804 N. El Centro Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90038 |
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Opened:
The building was constructed in 1910. This 2019 view from Google Maps shows the original brick look of the nickelodeon. It had been wearing a coat of stucco for decades. On the right is the newer building that became part of the theatre in 1946. The buildings are on the east side of the street two blocks north of Melrose.
Seating: In 1915 it was 250.
Architect: Unknown
By 1914 the building housed a movie theatre
called the El Centro, one of Hollywood's earliest. It reopened as the Ivy Theatre on September 1, 1915.
A September 3, 1915 Hollywood Citizen story about the Ivy's debut. Thanks to Ross Plesset for locating it.
Jim Talbot notes that a friend of his reported that Chaplin used to run his
dailies here before getting the studio on La Brea in 1917. The theatre is still listed as the Ivy in the 1916 and 1917 city
directories. It's also been known as the New Theatre. Later it became a
garage.
The Circle Players took over the building in 1946.
Prior to the late 1946 move to the new space they were at 1141 El Centro. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this November 29, 1946 ad for "The Adding Machine," playing at the earlier location. A newspaper article included below referred to it as a "cramped studio."
In 1946 the theatre and a store building south of the
original theatre (which had been a grocery store and a vitamin factory) were turned into a
legit operation called the Circle Theatre. Charlie Chaplin reportedly donated props on occasion. Scott Collette comments:
"The Circle was once considered 'the
meeting place of Hollywood’s avant-garde,' and was frequented by
celebrity visitors like Groucho Marx, Katharine Hepburn, Edward G.
Robinson, Harpo Marx, and Charlie Chaplin. It was founded by a troupe
of UCLA students that included Chaplin’s son Sydney as well as Kathleen
Freeman and future SAG president William Schallert, who had all been
performing shows in a friend’s living room when they decided to get a
space of their own. So, they took over space from an old grocery store,
in a building that'd actually been home to one of Hollywood’s earliest
moviehouses known as the El Centro in 1914."
A 1946 story about the new theatre, opening with an adaptation of Edith Whaton's "Ethan Frome." The El Centro Theatre had this clipping from an unidentified paper on the their now-vanished website in 2010. Later original building was converted into a second performance space for the troupe and dubbed the New Theatre.
A March 1958 ad for "Saint Joan." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it. Also see a
news item about the show.
Offering classes in 1962. Ken McIntyre located the ad.
In
1974 the original film theatre space became the Cast Theatre with the
Circle Theatre continuing under separate management in the corner storefront
space.
A September 1987 listing Ken located for a production of "The Little Prince."
Later the complex reverted to the El Centro name with the two venues under single management. The
original theatre space was then known as the Chaplin Stage of the El
Centro Theatre, a 45 seat legit venue. The storefront space seated 99
and was branded as the El Centro Circle Stage.
The complex was sold
in 2012 and was again to be known as the Circle Theatre.
The new tenants (and owners) at the time were the theatre companies Black Dahlia and
Red Dog Squadron. Evidently they never got open. Neither of these two theatre groups seems to be active any longer.
Some renovation work began in 2014. It's unknown what the intended use was going to be. It could be a
theatre complex again but there are also entitlements in place for
multifamily housing.
Something called SLG was using the corner space in 2015. Work appeared to be complete by 2022 and it was offered for sale at that time. Rami Meheraban at Feder & Associates/Peak Commercial (323-471-4747) was the broker. See a 2022 PDF of the offering.
Status: Another renovation project was begun, then abandoned. As of 2026 there was no action on the site.
A main floor plan of the two buildings from Feder & Associates/Peak Commercial. The original building also has a small mezzanine. Both buildings have a basement. That's El Centro Ave. on the left, Waring Ave. along the bottom.
Interior views:
The theatre in the corner building in May 1949. It's one of many unpublished photos taken by Loomis Dean for Life. Thanks to Scott Collette for locating the set of photos and including 22 of them in a
Forgotten Los Angeles Facebook post. He also has ten of them on
Instagram. He comments:
"While
it took some digging to figure out the show here (it’s Moliere’s 'The
Doctor in Spite of Himself,' starring John Crawford, and directed by
Mabel Albertson), the most exciting part of this was to discover the
array of famous faces in this audience, and I don’t think I have them
all."
"Elizabeth
Taylor is sitting with Bob Precht, who won a contest
to get to take her to prom, and who would go on to become Ed Sullivan’s
producer. On her right, a young Roddy McDowall with glasses "
Another Loomis Dean "The Doctor in Spite of Himself" shot. Scott comments:
"Charlie
Chaplin is in the middle row, two seats from his wife Oona,
and possibly Gene Tierney between them. Henry Wilcoxon and Joan
Woodbury are in the left end of the front row. Sunglasses [in the back row] may be
Tallulah Bankhead."
A Loomis Dean shot from another production at the theatre. Scott comments: "Circle Players William Schallert and Kathleen Freeman on stage with two others."
An improvised dressing room. Photo: Loomis Dean / Life - 1949. Thanks, Scott!
Looking into the original 1914 theatre. A narrow mezzanine is along the house right wall with a larger area at the former screen end of the space. Photo: Feder & Associates - 2022
Looking back to the street. Photo: Feder & Associates - 2022
The inside of the corner building, turned into a theatre in 1946. Photo: Feder & Associates - 2022
An attempt to look inside in March 2026. The original the theatre is on the left, what's left of the newer building is on the right. Photo: Bill Counter
More exterior views:
1949 - The crowd assembling before a performance of
Moliere’s “The Doctor in Spite of Himself" in May. It's a Loomis Dean photo taken for Life. Thanks to Philip Mershon for locating this one for a long-vanished post on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page.
The corner building had been renovated in 1946. The original theatre building to the north became support space.
1949 - An actor running around the corner to make an entrance during the production of "The Doctor in Spite of Himself." It's one of the 22 Loomis Dean photos located by Scott Collette for his Forgotten Los Angeles Facebook post. He also shared ten of them on Instagram. See the set for several other views with different performers rounding the corner.
1970s - The
building as the Cast Theatre. It's a photo that once was on the now-vanished El Centro Theatre website.
2010 - The facade in its stucco-clad days. Don't you love that tile work in the former entrance? Photo: Bill Counter
2010 - The original theatre is at the left. Photo: Bill Counter
2017 - It's a Google Maps image.
2022 - The back of the complex. Photo: Feder & Associates
2022 - A nice view of the neighborhood from Feder & Associates/Peak Commercial. See their PDF about the property.
2024 - The two buildings and the rear parking lot. Image: Google Maps
2026 - Looking across the intersection of El Centro and Waring. Photo: Bill Counter
2026 - The 1910 building. Photo: Bill Counter
2026 - The back yard. Photo: Bill Counter
See the
El Centro page on Cinema Treasures for lots of history about the original movie theatre building and its more famous theatre next door.
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My great grandmother was the owner of that property before it was sold to Chaplin. My father and my aunt grew up there in the 1930s
ReplyDeleteI stumbled on this building a few years ago. It was vacant at the time, but there was something about it that made me stop and look closer. I love looking for old, repurposed, theaters. Even with the modern addition, it had a presence that reminded me of a different, now lost, Hollywood of my childhood. It just sits there like a former dancer who made a few films with Busby Berkley before the knees went bad. The iron reinforcement against the back wall suggests they don't plan to demolish it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. Yes, it's had several different owners and several renovations, obviously including a seismic upgrade. Looks like whoever was doing the last project gave up several years ago after gutting the interior of the original building and taking the floor out and the roof off the part of the complex on the corner. Something to keep an eye on once in a while.
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