National Theatre

1538 Sawtelle Blvd. Sawtelle (Los Angeles) CA, 90025 | map |

Opening: Evidently it was running by 1909. Originally the address was 208 N. 4th St. 4th was later renamed Sawtelle Blvd. and the numbering adjusted to correspond to the L.A. numbering system after the town was annexed. The location is on the east side of the street in the middle of the second block north of Santa Monica Blvd., at the time a street called Oregon Ave.

The National Theatre is noted in the second line in this barely readable entry from a list of nickelodeons in the September 11, 1909 issue of Billboard. The first line listing the Old Reliable Theatre on Oregon Ave. (now Santa Monica Blvd.) is presumably the venue later known as the Crown Theatre.  

Both theatres were evidently operated by Eagler & Sons. It appears they soon closed one of them and tried to sell the other. See classified ads from 1909 and 1911 on the Crown page. It's unknown which theatre was closed at the time.

A postcard view north on 4th St. from Santa Monica Blvd. in Sawtelle. Note the tracks heading to Santa Monica. The image appeared on a now-vanished L.A. Times blog post. The National Theatre would have been on the right, up in the middle of the next block, perhaps in that two story building we see the south side of.

The building on the left was constructed in 1904 by the Pacific Land Co. and had offices for that firm as well as for the Sawtelle Water Co. and town founder W.E. Sawtelle. There was also a branch of the Bank of Santa Monica. The building burned in 1914. 

A detail from a 1912 Sanborn insurance map. In the theatre building, identified in yellow, the National's location at 208 is on the left and here is marked vacant. In the center is an entry and stairs to the second floor. On the right it's a church at 206. Thanks to Samuel de la Torre Dórame for locating the map as well as identifying the theatre building and labeling the streets with their current names.

Samuel notes that the building was constructed in 1907 or several years later. The building is discussed in the Early Days of Sawtelle post on his fine blog about Sawtelle history. He notes that upstairs was called Thayer's Hall and used for lodge meetings and other functions. It's indicated as Thayer's on a 1921 Sanborn map and in a 1923 Sawtelle street directory. Although the same footprint is shown for the building on the 1912 and 1921 Sanborn maps, the city's Zimas system gives it a 1918 construction date, most likely the date of a major remodeling. 

The National Theatre is listed as being on 4th St., Sawtelle in the 1912 Santa Monica city directory that was compiled by the Santa Monica Bay Directory Co. It doesn't get a listing in the 1912 edition from the Los Angeles City Directory Co. The Eaglers don't show up in either directory.

The National's listing in the 1913 Santa Monica directory. That church listed at 206 was in the same building. Thanks to Samuel de la Torre Dórame for the image. In the listing for the National in the alphabetical section Foster Jackson is listed as the manager.

Samuel notes that the 1921 Sanborn map shows the numbering as 2538 Sawtelle Blvd. for the main floor space marked "moving pictures" and Thayer's Hall above. The 1921-22 Sawtelle street directory listed Thayer’s Hall at 2536 Sawtelle Blvd., now 1536.

Closing: Perhaps 1914 was it for the National. In the 1915-16 and 1919-20 Santa Monica directories there's no listing for any business at 208 N. 4th. The Crown Theatre on Santa Monica Blvd. continued to operate into the 1920s.

Status: The building survives as a boutique hotel called the West End Hotel. Thanks to Samuel de la Torre Dórame for tracking the building down, figuring out its current address, and doing a superb West End Hotel post about the building on his blog about Sawtelle.

Looking north on Sawtelle from Massachusetts Ave. That's the former theatre building, now the West End Hotel, on the right. Photo: Google Maps - 2019

A closer look at the facade. Photo: Samuel de la Torre Dórame - 2019

More Information: Another early theatre nearby in Sawtelle was the Crown Theatre.  See that page for some speculations about renaming of Sawtelle streets.

Thanks to Samuel de la Torre Dórame for sorting out much of the theatre's history. See his fine blog Sawtelle 1897 to 1950. 

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