Picfair Theatre

5879 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019  | map |

Opened: January 24, 1941. The name comes from its location just west of Fairfax Ave. It was on the north side of the street. Bruce Kimmel notes that the bill of "The Mark of Zorro" and "Too Many Girls" played the theatre from February 9 through 12, 1941 at a time when they were doing split weeks. Thanks to Comfortably Cool for locating the shot for a post on the Cinema Treasures page about the Picfair.

 The big grand opening ad. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it.  

 

Architect: Unknown

Seating: 750

This independent house was built and owned by contractor Joe DeBell and initially operated by Ben Mohi. Beginning around 1944 it was run by Encore Theatres, a partnership of Joseph Moritz and James H. Nicholson. Nicholson was later a co-founder of American International Pictures.

 

A 1947 Times ad for the Picfair as one of the "4 Academies of Proven Hits," under the same management as the "Encore Theatres." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the ad.  

 

 

A 1948 ad with the Picfair as one of "5 Academies."  

 

The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook listed "Academies of Proven Hits" as a company run by Saul Mahler and James Nicholson. The theatres listed as being under their control at the time included the Arlington, Cinema, Jewel, Picfair and Vermont. Joe Moritz was also a part of the company.

 

 

"Proven Hits." It's a March 31, 1949 ad from the Times. The Marcal was reopening after a remodel following a fire.Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating the ad.

 

An August 1949 ad in the Times for "Ghost Catchers" and "Behind the Eight Ball" at the "4 Academies." It's an ad located by Kurt Wahlner. Visit his site about the Chinese: GraumansChinese.org 

 

"Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and "Casablanca" running in 1950, also at the Marcal. Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for locating the August 18 ad in the L.A. Times. 

Bruce Kimmel commented in response to a post about the theatre on the All Movie Theatres Facebook page:

"I spent many Saturday afternoons in my very young years at the Picfair. My grandfather on my father's side would take me to the kiddie matinees starting around 1954, I'd guess. We'd get cartoons, a serial, and a double feature. My earliest actual memory of seeing a movie there would be 'The Long, Long Trailer' in March or April of 1954. 

"I vividly remember seeing 'Beneath the 12-Mile Reef' there in Cinemascope but not really. I'd already seen at least two or three movies in Cinemascope, including 'The High and the Mighty' and something at the Stadium, who had an impressive scope screen. But the Picfair couldn't show actual Cinemascope - the had a 1.85 screen that fitted the width of their proscenium. So, they'd simply do what we now know as letterboxing and they'd lose the sides of the image, too. Very disappointing."

Fred Stein's Statewide Theatres had it beginning in 1963. Loew's got it in 1967 when they took over the Statewide sites and gave it a big remodel in 1968. Their $100,000 got the theatre a new marquee, refurbished seats, air conditioning and more. "I am Curious (Yellow)" had a run in 1969.

General Cinema operated the house after Loew's left the southern California market in 1972. It was soon turned over to Fred Stein's new company Century Cinema. Beginning in 1977 it was running foreign films under the management of Jamiel Chetin. By 1981 it was running Indian films. By mid-1982 it had become a bargain house.

Closing: September 5, 1983 was the last film program: "Tootsie" and "Private School." From April to August 1984 it ran as a live music venue. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Dallas Movie Theaters for the research. By 1985 it had become an appliance store.

Status: Demolished. The building got torched in the 1992 riots and was finally demolished in 1995.


An interior view: 

A 1941 look at the auditorium. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Comfortably Cool for posting the photo on the site's page about the Picfair.


More exterior views:  

The Picfair in the movies: We get a nice look at the marquee in the background of this shot looking east on Pico near the end of "The Devil’s Hand" (Crown International, 1961). The top of the double bill at the Picfair at the time of the filming was "I Want To Live!" (1958) with Susan Hayward.

That's Robert Alda helping Ariadne Welter into the car. The film is a nearly unwatchable tale of voodoo and cult behavior that also stars Linda Christian (Ariadne's older sister) and Neil Hamilton. William J. Hole, Jr. was the director. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Chas Smith for the tipoff about the theatre view.

 

Looking west toward the theatre c.1970. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting this one when it was for sale online. 

 

"Movies of India." An April 1982 view of the Picfair from the now-vanished American Classic Images  website.

Another April 1982 view. Thanks to American Classic Images for the photo.

The Picfair after the 1992 riots. By that time it had closed as a theatre and was being used as an appliance store. The photo is by Atomic Hot Links on Flickr. It's part of his Shoot & Loot set.

Another 1992 photo by Atomic Hot Links. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting this one -- he had it on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles.

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Picfair for all the history there is submitted by many with fond memories of moviegoing there.

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