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Majestic / Mayfair Theatre

214 Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401 | map |


Opened: It opened as the Santa Monica Opera House on December 12, 1911. It was initially used for legitimate theatre and silent films. It soon became known as the Majestic Theatre. J. Euclid Miles, a prominent real estate man in Santa Monica, was one of the backers of the theatre. Charles Tegner, a founding father of Santa Monica was also involved.

The photo is a view from UCLA's L.A. Times Photographs Collection. There's also a version on the Santa Monica Public Library website. The theatre, on the right, here still has its original facade.  They're running "The Lotus Eater," a November 1921 release with John Barrymore and Colleen Moore. The initial street address was on Oregon St., later renamed Santa Monica Blvd.

Architect: Henry C. Hollwedel. The Santa Monica History Museum, in a post on the SMHM Facebook page, notes that Hollwedel's office was on the second floor and that he also designed the Santa Monica Bay Womens Club near 4th and Wilshire and Henshey's Department Store at 4th and Oregon, another property owned by Mr. Tegner. 

Seating: Initial capacity is unknown. Later it was down to 602 seats, with a balcony.

In the early 20s the operators were A.J. Fyhn and a Mr. Armour of the Fyhn and Armour Theater Company. At the time they also had the Crown/Sawtelle Theatre, a venue they replaced in 1924 with the Tivoli, now called the Royal.

The Majestic got a revamped facade in 1928 reflecting the new craze for Spanish revival buildings in southern California. As a movie theatre, the Majestic was architecturally stunning but didn't have the class of the larger theatres such as the Elmiro or the Criterion.


A June 2, 1929 photo spread in the Santa Monica Evening Outlook featuring the area's most prominent men in the amusement business. At the time Robert Armour was managing the Majestic. He's in the bottom row, the second in from the right. Thanks to Samuel Dórame for finding the article. For fine research relating to the Sawtelle area visit his blog Sawtelle 1897-1941.

It became the Mayfair Theatre in 1967. By 1972 it was running as a 49 cent bargain house operated by Shan Sayles. 
 


A February 1972 ad.
 
 
 
Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing this April 1972 ad for the three Sayles Bros. bargain houses in a post for the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group. 
 
 

 
Running as the Mayfair Repertory Cinema later in 1972.  

A November 1972 ad in the Times. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating these.

Mark Valen comments: 
 
"I used to see double features here when I was a kid (under both the Majestic and the Mayfair names). I ushered this theater for the final couple of months it was open as a movie theater. It closed in July 1973. At that time we were showing double bills of fairly recent films for a full week with admission at 99 cents, including 'Clockwork Orange' and 'Performance,' 'High Plains Drifter' and 'Play Misty For Me,' etc. It was a cool, if slightly spooky theater, run down but still glorious. 
 
"It was owned at that time by Sayles Bros.Theaters, who also owned the Star in Hollywood and the Nuart in West LA (they transferred me to the Nuart when the Mayfair closed). Shan Sayles was a particularly stern owner. He would walk in unannounced and put on a white glove. He'd run his finger along the top of the popcorn and soda machines. If there was any dust on the counters the person on duty was automatically fired."

It closed as a movie theatre in July 1973 and later that year became the Mayfair Music Hall under the direction of Milt Larsen, of Magic Castle and Variety Arts Center fame. It was a showcase for comedy acts and variety presentations and revues. Larsen used some decorations from the closed Fox Belmont Theatre to enhance the look of the Mayfair. Some of the inside paneling was doors salvaged from other buildings.

At the time, it was reported to be the oldest legit theatre still operating in the Los Angeles area. Larsen gave up the theatre in 1985 and it was then operated by a succession of other promoters. Second City performed at the theatre for about two years with their first show on April 16, 1990. Richard Long notes that at this time the venue was called the Second City Comedy Club. Comedy Central also did shows originating at the Mayfair. 

Status: It suffered damage in the 1994 Northridge earthquake and closed at that time. It then sat vacant. In 2010 the building was demolished with only the facade remaining.

The new structure rising behind the 20s facade is retail on the ground floor, parking below and 34 apartments above. Karl Schober has owned the building for many years and has spent a number of them trying to negotiate a design that would be approved by city hall. Schober is the grandson of Charles Tegner, one of the original owners. He purchased the shares of the other inheritors in 1986.

More exterior views: 


1911 - A drawing of the facade of the Santa Monica Opera House. It's in the Santa Monica Public Library collection.



c.1921 - A postcard version of the photo at the top of the page. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for spotting this one on eBay. There's also a version on Flickr from the Billy Holcomb collection in the Don Lewis album Vanishing Movie Theaters.



1920s - Another early postcard from a bit farther west. The Majestic is over on the right, just beyond the big vertical for Fred's Peerless Cafe. It's a card from the Bill Counter collection. 



1929 - A view from the Look Out News. Note the new Spanish Revival facade. The photo appears with the April 2007 article "Strolling Through Downtown's Past." The theatre was running "Sacred Flame" with Pauline Frederick and Conrad Nagel. Also see the March 2008 story "Rebirth of a Landmark."



 
1929 - Another version of the photo. Thanks to Richard Orton for this one appearing on the Venice, Ocean Park and Santa Monica Facebook page. He notes that the City of Santa Monica still has blueprints for the late 20s remodel of the theatre.
 


1935 - Looking east during the September 28 Elks parade. On the right we get a view of a new marquee and vertical sign at the Majestic. Their main feature was "Sanders of the River" starring Paul Robeson. It's a photo in the Bill Beebe collection of the Santa Monica History Museum. It's also appeared as a post on their Facebook page
 
 

1935 - A detail from another Elks parade view that's in the Santa Monica History Museum collection.
 

1946 - A photo by L.G. Allen. Thanks to Ben Golomb for sharing it on the "You Know You're From Santa Monica If..." Facebook page. They were running Edwin L. Marin's August release "Mr. Ace" with George Raft and Sylvia Sidney. The co-feature was Douglas Sirk's "A Scandal in Paris" starring George Sanders, Signe Hasso and Carole Landis.


 
1964 - A photo taken when it was still called the Majestic. It's from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Note the interestingly named stores: The Horn of Plenty and The Lady Bug. The photo is also in the collection of the Santa Monica Public Library.
 

1977 - A photo in the collection of the Santa Monica History Museum. It also made an appearance on the SMHM Facebook page in a 2021 post and in a 2023 post


1978 - A photo by John Margolies. It's in the Library of Congress collection.



1979 - "The West End Revue." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this one for a post on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles.



1980 - It's a photo that appeared on the now-vanished American Classic Images website. 
 
 
 
1980 - A panoramic view west from 2nd St. and Santa Monica Blvd. taken by Chris Shaw. Thanks to his son Robert Shaw for sharing the shot as part of a 21 photo Venice and Santa Monica set on the South Bay/Los Angeles Days of Old California Facebook page.  
 
 

1980 - "Western Musical - Opens Soon." It's a detail from the Chris Shaw photo.



1983 - A view as the Mayfair Theatre (instead of Music Hall) from the American Classic Images collection.



2007 - Before demolition: the forlorn Mayfair awaiting its fate. Photo: Bill Counter



2010 - A February view of the supported facade minus the rest of the building. Photo: Bill Counter 



2010 - A look down the alley. Photo: Bill Counter



2010 - A facade detail. Photo: Bill Counter



2010 - The facade from the rear. Photo: Bill Counter



2013 - During construction: the restored facade with the new building behind. Photo: Bill Counter



2013 - A look from the east. Photo: Bill Counter


 
 
2016 - Just the facade is left -- behind it's all new condos and retail. Well, at least they put up a marquee and a vertical sign for the main floor retail tenant, Shoe Palace. Photo: Bill Counter
 

2022 - A nice look at the Shoe Palace marquee taken by Mark Blackwell, part of a post for the Historic Film Locations Facebook group about the theatre's appearance in the 1974 pilot for "The Rockford Files." He notes: "The crazy thing about the photo I took is that it looks like I intentionally positioned a guy in almost the exact pose and spot where the bad guy appears in the Rockford screenshot - but this was a total coincidence."   
 

2024 - A terrazzo detail. Thanks to Gary Parks for sharing this photo and the others appearing here. He notes that while the terrazzo is vintage, the tile at the store entrance is not. 
 

2024 - A view from across Santa Monica Blvd. Photo: Gary Parks
 
 

2024 - Cast stone ornament at the top of the center bay of the facade. Photo: Gary Parks
 

2024 - Ornament on the upper part of the facade. Photo: Gary Parks

 
 
2024 - The grotesque above the center window. Photo: Gary Parks

 

The Majestic / Mayfair in the Movies:


Reginald LeBorg's "Models, Inc." (Universal-International, 1952) did a lot of filming in Santa Monica and included one quick shot of the Majestic. The film, starring Howard Duff and Colleen Gray, is a "startling expose" of a racket in which of models marry for money. Thanks to Mike Hume for the screenshot. His report: "Sadly there's nothing more than this to be seen of the Majestic. It's a background shot 66 minutes in as our heroine Rusty Faraday, played by Coleen Gray, anxiously looks out for the car which is picking her up from outside Bank of America, from where she's just withdrawn a large amount of cash as part of a money racket. That's it!"



Elvis and his band mates are hauling a boat around downtown Ft. Lauderdale during Spring Break and somehow go west on Santa Monica Blvd. so we get a view of the Majestic in "Girl Happy" (MGM, 1965). In the boat is Shelley Fabares, the daughter of a mob boss they're working for, and she needs to be back at her motel before daddy calls to check in. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for two views of the Criterion seen during the drive around town. 



The Mayfair appears in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein"  (20th Century Fox, 1974). We get a look at the back of the house prior to Irving Berlin's song "Puttin' on the Ritz."



A view of the stage area during the theatre scene with Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle in "Young Frankenstein." 


 
This view of Peter Boyle at the end of the "Ritz" number in "Young Frankenstein" also gives us a good look at the decor of the proscenium box beyond.
 

Our best look at the theatre is in Henry Jaglom's "Someone To Love" (Rainbow Film Company, 1988). The film features Andrea Marcovicci, Sally Kellerman, Oja Kadar, Orson Welles, Michael Emil and Miles Kruger. 
 
 

Jaglom is onstage in this shot giving us a view of the house left box. The theatre is about to be demolished and his character invites all his single friends for a mysterious party on Valentine's Day. He wants to ask them why they're still single -- and film the discussions.  
 
 

Back in the corner filming a conversation with Oja Kadar in "Someone To Love." See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for fifteen more shots of the theatre from the film.

The Mayfair on TV: The theatre appears in the 1974 pilot for "The Rockford Files." James Garner goes inside and in the background we see variety acts on stage including a dog act, a wire walker and chorus girls. 



The Mayfair in "The Rockford Files." Thanks to Mark Blackwell for this screenshot he shared, along with a recent view, in a 2024 post for the Historic Film Locations Facebook group. He notes that, coincidentally, in his 2022 shot he caught a guy at the entrance in about the same position as we see here. 
 
Mark notes that a post on the Inner Toob blog has data about the two performers on the marquee, Martyn Green and Gene Bell. Trav S.D. tells all about it in "Vaudeville in 'The Rockford Files' Pilot?!," a 2017 post on his blog Travelanche. He also discusses some of the performers that appeared there during Milt Larsen's tenure. Thanks to Robert Nedelkoff for spotting Trav's post.

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Mayfair for lots of fond recollections and links to many more exterior photos. See the Santa Monica Landmark Properties Mayfair Theatre page for more history of the building.

Cinema Treasures researcher Jeff Bridges (aka Vokoban) has discovered some interesting facts about the theatre. They're on his Majestic / Mayfair Theater Flickr page. His photo set has shots taken in January 2010 during the demolition.

The blog Doves 2 Day offers many interesting snippets of Santa Monica history in the blog post "Searching for ABW - Santa Monica" from March 2009. Wikipedia has a short article on the Mayfair Music Hall.

If you're looking for information on an earlier Santa Monica Opera House, see the page for Steere Opera House.

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