478 W. 6th St. San Pedro (Los Angeles), CA 90731 |
map |
More pages on the Warner Grand: lobby areas | auditorium | stage + basement | booth |
The News: The theatre closed at the end of 2023, ostensibly for Phase I of renovation work, a $15 million project. But they didn't get around to doing a celebration to start the project until December 2024. Manager
Lee Sweet notes that this will include restoration of lobby areas, a
new lobby elevator, a rooftop deck, rebuilt restrooms, and some work to make main floor
seating ADA compliant including re-ramping one aisle and installing a
lift. They're
anticipating a two
year shutdown. Look for a late 2026 reopening. Other auditorium projects and work backstage will wait for a second phase.
Opened: January 20, 1931 as the Warner Bros. Theatre with "Goin' Wild" with Joe E. Brown as the initial attraction. It's reported that Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Blondell were among those attending the premiere. Jack Warner called it the "Castle of Your Dreams." He sent his son Jack Warner, Jr. to the opening. The facade of the Warner, especially when lit at night, is an impressive big city sight in generally low-key San Pedro. It's owned by the City of Los Angeles and managed by Lee Sweet. Photo: Bill Counter - 2013
Phone: 310-548-7672
Website: www.grandvision.org | events | photo gallery | restoration | tech specs - 2008 pdf |
Seating: 1,598 at one time, now 1,523.
Architect: B. Marcus Priteca, who also did the Warner Huntington Park (opening November 19, 1930) and Warner Beverly Hills (opening May 19, 1931). Plus over 100 other theatres. Interior decoration was by Anthony Heinsbergen. The contractor was Lange & Bergstrom, Inc. of Los Angeles. Priteca's other Los Angeles theaters include the downtown Pantages (1920, later renamed the Warner Downtown), the Hollywood Pantages (1930) and the Fine Arts in Beverly Hills (1937).
Warner Brothers was riding high in 1930 with their profits from Vitaphone releases and embarked on a big expansion program across the country. Exhibitors were worried but Warners tried to calm them by saying that existing relationships weren't in jeopardy as they were just building new houses where their films weren't getting good play. The first two new houses in the project for the L.A. area were announced in February 1930. This was the front page coverage in the February 5 issue of the San Pedro News-Pilot:
Somehow the theatre didn't end up very "Italio-Spanish." Thanks to Mike Hume for locating the article. A smaller article with similar information also appeared in the February 5 issue of the L.A. Times. Mike notes that the News-Pilot is accessible online via UC Riverside and the California Digital Newspaper Collection. Access is free, but you may need to set up an account:
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/
The three Warner neighborhood houses to be designed by E. Marcus Priteca [sic]
were featured in this article appearing in the April 5, 1930 issue of
Motion Picture News. It's on Internet Archive if you wish to expand it for easier reading.
That Italo-Spanish exterior look seen in the rendering for the Huntington Park theatre was later modified to become very deco, although then they would have called it "modern." Thanks to theatre explorer Mike Hume for locating the article. Visit his
Historic Theatre Photography site for news of his latest investigations. And don't miss his page on the
Warner Grand.
"Designs For Various Cities Shown - To the upper left is depicted the
Warner Brothers Theater at Wilshire Boulevard and Reeves Drive in
Beverly Hills, to be started this month. To its right is shown the Fox
Pantages Theater at Hollywood Boulevard and Argyle, the opening date for
which has been set for the 29th inst. To the lower left is the Fox
Theater soon to be built on Greenleaf avenue, Whittier, while Warners'
San Pedro project is pictured at the lower right. In the center is the
Fox Wilshire Theater now being erected at Wilshire Boulevard and
Hamilton, Beverly Hills. Completion is scheduled for September."
The illustration appeared in the May 4, 1930 issue of the L.A. Times. This article appeared on the same page:
The new Fox theatres mentioned for Wilshire Blvd. at Beverly Drive in Beverly
Hills and in Huntington Park never happened. Fox broke their lease on
the theatre in Whittier and it opened as an independent called the
Wardman, named after its owner. The article was a find by Mike Hume.
The groundbreaking was in June 1930. Thanks to Jeff Bridges for locating this item from the June 18 issue of the L.A. Times:
"Warner Brothers will break ground today for their new $500,000 theater on Sixth street, near Pacific avenue, San Pedro. Jack Warner, son of the vice-president in charge of production, will wield the shovel and Leslie Mott, president of the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, will speak for the community. A number of film folk will be introduced by M.A. Silver, general manager of Warner Brothers' Theater chain, including Loretta Young, Grant Withers, Claudia Dell, Irene Delroy, Walter Pidgeon and Leon Janney. The site runs 150 feet along Sixth street and extends back 125 feet. The building will have an auditorium seating 2000 persons, and will contain six stores and twelve offices. Lange & Bergstrom, Inc. of Los Angeles, is general contractor."
A detail from the plans showing Priteca's ceiling design. It's an image from the Grand Vision Foundation that appears on page 20 of the January 2021 issue of "
San Pedro Today," viewable on the site Issuu. Thanks to Mike Hume for
spotting the coverage of the Warner's 90th Birthday in the issue. The article the image appears with quotes Alexander Pantages, Priteca's client for many theatres for his vaudeville circuit:
"Any damn fool can make a place look like a million dollars by spending a million dollars, but it's not everybody who can do it for half a million."
A January 14, 1931 ad appearing in the Long Beach Sun. Thanks to eminent Long Beach theatre historian Ronald W. Mahan for locating this.
A January 15, 1931 ad in the Long Beach Sun located by Ronald W. Mahan.
A front page photo appearing in the January 19, 1931 issue of the San Pedro News-Pilot. In addition to a story with the photo giving minute details about the next day's opening, twelve full pages inside the issue were filled with congratulatory ads and dozens of news stories about every detail of the theatre and its operation. Articles included discussion of exciting topics such as "Sound is Perfect in New San Pedro Theatre," "Ushers Train for Two Weeks," "It's Your Theatre Says Warner Head For This District" and "Plenty of Air for Warner Patrons."
A January 19 ad in the San Pedro News-Pilot. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it.
Although the festivities hadn't begun when they went to press, the January 20 News-Pilot had a long and enthusiastic article titled "Crowd Swarms at New Theatre - Picture Stars and Officials Here For Party." The dedication was to begin at 3 pm. The article noted that stars that had already arrived included Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Blondell. We were told that Loretta Young was on location and would be arriving later. There were also articles about Joe E. Brown and the opening film as well as a story advising patrons of details about ticket availability.
The
cover of the January 20, 1931 opening night program. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for
rounding it up for display at a Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation
tour of the theatre. It's in the collection of the
San Pedro Bay Historical Society.
This review of the opening appeared in the January 21 issue of the
San Pedro News-Pilot. The article's conclusion:
Thanks to Mike Hume for locating the article.
The
new theatre got a big spread with nine photos in the Better Theatres section of the July
4, 1931 issue of Motion Picture Herald. The article, "The Warner in San Pedro" is on Internet Archive.
Several
articles have noted that it was the first theatre equipped for sound in
the South Bay area but that can't be true. 1931 was pretty late. Maybe
it was the first South Bay theatre built after the arrival of sound. By this time Fox West
Coast had been running sound features for several years at their nearby Cabrillo and Strand theatres.
Stage:
The Warner got a stage with flying capability with a 65' high grid. The
original rigging was replaced with a new counterweight
system in 2007. All the
dressing rooms are in the basement, an area not built out in 1931. The stage is very wide
and shallow: 50' proscenium width (32' high) but a stage depth of only 20'8". They've made the facility more usable with a stage extension out
beyond the original apron. The stage is 80' wall to wall. See the stage + basement page for more data.
Pipe Organ: It never got one. The nice empty chambers are used for storage.
Film
equipment: The booth has a pair of Norelco AAII 35/70mm projectors and a RCA 16mm machine. Digital is done with a portable unit from the front of the balcony. See the booth page for more details. The
screen is 21' x 48'.
History: Life was rocky for the Warner during the depression but the
theatre stayed open.
"Misbehaving Ladies" at the theatre in 1931. The "Story of Gold-Diggers on Main Street" was a Warner Bros. release out in April. And if that was too scandalous you could join the kids at the Bosko Club on Saturdays.
"Rebound" was a September 1931 release from RKO Pathé. The next feature coming, "Blonde Crazy" was a December 1931 release from Warner Bros. Both of these early 30s ads from the Grand Vision Foundation collection appear on page 33 of the January 2021 issue of "
San Pedro Today," viewable on the site Issuu.
A May 8, 1934 ad from the San Pedro News-Pilot. It's from the clipping file at the
San Pedro Bay Historical Society collection. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for taking a photo of it.
A 1939 Warner Brothers ad. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for adding it as a comment to a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
The theatre finally started prospering during World War II with lots of
employment nearby at the port, the shipyards, and other military
locations. Evidently Warner Bros. got out of operating the theatre sometime prior to the end of 1941 and it was still not back in the circuit in 1948.
A July 1942 ad for the Warners neighborhood houses with the San Pedro venue absent. Not listed in this ad are the two first run houses that Warners had at the time, the Warner Hollywood and the Warner Downtown. Sometime after 1948 the Warner San Pedro was again part of the circuit.
In 1953, as a result of the Federal consent decree
splitting studios from their theatre chains, Warner Bros. split their
business into two firms with existing stockholders ending up with shares in
both companies. Warner Bros. remained the film production and
distribution company. The theatres ended up with the new Stanley Warner
Corporation -- Stanley Corp. being the name of a largely east coast
theatre chain the Warners had purchased in 1927.
In the city directories it's been
listed under all sorts of variations of the Warner name including Warner Bros.
(1932), the Warner Bros. San Pedro Theatre (1937), the Stanley Warner San Pedro
Theatre (1956), the Warner Theatre (1957) and the Stanley Warner Theatre (1959).
Looking for an assistant manager in 1963. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the ad.
A 1966 ad as a Stanley-Warner operation. Thanks to Ken for locating it.
The
Stanley-Warner combine eventually grabbed the RKO circuit theatres as
well, becoming RKO-Stanley Warner in 1967. Pacific
Theatres took over the southern California theatres in the chain in
1968, becoming the Warner San Pedro's new operator and owner.
An October 1968 ad with Pacific Theatres as the operator that was located by Ken.
Pacific leased the Warner to Arman Akarakian in 1971. It's unknown if
Pacific ran the house right up to the time of the 1971 lease or not.
An August 1973 ad located by Ken Mcintyre.
"The Theatre of Reflections." In September 1975 Akarakian sub-leased the Warner to M. Ron McNulty of the music promotion firm Professional McNulty Productions of Torrance. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this September 20 ad from the L.A. Daily Mirror to include as a comment on a 2024 thread about the Warner on the
Ken's Movie Page Facebook group.
At the end of the year McNulty closed the theatre, reporting difficulties getting financing for new equipment and other upgrades. This was the December 26, 1975 story in the News-Pilot:
Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the article.
The other downtown theatre, the Strand, then closed in January 1976. Both theatres were discussed in the San Pedro News-Pilot on January 17 with the article "San Pedro
left with no movie" and again on January 19 with the editorial headed
"Theatres die." Both articles are reproduced on the page about the
Strand Theatre. Akarakian continued to be the holder of the Warner's master lease until 1978.
Akarakian discussed his difficulties, and his desire to find a sub-lessee, in this January 31, 1976 front page story from the News-Pilot. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it. The theatre did reopen, with either Akarakian or some unknown sub-lessee running it, and ran until February 1978.
Arnulfo Estrada, a Wilmington grocer, was up as the next operator. He's pictured working on the seats in this photo that appeared with "New owners reviving S.P. movie houses," a story in the November
27, 1978 issue of the San Pedro News-Pilot that also discussed the Strand. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for including the article in a 2023 Facebook
thread about San Pedro theatres on
Ken's Movie Page. Estrada noted that he hoped to reopen in January 1979 running mostly Spanish-language product. He rebranded the house as the
Teatro Juarez. The article also noted that Pacific Theatres had recently put the building up for sale via a Wilmington real estate firm.
Estrada bought the building from Pacific in 1980 and continued to run it himself, still as the Juarez, with mostly Spanish language product. After having problems with violence and vandalism he leased it for a ten year term beginning in early 1983 to South Bay Theatre, Inc., a
group headed by Raymond Howell and Clay Colbert. They changed the name to the
Warner Grand, started a refurbishment program, and ran
classics, organ concerts, and other programming. It was the first English language programming in San Pedro since 1976. Howell had previously
managed the Chinese for Fox West Coast.
Estrada noted that they folded after ten months and forfeited their lease deposit. "They couldn't control the crowds" reported Sonny Singh, who ended up managing the theatre in 1984. Daniel Sharma leased the theatre from Estrada on a month-to-month basis beginning in December 1983. At one point he tried running English language features but that experiment only lasted a bit more than a week. Sonny Singh, his manager, noted that "...much of the action takes place off-screen. Fighting and vandalism are common occurrences when the theater shows teen-oriented American flicks... theatre employees were assaulted and abused on more than one occasion. For $3 a seat, who needs it?"
The problems the theatre faced were discussed in "S.P. cinema fans driven out of town," a February 2, 1984 News Pilot article by Steve Hirano. Inasmuch as both the Juarez and the San Pedro Drive-In were running only Spanish language features, moviegoers looking for English language features had to go to Torrance or Long Beach:
Another story from the February 2, 1984 issue of the News-Pilot. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.
The benefactor mentioned was the Grand Vision Foundation, the official "Friends" group for the Warner that was organized in 1995 to save the theatre. Over the last two decades they have done significant fundraising for various restoration projects and also promote frequent events at the theatre. They also operate the Annex, a black box house down the block. On several occasions they have asked the City to
let them run the theatre. Again they expressed their
desire to manage the building -- but evidently not on the terms that
were being asked.
Since 1996 it's been owned by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (
CultureLA.org). Lee Sweet manages the house for the city. The
Warner hosts many live events as well as occasional screenings of
foreign and classic films. A number of renovation projects were undertaken as funds became available.
January 20, 2021 was the Warner's 90th Birthday. The January issue of "
San Pedro Today"
was dedicated to celebrating the occasion. The 60 page magazine can be
seen in its entirety on the site Issuu. Thanks to Mike Hume for spotting
the coverage.
Renovation news: Since 2019 the City has been planning a restoration project designed by SPF:architects, originally
intended for 2019-2020 as a $4.5 million endeavor. SPF is the firm that
headed the 2000 renovation at the Pantages. The hope is that the upgrades would entice promoters to bring in bigger acts. The project was discussed in an April 2019
Daily Breeze story by Donna Littlejohn.
A
2019 look at what SPF was thinking about for the basement lounge. It's
one of four renderings on a page about the project on the SPF:architects website. An update was featured on pages 44 and 45 of the January 2021 issue of "San Pedro Today." It's on Issuu.
An exterior rendering from SPF.
The expanded plan is to start with a $15 million Phase I project. Manager Lee Sweet notes that this will include restoration of lobby areas, a new lobby elevator, a rooftop deck, rebuilt restrooms, and some work to make main floor seating ADA compliant including re-ramping one aisle and installing a lift. Other auditorium projects and work backstage would wait for Phase II, perhaps totaling another $15 million.
Status: The theatre closed December 31, 2023 for the renovation work. They're anticipating that Phase I, mostly in the lobby areas, will involve a two year shutdown. Look for a 2026 reopening.
More exterior views:
1931 - A view of the facade from the
Los Angeles Public Library collection. The attraction on the marquee is "Goin' Wild" with Joe E. Brown, the "Opening Week's Laugh Riot."
1931 - Another opening week view. It was one of nine photos with "
The Warner in San Pedro," an article in the Better Theatres section of the July 4, 1931 issue of Motion Picture Herald. It's on Internet Archive. "The facade, finished in white stucco, restrainedly embellished with cornice and plaque patterns pressed into the material."
1931 - A look at the boxoffice from the
Los Angeles Public Library collection. A version of the Dwyer photo also appears in the July 4, 1931 issue of
Motion Picture Herald.
c.1931 - A lovely look across San Pedro to the Palos Verdes Hills with the Warner sticking up over on the right. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality for finding the photo on eBay. It appears on his
Noirish post #23970. A detail from the photo as well as other Warner views appear on
Noirish post #23971.
1932 - Ahmed Yova, "The Mental Marvel," appearing with a Pola Negri film. The title was actually "A Woman Commands." Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for locating this snapshot when it appeared on eBay.
1934
- "One More River" was an August release with Dana Wynyard, Colin Clive, Frank Lawton and Lionel Atwill. It looks like the next booking was to be Joe E. Brown
in "The Circus Clown," a June release. Thanks to Granola for finding this photo for a post on
Cinema Treasures.
1934 - Another shot taken during the "One More River" engagement. It's a photo from the Grand Vision
Foundation collection that had once appeared on the
historical photo gallery page of their website but seems to have gone missing from that platform.
1934 - Dorothy Dare in person the night of the photo to promote "Happiness Ahead," an October release starring Dick Powell, Josephine Hutchinson and John Halliday. Dare only had a small part in the feature. She had made quite a few Vitaphone shorts and had would appear in half a dozen more features in 1934 and 1935. The bottom of the bill, "The Last Wilderness," was a three reel nature short done in Wyoming.
Thanks to Granola for locating this one for a post on
Cinema Treasures. It's also on the Grand Vision Foundation's website in their
historical photo gallery. They don't credit the individual images there but note that they've sourced
photos from the San Pedro Historical Society and the AMPAS Margaret
Herrick Library.
1934 - Miss Dare in the ticket lobby. It's a photo from the Grand Vision Foundation collection that appears on the historical photo gallery page of their website.
1934 - "Great Expectations" was an October release. "Cheating Cheaters" with Fay Wray and Cesar Romero was out in November. The photo appears on the
historical photo gallery page from the Grand Vision Foundation. Versions of this one have also been seen on the Facebook page
Vintage Los Angeles as a post from Nile Hight and with Sam Gnerre's lovely 2009 Daily Breeze article "
South Bay Movie Theatres of the Past."
1934 - "Fugitive Lady" was a December release with Florence Rice and Neil Hamilton. The co-feature, "Tomorrow's Youth," was an October release with Dickie Moon and Martha Sleeper. "Girl in Danger," the film they're promoting with the strange vehicle, was a September release with Ralph Bellamy and Shirley Grey. It's a photo from the Grand Vision Foundation that appears on the
historical photo gallery page of their website.
1935 - A lion on display during the run of "Unfinished Symphony," a May release from Fox starring Martha Eggerth and Helen Chandler. The co-feature, "Great God Gold," was a Monogram film starring Sidney Blackmer and Martha Sleeper that was out in April. The photo from the collection of the
Grand Vision Foundation is on display in the basement lounge. A cropped version appeared in "
San Pedro Today" in January 2021, an issue is devoted to celebrating the Warner's 90th birthday. It's on the site Issuu. Thanks to Mike Hume for
spotting the coverage.
c.1935 - Ready for the evening rush. It's an undated photo that appeared on a photo gallery page on the Grand Vision Foundation website before a makeover.
1936 - The Warner running "Mysterious Crossing," a December Universal release. It's a photo in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1937 - Looking east down 6th St. from Pacific toward the Warner in a photo from the the
Los Angeles Public Library. The last streetcars ran on those tracks in 1934.
1949 - A ferry in the harbor and snow on Palos Verdes. That's the Municipal Building on the left with the white stagehouse of the Warner visible to the right of it. Thanks to Paul Ayers for finding the photo for a post on
Facebook. It also appears on a
Water and Power Associates Museum page of early San Pedro and Wilmington views.
1958 - "No Time For Sergeants" was an April release. It's a photo from the Grand Vision Foundation collection that appears on the historical photo gallery page of their website.
c.1960 - An aerial view with the
Fox Cabrillo visible to the left of the Municipal Building and the stagehouse of the Warner back farther back in the center of the image. The photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection appears on a
Water and Power Associates Museum page of early San Pedro and Wilmington views.
1967 - "Hour of the Gun" and "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" were playing. Thanks to the
All Movie Theatres Facebook page for posting the photo.
1980 - The Warner as the Teatro Juarez. It's a photo taken by Chris Shaw. Thanks to his
son Robert Shaw for sharing the shot as part of a 144 photo San Pedro set on the South Bay/Los Angeles Days of Old California Facebook page.
1982 - Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for the June photo.
1983 - The theatre closed, again. It's a view from the American Classic Images collection. The building on the corner burned in November 2015.
1983 - A look at the facade of the then-dormant theatre from across the street. It's another photo that once appeared on the American Classic Images website. The theatre soon got new operators (and the Warner Grand name) but the operation folded within 10 months. Then it was back to Spanish language product.
1996 - One of the first projects of the
Grand Vision Foundation was a marquee restoration and relighting. This photo from the GVF collection appears with a story about the organization on page 35 of the January 2021 issue of "
San Pedro Today."
The issue is on the site Issuu.
2000 - Cheerleaders from San Pedro High School in the San Pedro Christmas parade. It's a photo by Slobodan Dimitrov that's in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
2001 - Actor Ian Ruskin in front of the theatre prior to performing his one man play "From Wharf Rats To Lords of the Docks," based on the life of Longshoreman's Union head Harry Bridges. It's a Slobodan Dimitrov photo from the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
2002 - A photo from the website
Seeing Stars. They also have a 2006 photo in their
The O.C. Filming Locations page. Also check out the
Hollywood Movie Palaces section. The City of Los Angeles has owned the building since 1996.
2007 - A look up the vertical. Photo: Bill Counter
2007 - A facade detail. Photo: Bill Counter
2007 - The boxoffice, not much changed since 1931. Photo: Bill Counter
2008 - A glowing look out to the street. Thanks to Mr. Arteest for the photo. It's one of 72 great photos in his
Warner Grand set on Flickr.
2013 - The vertical as seen from one of the balcony exits. The marquee and vertical got stripped down and repainted in original colors in 1996. Thanks to Sandi Hemmerlein for her photo. Don't miss her two "Avoiding Regret" photo essays on the Warner. You'll find more photos, a history of the building, and lots of information about her exploration of the theatre. There's one on the public spaces, "
Open to the Public," and one on the non-public areas, "
Behind Closed Doors."
2013 - The area behind the boxoffice. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - Avoiding Regret
2013 - A detail of the ceiling above the boxoffice area. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - Avoiding Regret
2013 - A lovely view toward the street by San Pedro artist Lee Uran. It was post by Michael Koth on the
Downtown San Pedro "The Edge of LA" Facebook page. Thanks to Jason Vega for spotting this one.
2013 - The Warner's neon lit up for an event. It's a photo by Stephen Russo that appeared on the
LAHTF Facebook page. Thanks, Stephen!
The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation is actively involved in the
study and preservation of the vintage theatres in the Los Angeles area.
The group frequently supports events and offers tours of the buildings.
www.lahtf.org |
on Facebook
2016 - An edge view of the Warner marquee after demolition of the adjacent building. Photo: Larry Diaz. The building at 6th & Pacific, just west of the Warner, caught on fire in November 2015 and was later demolished. The Daily Breeze had the story: "
Warner Grand Theatre spared...."
2016 - A bit of deco detailing on the west edge of the marquee. Thanks to Larry Diaz for the photo.
2016 - A facade view by Steve Milner. It's in a set of seven photos taken in April that he posted on the
SoCal Historic Architecture Facebook page.
2021 - "To Be Continued" was the message in January. Photo: Bill Counter
2021 - Thanks to Donald Pestana for this nice marquee detail. It was one of a dozen San Pedro area photos he posted on the Facebook page
Photos of Los Angeles.
Around the back:
2013 - Looking out the house left fire escape over the alley. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - Avoiding Regret
2014 - In the alley looking toward the lobby end of the building. Photo: Bill Counter
2014 - The alley view toward the stage. Photo: Bill Counter
2017 - A photo of the mural by Kent Yoshimura being painted on the stagehouse wall. The photo was a post from Kent on the Facebook page
Photos of Los Angeles. He comments: "
When
I started creating murals 2.5 years ago, I never thought I'd be
painting a historic landmark for the city I grew up in. Now, sore from
nine full days of climbing 10 floors of scaffolding, we finally did it.
This has been the biggest project I've done to date, but it was all made
possible by the amazing people around me. Thank you San Pedro for being
so cool to us - it's been an absolute pleasure...now to go celebrate." Note the muralists up on the scaffolding.
2017 - A view of the mural from the ground. With Kent are
Paul Juno, Laura Weinberger and John Felix Arnold III. It's on
Photos of Los Angeles.
The Warner Grand in the Movies:
The theatre and adjoining business strip has been a favorite for Los
Angeles movie shoots due to its nice period feel.
Patrick Dempsey is sleeping in the Warner when awakened by Kim Myers in Phil Alden Robinson's "In The Mood" (Lorimar, 1987), also known as "The Woo Woo Kid." The story of a teenager eloping with older women also stars Talia Balsam, Beverly D'Angelo, Michael
Constantine and Betty Jinnette. John Lindley did the
cinematography. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for three more Warner shots, a look toward Fillmore's Towne Theatre and views of an unknown theatre "somewhere in Nevada."
The lobby of the
Warner is turned into a video store in "Remote Control" (Vista, 1988). Kevin Dillon is a clerk trying to find a tape for Jennifer Tilly. She wants a copy of a bad 1950s science
fiction movie, also called "Remote Control." She'll be sorry. Aliens are going to take over the planet and whoever watches the tape either dies or becomes crazed and starts
killing. Also featured are Deborah
Goodrich, Christopher Wynne and Frank Beddor. Jeff
Lieberman directed. The cinematography was by Tim Suhrstedt. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for seven more shots from the scenes at the Warner.
The theatre puts in an appearance in
"Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here" (New World Pictures, 1988). "Worth Winning" with Mark Harmon,
Madeline Stowe and Lesley Ann Warren (Fox, 1989) also used the Warner.
Steve Martin is onstage at the Warner for a 1991 TV special featuring
Ricky Jay: "Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women." The footage is included
in "Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay" (Kino
Lorber, 2012).
Steve Martin and Ricky Jay offstage right at the Warner in a clip from
"Learned Pigs..." The dimmerboard we see has been removed and is now in
storage. The rigging got replaced with a new counterweight system. See
the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post on the film for another shot showing more of the dimmerboard.
We pay a visit to the Apollo Theatre in New York in Brian Gibson's
"What's Love Got to Do With It?" (Touchstone Pictures, 1993). This story
of Tina Turner and her abusive husband Ike stars Angela Bassett and
Laurence Fishburne. We get a quick shot of the actual Apollo exterior
but when we go inside we're at the Warner Grand. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies
post for several more Warner shots as well as views from the film of
the State Theatre, the Academy in Inglewood and Hollywood Playhouse.
"Ghosts of Mississippi" (Columbia, 1996) is set in Mississippi but when Alec Baldwin and Susanna Thompson go to the movies we find
ourselves at the Warner. He's a deputy DA trying to reopen the decades-old case
against the murderer of Medgar Evers. Of course they're watching a courtroom drama, "Presumed Innocent" with Harrison
Ford. The film also stars James Woods, Whoopi Goldberg, Virginia
Madsen, Craig T. Nelson and William H. Macy. Rob Reiner wrote the screenplay and directed. The cinematography
was by John Seale. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for six more shots of the outing at the Warner.
The Warner gets dressed up in its World War II finest as a theatre on Oahu in Michael Bay's
"Pearl Harbor" (Touchstone, 2001). While at the show, Kate Beckinsale
and Josh Hartnett see a newsreel about the war. Thanks to Lindsay on the
blog
I Am Not a Stalker for the screenshot. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for several more.
Tobey Maguire, Chris Cooper, Jeff Bridges and Elizabeth Banks watch a
newsreel at the Warner in Gary Ross's "Seabiscuit" (Dreamworks /
Universal, 2003).
A look toward the screen with Tobey Maguire at the movies in "Seabiscuit."
The Warner was used as a West Virginia theatre in "Win a Date With Tad
Hamilton!" (Dreamworks, 2004). Thanks to Lindsay on the blog
I Am Not a Stalker for the screenshot. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for more shots from the film featuring the Warner.
The Warner was used for "Illusion" (Illusion Productions,
2004) starring Kirk Douglas as an aging filmmaker. We see a lot of the
theatre in the film but it's not a lot of fun. In this shot we get to
see the seats covered the three colors of the Mexican flag, from when
the theatre was a film house called the Juarez. (Well, sort of yellow
rather than white in the center section). See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for three more Warner shots from the film. Thanks to Robb Hedges for the intel on this
one.
The Warner is seen briefly in "Must Love Dogs" (Warner Bros., 2005) with
Diane Lane and John Cusak. Here's John coming out of the theatre. See
the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more about the film.
Various areas of the Warner were used as locations for Steven
Soderbergh's "The Good German" (Warner Bros., 2006). The scenes of the
film theatre we visit (and its booth), however, were done downtown at
the Tower. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for some shots featuring the Tower.
A crowd in formal wear greets Annette Bening's appearance as a poet at Carnegie Hall in Ryan Murphy's "Running With Scissors" (Sony, 2006). It's her vision, anyway. At this point in the film she's actually getting electroshock therapy. Earlier we get exterior shots when Joseph Cross, Evan Rachel Wood and Joseph Fiennes are there for movies. The film was based on the book by Augusten Burrows and has cinematography
by Christopher Baffa. Featured are Alec
Baldwin, Brian Cox, Jill Clayburgh, Gwyneth Paltrow and
Kristin Chenoweth. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for ten more shots at the Warner.
The Warner is seen
in Haskell Wexler's "From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks" (Harry
Bridges Project, 2007).
In "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" (Columbia, 2007) we get John C.
Reilly and his buddies at the Warner Grand rehearsing for a concert
performance. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for another Warner shot as well as views of the Palace Theatre, Variety Arts, and the Shrine Auditorium from the film.
We
get a shot of Jake Gyllenhaal under the Warner marquee in David
Fincher's "Zodiac" (Paramount, 2007). The theatre is a stand-in for the
Avenue Theatre in San Francisco, where the film is set. He's looking for
info on a former projectionist he thinks might be the serial killer.
See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies
post for shots of the National in Westwood (standing in for SF's
Northpoint) and a shot done on Broadway where the Castro Theatre has
magically appeared.
Early in Peter Segal's film "Get Smart" (Warner Bros., 2008) Anne
Hathaway runs into Steve Carrell across the street from the theatre. She's jogging and knocks him
over. The film also features Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, James Caan and
Terrence Stamp. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for shots from several scenes at Disney Hall later in the film.
The Warner plays a theatre in Modesto called the Mercy in "The Janky Promoters" (Dimension Films, 2009).
The promoters fleeing for their lives after a mis-managed concert are Ice Cube and Mike Epps. Also featured are
Jeezy, Lahmard J.
Tate, Darris Love, Lil J.J., Juanita Jennings and Aloma Wright. Ice
wrote the screenplay. Marcus Raboy directed. The cinematography was by
Tom Priestly Jr. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for fifteen more views of the action at the Warner plus three shots of the more successful after-party at the former Variety Theatre in West Adams.
Jordana Beatty and Parris Mosteller, as Judy Moody and her brother
Stink, go to a summer horror show in "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer
Summer" (Relativity Media, 2011). The film, set in Virginia, was directed by John Schultz and also features Heather Graham, Janet Varney, Kristoffer Winters and
Jaleel White. The cinematography was by Shawn Maurer. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for five additional shots from scenes at the Warner.
It's a gangster pic set down south but here we have Ben Affleck and his
kid buying tickets at the Warner in "Live By Night" (Warner Bros.,
2016). See the
Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for more shots from the film as well as photos taken during the filming at the Warner.
In "Voodoo
Macbeth" (USC Cinema/Lightyear Entertainment, 2022) the
Warner is standing in for the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem. It's the story of a very young
Orson Welles directing a Black theatre troupe in a production of Macbeth
that's set in Haiti. A large cast is headed by Jewell Wilson Bridges as Welles,
Inger Tudor as Rose McClendon, June Schreiner as Virgina Welles and
Daniel Kuhlman portraying John Houseman. It
was a collaborative effort of ten directors: Dagmawi Abebe, Victor
Alonso-Berbel, Roy Arwas, Hannah Bang, Christopher Beaton, Agazi Desta,
Tiffany Kontoyiannis Guillen, Zoe Salnave, Ernesto Sandoval and Sabina
Vajraca. The cinematography was by Bash Achkar. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for two more shots from scenes at the Warner.
Diego Calva goes to see "Singin' in the Rain" at the end of Damien Chazelle's "Babylon" (Paramount, 2022). This epic of early Hollywood also stars Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt. The cinematography was by Linus Sandgren. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for five more shots from the scene at the Warner as well as views of the film's scenes at the Los Angeles, Chinese, United Artists and Orpheum theatres.
"You got real combat training, right?" Terrence Howard is in the balcony lobby asking Dolph Lundgren for help in defending the theatre from evil developers in Orson Oblowitz's film "Showdown at the Grand" (Shout! Studios, 2023). "Some folks they'll rob you with six-shooters, and others with a fountain pen." The
film also features Amanda Righetti, John
Savage and Piper Curda. The
cinematography was by Noah Rosenthal, filmed in obloVision. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for fourteen more shots at the Warner.
The Warner Grand in Music Videos:
Stephen Russo spotted the Warner as the location for Tesla's "
Modern Day Cowboy." It's on YouTube.
More information: See the
Warner Grand page on Cinema Treasures for lots of details about the theatre's history. Visit the
Cinema Tour
page on the Warner for lots of photos by Bob Meza and others. The
Warner got a nice bit of publicity with several delicious photos in a
June 2014
Curbed L.A. story.
Don't miss Sandi Hemmerlein's two 2013 "Avoiding
Regret" photo essays on the Warner. One on the public spaces, "
Open to the Public, "one on the non-public areas, "
Behind Closed Doors." See Mike Hume's Warner Grand page on his
Historic Theatre Photography site. Mr. Arteest has a lovely 72 photo
Warner Grand set on Flickr.
Claudia Mullins has a nice set of 21 photos taken in 2017 on the Facebook page
Photos of Los Angeles. For more information on historic San Pedro consult the
San Pedro Bay Historical Society. The
San Pedro Historic Downtown Waterfront organization sometimes offers tours of the theatre, such as during
their Summerfest.
The Warner, and lack of San Pedro movie options, was discussed after the theatre closed in 1975 in the San Pedro News Pilot on January 17, 1976 with the article "San Pedro
left with no movie" and again on January 19 with the editorial headed
"Theatres die." Both articles are reproduced at the bottom of the page about the
Strand Theatre.
The January 2021 issue of "
San Pedro Today"
is dedicated to celebrating the Warner's 90th birthday. The 60 page magazine
can be seen in its entirety on the site Issuu. Thanks to Mike Hume for
spotting the coverage.
See our
Theatres Along the Coast page for listings of the many other theatres that were once in San Pedro. Also see three 1984 articles appearing in the San Pedro News-Pilot with data compiled by San Pedro historian John Houston for his "Assembly Halls to Picture Palaces" project. They're at the bottom of the page about the
Victoria Theatre.
The Warner Grand pages: back to top - history + exterior views |
lobby areas |
auditorium |
stage + basement |
booth |
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