1715 N. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90027 |
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A 1937 or 1938 Christmas season photo looking north on Vermont Ave. at the west side of the block. The Regal Theatre would soon open in the center storefronts of that first building beyond the corner bank. Until 1910 Hollywood Blvd. was called Prospect Ave. At this intersection it's Hollywood Blvd. on the left and Prospect on the right.
It's a photo by Herman Schultheis in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection. The Hollymont Apartments are still up the street at 1777 N. Vermont. Also see a
1930 aerial view of the intersection. At the time of that photo the bank had been built on the corner but the rest of the block was still residential.
Opened: The Regal was running by June 1939. There was no listing for it in the 1938 or
1939 city directories.
Architect: Unknown. It was a conversion of an existing building.
The theatre location is identified as "Movies" at 1713/15 in this detail from page 1036 of volume 10 of the
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
that's in the Library of Congress collection. On the LOC site it's
image 39. That's Hollywood Blvd. along the bottom and Vermont up the right side of the image. This copy of the map in the LOC collection has updates as late as 1950.
Seating: 430 was the number from one of the Film Daily Yearbooks.
A June 10, 1939 ad for "Smashing the Spy Ring" and "Ladies in Distress." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a thread about the theatre on the Facebook group
Ken's Movie Page. He notes that this was the theatre's first ad in the L.A. Times.
The Regal was advertising "I Stand Accused" and "Wolf Call" in this column of ads from September 20, 1939 that Ken located.
The Regal playing "Woman is the Judge" and "Man From Sundown" for 15 cents admission. It's a January 7, 1940 listing in the Times. The Marcal had a later life as the World Theatre. The Colony was later known as the Holly Theatre. The Tele-View Newsreel is the theatre later known as the Hitching Post. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing the ad.
The theatre was still advertising as the Regal in the
December 1940 L.A. Times. It was still listed as the Regal in the 1942 city directory.
In 1942 it was renamed the Pony Express. This story appeared in the L.A. Times on February 20.
"Tonight - Sagebrush Premiere." Thanks to Comfortably Cool for locating this February 20 opening day L.A. Times ad for a post on
Cinema Treasures. The post notes that an item in Motion Picture Daily mentioned that it was operated by the same firm as had the
Hitching Post Theatre in Hollywood.
Several months later it became the
Neighborhood Theatre, according to research by Debra Matlock, of the
Los Feliz Improvement Association. She notes that also lasted only a couple of months.
By early 1945 it had reopened as the Studio Theatre.
A 1945 ad for "On Approval," then in its 21st week. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting the ad on the page for the private Facebook group
Photos of Los Angeles.
A 1945 ad for "The Fall of Berlin" running day and date with the
Grand Theatre. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for part of a post for the
Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
A 1946 ad. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a post for the
Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
A May 25, 1947 ad located by Gerald A. DeLuca. See the Cinema Treasures page for more ads he located from the late 40s and early 1950s.
Evidently there was a closure in 1948. An article in the October 18, 1948 issue of Boxoffice listing new
theatre construction noted that the Studio Theatre had been reopened by Seth
Perkins.
A 1948 photo with "Henry V" playing at the Studio. This view looking north on Vermont is perhaps the only photo of the
theatre that exists. It appears in the Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres in Los Angeles"
by Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, Amy Ronnebeck Hall and Marc Wanamaker. The
photos in the book are from Mr. Wanamaker's Bison Archives.
Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting it -- he had it as a post for the private Facebook group
Photos of Los Angeles. It also shows up on Cinema Treasures.
An ad for "Henry V" at the Studio in 1948. Thanks to Scott Santoro for locating it.
A February 3, 1950 ad for "La Boheme" that was located by Gerald A. DeLuca.
A May 1950 ad for "Great Waltz" and "A Night at the Opera" that was located by Ken McIntyre.
A July 9, 1950 L.A. Times report of a fire in the theatre. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for noting the coverage.
A November 2, 1951 ad that appeared in the paper L'Italo Americano di Los Angeles. Thanks to Gerald A. DeLuca for posting this and other ads for Italian language films at the Studio on Cinema Treasures.
Status: The theatre closed in 1960. It's been demolished -- there's a Bank of America branch now on the site. Joe Vogel notes that the County Assessor dates that building as being from 1969.
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Studio.
Nearby: Los Feliz Theatre | Los Feliz Drive-In | Vista Theatre |
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