noted in their in December 1, 1910 issue:

"A moving picture theater will be erected on East Fifth street near Central avenue, Los Angeles, for R.C. Guirado. It will be a mission style structure, 30x100 feet, of brick construction. The auditorium will seat 350 people."

In the 1912 city directory there's a listing under "motion picture theatres" for Claus Jasper at 805 E. 5th. It's listed as the El Rodeo Theatre in the 1913 directory at 805 and afterward at 807 E. 5th. The theatre was evidently adjacent to the Hotel Howard, a business usually listed at 805 E. 5th.

Closing: It's in the 1918 city directory. Perhaps 1918 or 1919 was the end. It's not in the 1920 directory.

Status: It appears that the theatre was demolished for an expansion of the hotel that was originally just on the corner of 5th and Stanford. The city's Zimas system lists a 1912 date for part of the construction on the site, 1971 for other parts.

Empire Theatre

128 E. 3rd St. Los Angeles, CA 90013 | map |

Opened: Sometime around 1905 as the Empire Theatre, a legit house. It was on the south side of 3rd, a bit west of Los Angeles St. The listing in the 1905 city directory for the Empire Theatre Co. had Richard J. McCarron as president, Percy S. Seymour as vice president, H.C. Doyle as secretary and William L. Banks as manager. There had previously been a Chinese laundry on the site.

By 1907 they were supplementing their stock company offerings with motion pictures and illustrated songs. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding this 1907 Times ad for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.

It's still listed as the Empire in the 1909 city directory. In the fall of 1909 it was renamed the Unique Theatre under the management of Flora E. Hentz and John U. Zallee. An ad in the Los Angeles Herald for October 6 promised:

" UNIQUE THEATER—Hentz & Zallee, Props. 138 [sic] East Third Street. REOPENING OF UNIQUE THEATER IN THE BUILDING FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY EMPIRE THEATER. Offering strictly high class vaudeville and comedy dramas under direction of popular Al. Franks. Matinees Mon., Wed., Sat. and Sunday. Evenings two performances. Ladies' souvenir matinees Wed." The Herald issue is on the website of the California Digital Newspaper Collection.

An October 24, 1909 ad called the theatre "cozy and attractive." They were offering "excellent vaudeville" and the "Unique Comedy Company" on a reserved seat basis. It's unknown how long the theatre ran as the Unique. The H&Z team had previously run their operation at a number of other locations including a Unique Theatre at 456 S. Spring St. and the Unique Theatre at 629 S. Broadway. See the page on the Broadway location for more about the team, including photos and a program.

By 1910 the venue was back to using the Empire name. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting these classified ads.

Closing: 1910 might have been the end for it. There's no listing for the Empire or the Unique in either the 1910 or 1911 city directories.

Status: By 1914 the building was being used as a garage. It was demolished at some unknown date.

1906 - A detail from a Sanborn insurance map showing the theatre. Thanks to Jeff Bridges for locating it. Head to his wider view on Flickr that also shows the Panorama Building off to the left.

c.1908 - This detail from a C.C. Pierce photo taken from a balloon shows 3rd St., with its jog at Main, on the right. The Empire Theatre in the lower right. The stagehouse has a single smoke vent and "...Keene.." something or other is on the side of the building. Thanks to Joe Vogel for finding the California Historical Society photo in the USC Digital Library collection.

That's Main St. running left to right. In the center of the image, the lot strewn with rubble is where the Panorama building had been and the Adelphi Theatre (later called the Hippodrome) would be constructed. Across the street from the Panorama location note the Belasco Theatre (later called the Follies) at 337 S. Main. Just to the left of its stagehouse, note the stagehouse of the Casino/Empress Theatre on the 300 block of Spring St., a theatre later known as the Capitol.

1909 - The stage end of the Empire is seen in a bit right of center of this detail from the 1909 downtown map by Bird's Eye View Publishing that's on the Library of Congress website. The Belasco and Turner Hall are in the upper left. The latter had an auditorium known by many names including as the Regal Theatre.

1910 - The Empire is seen in the lower right along 3rd St. in this detail from Plate 002 of the 1910 Baist Real Estate Survey from Historic Map Works. That big thing they're calling the Exposition Building is the Adelphi/Hippodrome, under construction at the time.

2019 - That first parking lot was once the site of the Empire Theatre. If this were pre-1952, we'd be able to see the north side of the Hippodrome Theatre. Main St. is off to the right. The big thing is the Reagan State Office Building. Photo: Bill Counter.

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Hippodrome for lots of discussion by Jeff Bridges and other researchers about the Empire Theatre.

| back to top | Downtown: theatre district overview | Hill St. and farther west | Broadway theatres | Spring St. theatres | Main St. and farther east | downtown theatres by address | downtown theatres alphabetical list |

| Westside | Hollywood | Westwood and Brentwood | Along the Coast | [more] Los Angeles movie palaces | the main alphabetical list | theatre history resources | film and theatre tech resources | theatres in movies | LA Theatres on facebook | contact info | welcome and site navigation guide |

Estella Theatre

515 N. Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 | map |

Opened: Sometime around 1911. It was listed as the Metropolitan Theatre in the 1911 through 1921 city directories. Sometimes it's listed at 513 N. Main, sometimes at 515. It was at least partially new construction as a smaller building was shown as being on the site in a 1910 real estate map. Abraham L. Gore is listed as the proprietor in the 1912 directory.

"The last stand of the 'wild west' picture show." We're looking north toward the Plaza church after the theatre had become the Teatro Estella. Thanks to Sean Ault for finding the photo. It appeared with "Main Street! Back to the Plaza...and Back," an article by Charles K. Bowen in the February 1924 issue of the Pacific Electric magazine. The building on the right that's on the north side of the Plaza can be seen more clearly in photos #83150 and #2027, two 1920s views from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

The 513-515 N. Main addresses are shown as a theatre in the center of this detail from Plate 003 of the 1914 Real Estate Survey from Historic Map Works. The location is a few storefronts to the left (south) of the Plaza church.

In the 1915 city directory the Metropolitan is listed in the alphabetical section on Main St. but under "motion picture theatres" but they use a 257 E. 5th address. It's a goof. The theatre on 5th was using the Metropolitan name in 1908 and 1909 but not much beyond that. In the 1916 directory this theatre on Main made it into the alphabetical listings but missed a listing under "motion picture theatres." Maybe they were still trying to figure what went wrong with their listings in 1915.

In the 1922 directory the theatre had become the Estella, still at 515 N. Main. This listing for the Estella appeared as part of a "Paramount Week" ad in the L.A. Times in 1922. The theatre also appeared in a "Paramount Week" ad that ran in the September 2, 1923 Times.

It was still operating as the Estella in 1929 and is in the 1930 city directory.

Closing: The closing date unknown but it evidently survived at least until 1930. There's nothing listed at 513 or 515 N. Main in the 1932 city directory.

Status: The building was demolished sometime prior to 1949.

1931 - Looking south toward City Hall. The Estella had been in the squat building just this side of the one with the Coca-Cola sign on it (the Plaza Hotel building). It's a photo from the El Pueblo Monument collection appearing on the Los Angeles Public Library website.

c.1937 - On the left it's the former Estella Theatre repurposed as a Mexican market. It's a Herman Schultheis photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

1946 - The former Estella is on the far left in this fine view looking northwest. Thanks to Cinema Treasures researcher Joe Vogel for finding the photo in the city's El Pueblo Monument collection. The curved building around to the right of the church was the Azteca Theatre.

2019 - The site of the Estella. The signage says that a Historic Paseo Walkway is under construction. That's a bit of the former Plaza Hotel building at the left, also referred to as the Garnier Block. Photo: Bill Counter

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Estella for lots of discussion about this location and the Teatro Hidalgo at 373 N. Main St.

The other Metropolitans: See the Metropolitan Theatre page for data on the earlier house at 257 E. 5th St. The big theatre using the name, the Metropolitan/Paramount, opened in 1923 at 6th and Hill.

| back to top | Downtown: theatre district overview | Hill St. and farther west | Broadway theatres | Spring St. theatres | Main St. and farther east | downtown theatres by address | downtown theatres alphabetical list |

| Westside | Hollywood | Westwood and Brentwood | Along the Coast | [more] Los Angeles movie palaces | the main alphabetical list | theatre history resources | film and theatre tech resources | theatres in movies | LA Theatres on facebook | contact info | welcome and site navigation guide |