Clinton Theatre

526 N. Western Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90004 | map | 

Opened: August 1938. The location is on the east side of the street one and a half blocks south of Melrose, between Clinton St. and Maplewood Ave. This 1983 photo comes from the now-vanished website American Classic Images.

Seating: 750

Architect: Raphael Nicolais. Joe Vogel did the research:

"The 'Theaters Under Construction' column of the July 2, 1938, issue of The Film Daily listed the Clinton Theatre in Los Angeles as a 750-seat project for operator C. W. Blake. The $75,000 house was expected to be completed by August 1. It was designed by architect Raphael A. Nicolais. Nicolais had earlier designed at least one theater in Fort Worth, Texas, but by 1929 he was practicing from an office on Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles."

In the 60s and 70s the theatre ran foreign films and a few classics. It later went to a bargain double feature policy. Eddie Garcia notes that in the late 80s when he worked at the Clinton it was operated by Plaza Entertainment. 

Closing: Sometime in the late 1980s.

Status: In 2022 it got a renovation and as of August was vacant. As late as 2021 it was a store called Joy Furniture.  

 

More exterior views: 

 

1941 - The Clinton is on the right in this look north from the ten minutes of footage posted on YouTube by Nass Had with the title "Los Angeles 1940s in color." The theatre is seen at 0:35, 5:52 and 8:53. Thanks to Bruce Kimmel for spotting the post. He notes that the Clinton was playing "Chad Hanna" and "Love Thy Neighbor," a double bill that opened April 16. At 1:46 in the footage we get a view of the Embassy Theatre, 331 S. Western. 

1980s - The Clinton as a bargain house. It's a Gary Graver photo.

 

 

c.1990 - The theatre after closing. "Closed for Remodeling" in this case meant conversion into retail space. It's a photo by filmmaker and cinematographer Gary Graver (1938-2006). He took many photos of vanishing theatres in Los Angeles and Portland. Many can be seen in his compilations on YouTube: "Second Run part 1" and "Second Run part 2." Thanks to Sean Graver for use of the photos.

 

 

2007 - Thanks to Ken McIntyre for this shot. 

 

 

 

2015 - Western Design occupying the former Clinton space. It's a view from Google Maps.

 

2022 - The freshly painted facade. Photo: Bill Counter 

 

2022 - The view north in the alley. The upper opening in the back wall evidently went to a fan room. Photo: Bill Counter 

 

2022 - The screen end of the building got hollowed out at some point to make a loading bay. Photo: Bill Counter  

 

2022 - Looking south in the alley. Photo: Bill Counter

 

The Clinton in the Movies: 

There's this nice view toward the theatre in "Walking the Edge" (Empire Pictures, 1985). The film, directed by Norbert Meisel, stars Nancy Kwan and Robert Forster in a tale of an L.A. taxi driver who picks up a fare who is intent on executing a revenge mission. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a shot of the Gordon/Showcase Theatre from the film. 

Both the interior and exterior of the Clinton are seen in Mike Jittlov's 1988 film "The Wizard of Speed and Time."

More Information: Also on Western north of Wilshire were the Sunset Theatre at 1508 N. Western,  the Cinema Theatre at 1122 N. Western, the Flick Theatre at 1082 N. Western, the Film Festival at 1066 N. Western, the Wilshire Theatre at 143 S. Western, the Windsor Theatre at 221 S. Western and the Embassy Theatre at 331 S. Western.

See the Cinema Treasures page on the Clinton.

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