Meralta Theatre

9632 Culver Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 | map |

The Culver City pages: Culver City Theatre 1915-1923 | Meralta Theatre 1924-1943, 1945-1983 | City Hall Theatre 1943-1947 | Culver / Kirk Douglas Theatre 1947 - present | Culver Plaza 6 1991-2011 | Pacific / Amazon Culver Theatre |

 

Opened: The Meralta was opened April 25, 1924 by friends, business partners and former vaudevillians Pearl Merrill and Laura Peralta. Will Rogers was the MC for the opening. The feature film from Thomas Ince was "The Galloping Fish." Marc Wanamaker notes that an Our Gang comedy was also on the opening bill and at one point the projectionist stopped the film and the cast "leaped through their on-screen likenesses."

 

This photo from the theatre's first year is from Mr. Wanamaker's Bison Archives and appears on page 97 of the terrific Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres in Los Angeles" by Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, Amy Ronnebeck Hall and Mr. Wanamaker. There's a Google Books preview to browse.

This new building was a replacement for the Culver City Theatre, a building that also was the City Hall. It was demolished when Harry Culver decided to build what is now called the Culver Hotel on the site.

Typical for the time, the building also included retail shops and apartments. The proprietors lived above the theatre and had a viewing window down into the auditorium. Pearl was also in the real estate and insurance businesses, as well as active on the school board. Laura was active with the Culver City Woman's Club. There was also a Meralta Theatre in East L.A. and a Meralta Theatre in Downey.

Architect: The architect of the 1924 building is unknown. Clifford Balch did a remodel in 1935. The architect of the 1945 rebuild is also unknown.

Seating: 1,000 originally. Perhaps 700 in later years.

 

 

"Free Turkeys - 10 of 'em." It's a November 1934 ad in the Venice Vanguard for the "MERATLA." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the ad, posted as a comment in a thread about the Pico Drive-In on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 

By the early 30s, the Meralta was being operated by Mike Rosenberg's firm Principal Theatres, Inc. in association with Fox West Coast. In August 1943 the Meralta had a fire and with the loss of the only theatre in town, the 2nd floor auditorium of City Hall, at Culver and Duquesne, was made into a commercial movie house. 

Rosenberg initially called the new location the Meralta as well. But by early 1945 it became evident that Pearl Merrill and Laura Peralta were going to do a rebuild of the Meralta site so in this confusing January 1945 article from the Culver City Evening Star-News he explains that the venue in City Hall would be henceforth known as City Hall Theatre: 

See the page about the City Hall Theatre for information about the four year long operation there. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the article. Note that Rosenberg was promising a new theatre "as soon as priorities are available," whatever that meant. The new theatre, the Culver, would open in August 1947. 

 

 

The new Meralta opened in 1945 with Merrill and Peralta running it. This invitation to the reopening appeared courtesy of William Barnett in "An Independence Day Treat From the Archives," a 2015 post by Julie Lugo Cerra on the Culver City Historical Society website. The "Welcome" text: 

"Out of the ashes of the old Meralta, a more beautiful theatre has arisen. We proudly dedicate it to you, the people of the community. In these days of world weariness we strive to raise the morale of our Americans, not in order to forget our duties to our country but rather to inspire grateful realization of the wonders of this land and the purpose for which our boys have left their homes. We are proud that in these troubled times we are again able to fill a need in this community of which we have been a part for twenty-six years. 

"To all those associated in our endeavors we are happy once more to greet you and to our new friends we welcome you and heartily solicit your patronage. It will be our policy to offer the best in entertainment for all~particularly the children who need special guidance through the post-war period. We wish you to feel that this is your theatre, dedicated to your enjoyment, recreation and entertainment."

In 1947 it was leased to Phil Isley, the father of Jennifer Jones. He had various other operations in the area at the time including the Imperial in Inglewood and the La Tijera Theatre. In 1968 the Meralta operation was taken over by James Allen and Merritt Stone.

 

 

In 1971 Laura Peralta, by then named Laura Brackett, was still living in an apartment above the theatre.  Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this L.A. Times article for a post on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. 

 

 

A photo of Laura Brackett that appeared with the 1971 Times article.

 

 

This item made the AP wire in 1971 and appeared in the New York Daily News. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it. 

 

Fox West Coast was later back in as the operator. Mann Theatres continued to operate the Meralta for a while when they took over the remnants of the circuit in 1973. At the end of its life it was an independent operation. 

 

 

A 1977 ad for the Indian film "Sholay." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing this in a post for the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group. See several photos lower on this page with the film on the marquee.

Status: It closed in January 1983. The site was redeveloped into the "Meralta Plaza" office complex later that year.

 

More exterior views: 

1928 - In this photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection they were running "The Lovelorn" with Sally O'Neil, a 1927 release. By this time the facade had been remodeled and the formerly recessed second floor had been brought out to the street line.

1947 - The Meralta after its rebuild. It had reopened in 1945. It's a Bison Archives photo appearing in the Arcadia book "Theatres in Los Angeles." The photo also is on Cinema Treasures.

c.1957 - A look at the Meralta appearing on page 30 of the Arcadia Publishing book "Culver City" by Julie Lugo Cerra. They were running "Omar Khayyam" and "The Seventh Sin." The photo is from the Freeman collection. The page with the photo is included in the preview on Google Books.

1957 - A color version of the photo above. Thanks to Mark Smith for the contribution.

c.1961 - A postcard view east on Culver Blvd. Thanks to Dennis O'Connor for this version of the card that he shared as a post on the private Facebook group Mid Century Modern Los Angeles. The card can also be seen on the website of the Culver City Historical Society.

1963 - A photo taken from the Culver Hotel looking west along Culver Blvd. with Washington Blvd. veering off to the right. The Meralta's entrance is on the left just beyond the first intersection.

City Hall, with the "Culver City" roof sign is visible on the left side of Culver Blvd. beyond the theatre. The tower of the Culver Theatre is in the upper right of the photo. It's an L.A. Times photo in the UCLA L.A. Times Photographic Archive. It makes an appearance in "Culver City: From Barley Fields to the Heart of Screenland," Nathan Masters' fine KCET article about the city's history.

 

 

1963 - A closer look at the Meralta. It's a detail taken from the L.A. Times photo. Off to the left we can see the side and roof of the auditorium. The sidewall looks quite different than it did in 1924. The assumption is that the auditorium structure was basically replaced following the 1943 fire.

c.1965 - A view east toward the Culver Hotel. That's the Meralta's red vertical this side of the hotel. Note we still have rails in the street although the overhead power lines are gone. Service ended in March 1963. On the far right is the 1928 City Hall, now gone except for a 3/4 replica of part of the facade. Many thanks to Sean Ault for sharing the photo from his collection.

c.1965 - A detail from Sean's photo.

1971 - A photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 

1970s - A look at the block with the theatre entrance off to the left. Sorry there's no larger version -- it's vanished from CulverCity.org, the City's website.

 

 

1977 - A look south on Watseka Ave. toward the theatre from "Aweigh We Go," Episode 12 of the first season of the TV series CHiPs. The series aired from 1977 to 1983. Thanks to Tommy Bernard for spotting the theatre and getting this screenshot as well as the one below. 

 

 

1977 - Another shot from the CHiPs episode. The theatre was running Indian films at the time. The week of the September shoot they were running the 1975 release "Sholay." The translation of that title was "Flames." Thanks, Tommy!

1983 - The farewell screenings at the Meralta captured in a January photo from the website of the now-vanished American Classic Images collection. The final shows: "My Favorite Year" (1982) and "Honky Tonk Man" (1982).

1983 - At the end in January. Thanks to American Classic Images for this photo. 

 

 

1983 - Redevelopment of the block underway. Thanks to Joseph Snyder for sharing this photo on the South Bay / Los Angeles Days of Old Facebook page.  

The Meralta in the Movies: 

Laurel and Hardy walk by the theatre in their short "Putting Pants on Philip" (Hal Roach/MGM, 1927). Thanks to Chris Bungo for detailing the film's many Culver City locations in the presentation he has on YouTube. The poster is for "Lonesome Ladies," a July 1927 release with Lewis Stone and Anna Q. Nilson.

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Meralta. Some comments about this theatre are also on the site's page for the East L.A. Meralta.

The Culver City Historical Society has several posts about the theatre on their website. A 2008 post by Marc Wanamaker was titled "Reel Culver City - Culver City's Meralta Theatre":

"The traveling female duo of 'The large Pearl Merrill and 'The Tiny' Laura Peralta performed as 'Ella Fant and Miss Kito' on the vaudeville circuit for many years, accumulating enough money to build their own theatre at 9632 Culver Boulevard, Culver City.

"FILM PREVIEWS LEADS TO FIRST-RUN RELEASES - The Meralta's opening premiere show included an appearance by Will Rogers, a new Thomas Ince film and an Our Gang comedy (which had all the kids leaping through their on-screen likeness when the projectionist stopped the film!). The duo then began to book other vaudeville acts at the new theatre, and the first was a review titled 'Half A Dollar Bill' with Sherwood Wertz at the organ. By 1927, the theatre was being used by local studios as a preview house for motion pictures and civic events. On May 27, 1927, MGM Studios hosted their sales convention in Los Angeles and arranged for their guests to see Lon Chaney’s latest film, 'The Unknown.' By 1928, MGM was using the theatre not just for its previews, but also for its general releases such as Beatrice Fairfax’s 'The Lovelorn' starring Sally O’Neil and Molly O’Day. And, by 1929, the theatre was being used on its 'dark days' for Christian Science lectures.

"On January 20, 1935, the Los Angeles Times announced that 'The Meralta Theatre, at 9628 Culver Boulevard will be remodeled at a cost of $10,000, according to architect C. A. Balch.' The newly-remodeled theatre joined the Fox West Coast Theatre chain and began to show first run films. In 1938, a typical film program included such fare as 'Holiday' starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, 'Three Comrades' starring Robert Taylor and Franchot Tone, and 'The Saint in New York' with Louis Hayward.

"1940s: WAR-THEMED FILMS - During World War II, the theatre was screening war-themed films such as 'Fighting Chetniks' and Noel Coward’s 'In Which We Serve.' 'Five Graves To Cairo,' starring Erich Von Stroheim, screened in August of 1943. On August 10th, the Los Angeles Times reported: 'Unscheduled Performance! Fire, which is believed to have started in a theater lobby, early yesterday, swept through a Culver City building housing a theatre and small shops at an estimated loss of $100,000.' The devastated theatre was moved to the Culver Auditorium the following year until a new building could be built. Sometime around the end of 1945, a new theatre was built on the original site.

"A NEW ERA - After Pearl Merrill’s death in 1961, Laura Peralta Brackett remained in her apartment over the theatre, constructed so she could watch the films from a special room. At this time, 'The Grass Is Greener,' starring Cary Grant opened at the theatre. In 1969, the theatre was hosting studio previews and fundraiser parties for local schools and colleges. During the 1970s, the theatre suffered some vandalism and became run-down. On February 24, 1983, the Los Angeles Times announced that 'Culver Rebuilds ….. $4 Million Dollar Plaza on the old Meralta Theatre site is the first major development in Culver City in many years.' On June 3, 1984, the new Meralta Office Plaza (a Spanish-style office complex at 9696 Culver Blvd.) opened and was the first major public development in over two decades."

The site Wikimapia has a page on the Meralta Plaza that replaced the theatre.

This item announcing what evidently was a project that didn't come to fruition appears in the California Index of the Los Angeles Public Library:

Was that mangled street typed on the card supposed to be Caroline Ave.? That would have put the project over near the Helms Bakery. 

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