Beaux Arts Theatre

1709 W. 8th St. Los Angeles, CA 90017  | map | 

Opened: 1927. This building erected by Charles Forve was billed as the "Carnegie Hall of the West." In addition to the theatre, there were 220 soundproof music studios. The location at 8th and Beacon is two blocks south of Wilshire and about six blocks west of the 110. The 1942 city directory listed the address as 749 Beacon Ave. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010

Architects: Stanton, Reed & Hibbard, who also did the Hotel Figueroa.

Seating: 542 is one number that has appeared. The 1949 ATPAM guide lists it as 559 with 407 on the main floor and 152 in the balcony.

Stage specifications: 

Proscenium: 20' wide x 19' high 

 

Wall to wall: 39'

 

Footlights to curtainline: 2' 6"

 

Linesets: 3

 

Dressing rooms: 2 

 

Power: AC

 

The rent at the time was $650 per week. The data appeared in the 1949 edition of the ATPAM Theatre, Arena and Auditorium Guide. Thanks to Bob Foreman for posting the publication on his Vintage Theatre Catalogs blog.

 

 

 

In 1933 the theatre got refocused on doing radio shows and was rebranded as the Radio Playhouse. Thanks to Bob Foreman for finding this item on the front page of the February 7 issue of Variety. It's unknown how long this use lasted. 

 

From 1936 into 1938 the Beaux Arts Theatre was used for various WPA Federal Theatre Project productions for both kids and adults. This December 1936 flyer for a production of "Le Berceaux" is from the collection of George Mason University.

WPA shows for kids included "Hansel and Gretel" and "Pinocchio." This poster is in the Library of Congress collection. 

The government was in the vaudeville business! A free show at the Beaux Arts c.1938. This flyer is in the collection of the George Mason University Federal Theatre Project Materials Collection. Head to the project's home page where you can search by theatre name, city or production title. They also have  another Vaudeville flyer in their collection.

In 1939 and 1940 the theatre was the site of a controversial production of "White Cargo" starring noted actor John Harvey. Harvey played opposite Patricia Saunders as the partially clad African siren Tondeleyo. The show ran almost 600 performances and ended in a police bust in December 1940. The show's run set Los Angeles legit theatre records. "White Cargo" actually dated from 1923. A 1934 revival of it starring its author, Leon Gordon, had played the Hollywood Playhouse. There have been two film versions, including a tame one in 1942 starring Hedy Lamarr.

A program from "White Cargo" that was discovered by Michelle Gerdes. It was on eBay and could have been yours for $8.00. Thanks to F.D. Redding for information about the "White Cargo" adventure at the Beaux Arts. See the Wikipedia article on actor John Harvey and the "White Cargo" obscenity trial.

A 1940 ad for a production of "Volpone" at the Beaux Arts. Thanks to Scott Pitzer  for posting it on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. In 1941, the theatre hosted a production of "Dracula" starring Dwight Frye.

A 1944 ad for "Arsenic and Old Lace." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this to add as a comment  in a thread on Photos of Los Angeles.

 

A 1945 ad for Betty Rowland in the 11th week of the run of "Anybody's Girl." Ms. Rowland's appearances were usually on the stages of Main Street's burlesque houses the Follies and the Burbank. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting the ad on Photos of Los Angeles.  

 

A 1948 ad in the Times for "Separate Rooms" at the New Beaux Arts. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting it on Photos of Los Angeles. 

 

 

 

In 1952 silent film actress Louise Glaum reopened the then-dormant theatre as the Louise Glaum Playhouse, also referred to as the Louise Glaum Beaux Arts Theatre. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this September article for a Facebook thread about Ms. Glaum's various venues on Ken's Movie Page. 

 

An October 1952 item about the initial show "O.K. by Me" that was located by Ken. The play had a run of seven weeks, closing on November 22.

In 1935 Ms. Glaum had taken over the Union Theatre near USC for her shows. In 1939 and 1940 she was at 11th and Broadway in a venue she called the Happy Hollow Theatre. There's an article about her film and stage career on Wikipedia.

Final closing date: Unknown

Status: It's now the Crescent Arms Senior Housing. The building was reconfigured into 186 senior housing units by Killefer Flammang Architects.

The theatre has been repurposed as a dining area and social center for the residents and little of architectural interest remains. 

 

Interior views:

A view of the proscenium of the Beaux Arts Theatre from the Padilla Co. in the USC Digital Library Herald Examiner collection. The photo was taken in January 1927.

The rear of the auditorium. It's another 1927 Padilla Co. photo in the USC Digital Library collection.

The auditorium in 2010. We're looking back toward the balcony. The brown paneling at the ceiling step-down is the balcony front. Photo: Bill Counter

 

A 2010 view of the repurposed rear of the main floor and lobby areas. Photo: Bill Counter

 

More exterior views:

A February 8, 1927 photo credited to Moss Photographer that's in the USC Digital Library collection. It's from the Los Angeles Examiner Prints Collection -- evidently it appeared in the real estate section. It was noted that the cost of the building was $1,000,000.

The building's entrance. The only remnants of the building's musical and dramatic past are bits of exterior ornamentation -- such as the lyre over the entrance. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010

A view of the rear of the building from the website of Killefer Flammang Architects, the firm that did the renovation into senior housing.

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