Westlake Theatre: history + exterior views

638 S. Alvarado St. Los Angeles, CA 90057 | map |

Also see: Westlake Theatre - interior views

The News: The swap meet is back. The owner, Dr. David Lee's Jamison Services, is renting stalls in the auditorium to vendors as no serious tenant or purchaser had emerged for the building. And Lee was recently still trying to sell the building. See the recent, but no longer active, listing on Loopnet.

Opened: September 22, 1926 by West Coast Theatres. The opening attraction was "Other Women's Husbands" plus a Fanchon and Marco stage show. The Westlake was operated for decades by Fox West Coast, the company that West Coast Theatres morphed into in 1929. This pre-opening view is from the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. On the marquee: "Grand premiere opening Wednesday September 22 - 'A Night of Nights' Stars! Lights!"

A differently cropped version of the photo appeared in the October 30, 1926 issue of Exhibitors Herald. Thanks to Mike Hume for finding the issue on Internet Archive. The page the photo is on also included two interior views. The caption noted:

"...Elaborate electric signs of the type shown are popular with West Coast Theatres, Inc., being used at a number of their houses."   

 

News about the grand opening appearing in the September 18, 1926 issue of the Hollywood Daily Citizen. Thanks to Lisa Kouza Braddock for locating it.

 

A pre-opening ad ad in the L.A. Times. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing it with the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. 

 

 

"... very lovely in its rather severe simplicity." It's a report about the opening that appeared in the September 24 issue of the Pasadena Post. Thanks to Lisa Kouza Braddock for locating it. 

 

Architect: Richard M. Bates, Jr.  Robert Power Studios did the decorating. Stage equipment was by the affiliated unit Armstrong-Power Co.

In 1935 S. Charles Lee was involved in a decorative upgrade during a short closure. A Friday, March 22 L.A. Times article located by Mike Hume noted:  

"Following the performance next Sunday evening, the Fox Westlake Theater, 636 South Alvarado street, will curtail operations for a period of two weeks, during which time extensive remodeling and redecoration will be in progress." 

The Heinsbergen Co. was the decorator for the renovations. Among other work, the mural in the two-story entrance lobby was repainted with a new design.

 

 

A 2023 main floor plan from CBRE, the broker that had the listing for the theatre at the time. Thanks to Wendell Benedetti for spotting the plans in their brochure. The blue areas are retail spaces. Main floor restrooms are in purple. The lobby's two-story atrium has been outlined in orange. Note the dotted lines delineating the footlights and the orchestra pit, currently covered. The floor was leveled when the theatre became a swapmeet. You can click on these plans for larger views.

 

A second floor plan from CBRE. The green areas at the front are offices accessed from the stairs at the north end of the facade. See a photo of that larger office at the south end from CBRE. Restrooms are in purple. That pink area that they've designated as an office near the restroom at the bottom of the plan was once the ladies lounge.

 

A section drawing from CBRE. The green again designates the office areas separate from the theatre. The yellow main floor area is swapmeet space or available for other use. The pink they've designated as storage.

Seating: 1,949 once upon a time. There are no seats left at the moment, even in the balcony. 

 

This November 8, 1927 article in the L.A. Times gave the house the circuit's preview record. Among the titles note the Vitaphone release "The Jazz Singer." But this was almost certainly a silent version. The film had its west coast premiere engagement beginning December 28 downtown at the Criterion Theatre.

 

 

A Sunday morning church rental in December 1927. Thanks to Lisa Kouza Braddock for locating the ad. 

A new sound system in 1928. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the Times item.   

Fox West Coast had a new chief, M.S. Leve, beginning in early December 1959. And later that month, perhaps coincidentally, it dropped the Westlake from the circuit. An item in the January 5, 1960 issue of Film Daily noted: "N.P. 'Red' Jacobs, president of Favorite Films of California, has purchased the Westlake Theatre and building, Los Angeles, and assumed active operation on Dec. 30. The deal was consummated with Fox West Coast, which operated the 1,900 seat house for many years."

A January 13, 1960 L.A. Times ad for the Westlake, operated by Favorite as an independent house. Thanks to Mike Hume for the ad as well as for locating the Film Daily item. Visit his Historic Theatre Photography site for historical information as well as thousands of his great photos of the theatres he's explored in the L.A. area and elsewhere.

Later it was taken over by Metropolitan Theatres and ended its movie days as a Spanish language film house. The neon roof sign got a renovation in 1987 as part of the MacArthur Park Public Art Program. It hasn't been on recently except two blue curlicues on the bottom. When the theatre opened in 1926 the sign was incandescent, not neon.

Closing: 1991. Metropolitan Theatres sold the building after the closing to Mayer Separzdeh who proceeded to remove the seats and level the main floor with a new concrete slab. It reopened as a swap meet. The balcony was not in use during the swap meet days.

The City of Los Angeles, alarmed at the possibility of additional alterations, declared the building a Cultural Historic Monument in September 1991. In addition to buying the theatre in 2008, the city's Community Redevelopment Agency also acquired some surrounding parcels.

This concept for a mixed use project designed by Utopiad was floated in 2008 but went nowhere as no interested developers materialized. Some CRA news in 2009 had a slightly different proposal for the theatre. It surfaced in an L.A. Times article: "A home sweet home for Culture Clash in MacArthur Park?" Culture Clash is a local Latino theatre troupe. That was the last of the Community Redevelopment Agency's proposals.

The swap meet operation was closed in 2011. With the 2012 state-wide disbanding of CRA-type agencies there was a triage going on of the agency's assets. CRA/LA became the city's operation to wind down the affairs of the CRA. Some properties were sold, some the new agency assumed ownership of (such as the Westlake), and some seemed to be in endless deliberation. Eddie Kim did a November 2013 story in the L.A. Downtown News about the process of unloading the properties. There was hope at the time that a viable project would eventually materialize to renovate the theatre and create a mixed use building around it.

The theatre finally emerged from post-CRA limbo and in 2016 the City of Los Angeles issued a Request For Proposals to redevelop the theatre and adjacent property they owned. A requirement would have been restoration of the theatre as a live performance venue along with whatever else penciled out for the other properties to benefit the community: offices, retail, hotel, parking, whatever. They were looking for a developer with "a strong understanding of the unique urban fabric and historic and cultural assets of the Westlake community."

Even after giving tours and extending their deadline for proposals there were no takers so the theatre was then marketed as a stand-alone property with no restrictions on its use. Curbed L.A. had a July 2017 article, "Historic Westlake Theatre next to MacArthur Park is for sale." On January 11, 2018 the Oversight Board for CRA/LA unanimously approved the sale of the theatre to 634 Alvarado, LLP, for $2 million. Cushman & Wakefield was the broker for the sale.

A new owner: The purchaser was a partnership controlled by Dr. David Lee of Jamison Services, a firm with a real estate portfolio with an estimated value of $4 billion, making him the largest private landlord in L.A. County. A pdf of the sales contract is online. Lee was profiled in a September 2016 article in The Real Deal. His daughter, Jaime Lee, is CEO of the firm. She was profiled in an April 2017 article in CSQ. Thanks to Mike Hume/Historic Theatre Photography for the research. Other than the historic designations protecting the facade, there are no stipulations going with the sale that restrict the future use of the building.

"Historic Westlake Theatre sells for $2M," a March 8, 2018 Curbed L.A. piece by Bianca Barragan, discussed the deal and noted that the new owners intended to restore the theatre. Well, that latter part was fake news. It appears they just wanted to lease it out to whatever user it might attract. With no takers to lease the building, Jamison Services started advertising a sale as a possibility in 2019. Property Shark has a listing for the parcel. Several different brokers tried offering the theatre either for sale or lease and by itself or combined with other nearby properties. There were no takers.

Status: In the spring of 2022 the owner reopened the building as a swapmeet. The retail spaces adjacent to the theatre entrance are rented and, as of September, several stalls had been rented in the rear of the auditorium. The stairs to the balcony are walled off and there's also currently a wall in place closing off the auditorium forward of the front of the balcony. Most of the theatre's decor remains intact. In mid-2023 it was for sale again. CBRE had the listing for a while but there were no takers.

More exterior views:

1926 - The Westlake running "Tin Gods" with Thomas Meighan and Renee Adoree. Also on the bill was Fanchon & Marco's "Variety Ideas." It's a photo by the Dick Whittington Studio that's in the USC Digital Library collection.

The photo is part of a set of 21 pictures of theatres and other buildings. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Godzilla for finding the set and including this one on his Noirish post #17461. Note on the vertical sign they're styling it "West Lake" with a space in the middle.

1926 - An entrance detail from the USC photo.

1926 - An even closer view taken from the USC photo. 

 

1928 - A photo taken with the theatre running "Hot News" with Neil Hamilton. This one is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

 

 

1929 - "On the walk around the lake, Westlake Park, Los Angeles, California." Note the postmark on this card that was located by Sean Ault. He comments: "This postcard flew on the Zeppelin in 1929 on the last leg of its record-setting around the world flight that stopped in L.A."

1936 - Looking east from Parkview Avenue toward the Westlake's roof sign. Construction had begun on this stretch of Wilshire Blvd. through the park. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.

1936 - Construction continuing through Westlake Park in an October Los Angeles Public Library photo.

1936 - A view east after the completion of Wilshire Blvd. across the lake. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting the photo on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles. Here the signage still says "West Coast Westlake Theatre." The circuit had become Fox West Coast in 1929.

1937 - Traffic on the completed section of Wilshire Blvd. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo. Note the redone roof sign -- no more "West Coast." And there was an added "Now Playing" readerboard for all those new Wilshire Blvd. drivers. Hadley Meares includes this shot in her 2019 Curbed LA article "The Raymond Chandler Map of Los Angeles."

1937 - A boathouse photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

c.1938 - A wonderful postcard view of Westlake Park and the theatre's roof sign from Sean Ault's collection. Thanks, Sean! Another version of the card appears on the LAHTF Facebook page as a post by Kimberly Vinokur Reiss.

c.1938 - A lovely view of the sign at night. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 

1938 - A Life magazine photo by Peter Stackpole. It makes an appearance on "Life in Los Angeles circa 1938," a Blackwatch blog post about the car culture of Los Angeles. Blackwatch gives us this quip by an unknown author: “They say in L.A. there are only two methods of transportation - car and ambulance."

 

c.1941 - Looking east on Wilshire in a Frasher Foto Card from the California State Library collection.

 

 

c.1946 - It's a view through the park by an unknown photographer. The "Now Playing" area above the readerboard had been blacked out, perhaps during WWII when the sign wouldn't have been lit. The copy below: "Let's go out to a movie. Fox West Coast Theatres - The place to go." Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing the photo from his collection on Flickr. Transit historian Sean Ault notes that the model of bus we see was introduced in L.A. in 1946.

1950s - A look east across the bridge in the renamed MacArthur Park. Thanks to Dave Urov for posting the photo on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.

1950s - A view across the lake toward the theatre and a now-vanished boathouse. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for sharing the photo from her collection. Note that the "Now Playing" readerboard on the roof sign had been removed.

1950s - An idyllic postcard view looking across the lake toward the Westlake's roof sign. It's from the Richard Wojcik collection on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.

1965 - A look across the lake toward the theatre from the Sean Ault collection. Also see a similar stereo view from Sean's collection on the Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles that was taken in 1955, shortly after the park was renamed to honor General MacArthur. Thanks, Sean!

1978 - Looking north on Alvarado. It's a shot posted by Ken McIntyre on Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.

1978 - A shot by Anne Laskey that's in the Marlene and Anne Laskey Wilshire Boulevard Collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. "El patrulerro 777" with Cantinflas was an April release.

c.1978 - A photo located by Ken McIntyre for a post on Photos of Los Angeles.

1979 - A William Reagh view of the facade. It's in the collections of the California State Library and the Los Angeles Public Library.

 

c.1980 - A fanciful postcard, "Los Angeles, the City at the End of the Rainbow," with the Westlake Theatre over on the left. Thanks to Sean Ault for the find.

1982 - Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this photo taken in April. 

1983 - A January look at the Westlake marquee in all its glory. The photo once appeared on the American Classic Images website.

1980s - The theatre in its days as a Spanish language film house. Photo: Sean Ault Collection. Thanks, Sean!

c.2005 - A facade view from Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre. They have a great portfolio of photos of ruined or decaying theatres around the country called Theaters (2005-2021) on their website. Also see their very interesting Ruins of Detroit section.

The duo's photos can be seen in their book "Movie Theaters" (Prestel, 2021). It's available on Amazon or from your local bookseller. A selection of the photos appeared in "Beauty and decay: Inside America's derelict movie theatres," an August 2021 post on the site Wallpaper. Their images also appear in "Large Format Camera Captures the Decay of America's Movie Theaters," an August 2022 article on the site PetaPixel. 

2006 - A key shop closeup. Photo: Sean Ault 

 

2006 - The light fixture in the ticket lobby above the entrance doors. Photo: Sean Ault

 

 

2007 - An early morning view. Photo: Bill Counter

 

 

2007 - A view from the south. Photo: Bill Counter

2008 - A look at the roof sign from Ken McIntyre. It's on Photos of Los Angeles.

2008 - A marquee detail from Ken McIntyre on Photos of Los Angeles.

2008 - Need a key at the re-purposed boxoffice? It's a photo from Ken McIntyre appearing on Photos of Los Angeles.

2010 - A view south along the facade. Photo: Bill Counter

c.2012 - A look up the street from Ken McIntyre on Photos of Los Angeles.

2012 - Some of the terracotta ornament. Photo: Bill Counter 

2012 - A column capital. Photo: Bill Counter

2012 - More terracotta facade ornament. Photo: Bill Counter

2012 - The south wall. It's a photo by Ken McIntyre appearing on Photos of Los Angeles.

2012 - Another look up toward the sign. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting the photo on Photos of Los Angeles.

2014 - This marquee detail by Hadley Meares appears as part of her terrific article for KCET: "Sign of the Times: Sensation, Scandal and Salvation at Westlake Theater." It's part of their "Lost Landmarks" series.   

2015 - A photo by Sean Ault.

2015 - Prometheus in MacArthur Park. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing his photo.

2015 - A view-by-drone as the craft rises southwest of the Westlake Theatre. Photo: Ian Wood, from "Los Angeles," his stunning seven minute tour on Vimeo.

 

2015 - The theatre from the air. Thanks to Ian Wood for the great image. It's another shot from his video "Los Angeles." The ride includes flyovers of Disney Hall, Capitol Records, the Warner Hollywood, Cinerama Dome and lots more. Not to be missed!

 

 

2016 - A wide angle view of the ticket lobby. On the far right note the boxoffice and the added security gate out at the sidewalk line. That's theatre explorer Michelle Gerdes checking it all out. The opening below that light fixture once had the entrance doors. Although the CRA closed the swap meet in 2011 they never cleared out the building.  

 

Thanks to Wendell Benedetti for sharing his photo on the LAHTF Facebook page. The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation is actively involved in the study and preservation of vintage theatres in the L.A. area. The group frequently supports events and offers tours of the buildings. www.lahtf.org

 

 

2017 - Howard Gray looked across the park toward the closed theatre. This photo and the two below were featured in a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page but seem to have vanished from that platform.

2017 - A closer look. It's a Howard Gray photo.

2017 - A roof sign view. Thanks to Howard Gray for sharing his photo.

 

2017 - A view of the boxoffice taken by Sandi Hemmerlein that appeared with her Avoiding Regret photo essay "Down the Rabbit Hole..." Thanks, Sandi. And sorry that the explorations didn't go well.

 

2017 - A fine look toward downtown. The photo from Shutterstock appeared with Jenna Chandler's July Curbed L.A. article, "Historic Westlake Theatre next to MacArthur Park is for sale..."

2018 - The roof sign was restored in 1987 as part of a project of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs MacArthur Park Public Art Program. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for sharing her photo of the portion still working that she took while on a double-decker bus "Neon Cruise" organized by the Museum of Neon Art. The image appeared as a post on the LAHTF Facebook page. 

 

 

2022 - A view from across the street. The sidewalk vendors were nothing new but several months before this photo was taken in August the theatre had been reopened as a swap meet. The marquee signage dates from the first swap meet era in the 1990s. Photo: Bill Counter 

 

 

2022 - The boxoffice and the cleaned-up ticket lobby. Photo: Bill Counter

 

 

2022 - Posters again in the display cases. And a leasing desk announcing "Now Leasing - Open For Immediate Move-In." Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography

 

 

2022 - The fixture above the opening where the entrance doors had once been. Photo: Bill Counter

 

 

2022 - One of the cherubs around the entrance fixture. Photo: Bill Counter

 

 

2022 - A peek in toward the lobby and beyond. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography

The Westlake in the Movies:

We see the roof sign of the Westlake in this shot from Fred Zinnemann's "Act of Violence" (MGM, 1948). Van Heflin is at a builders and contractors convention in Los Angeles and running to avoid a potentially deadly confrontation with Robert Ryan, a man who was in his unit in World War II. Janet Leigh plays Van Heflin's wife and Mary Astor is a call girl who tries to help him. Phyllis Thaxter plays Ryan's wife. The cinematography is by Robert Surtees.

There was a lot of filming in MacArthur Park and on the streets of the Westlake neighborhood in Guy Green's "A Patch of Blue" (MGM, 1965). Sidney Poitier stars as a young guy who befriends an isolated and unschooled blind girl played by Elizabeth Hartman. We get a brief distance view of the Westlake Theatre as Hartman and her grandfather are walking to the park. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a couple of shots of the nearby Lake and Alvarado/Park Theatres.

 

Dustin Hoffman and Gary Busey drive by the Westlake in "Straight Time" (First Artists/Warner Bros., 1978). The film, directed by Ulu Groabard, also stars Teresa Russell, Kathy Bates, Harry Dean Stanton and M. Emmet Walsh. It's a tale of a career burglar assaulting his parole officer and returning to a life of crime. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting the theatre in the film and providing the screenshot. 

 

Eugene Levy (in black leather) and John Candy (in drag) meetup with Meg Ryan at Westlake Park in Mark Lester's "Armed and Dangerous" (Columbia, 1986). The cinematography was by Fred Schuler. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting the theatre in the film. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a closer shot of the trio in the park plus views of the Paramount, the Egyptian, the Cave Theatre and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.  

 

We have a wild ride through MacArthur Park toward the Westlake early in “The Hidden” (New Line Cinema, 1987). A formerly mild-mannered person has gone on a rampage and is evading the police. His body has, of course, been taken over by an alien creature who will soon migrate to yet another body. Jack Sholder directed the film starring Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Nouri. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for shots of other theatres seen in the film including the Pantages, Las Palmas, Palace and United Artists.

 

 

Friends head to the movies at the Westlake in "Salsa" (Cannon, 1988). It's about a guy trying to win a dance competition amid various romantic complications. Featured are Draco Rosa, Magali Alvarado, Rodney Harvey, Miranda Garrison, Moon Orona, Angela Alvarado and Loyda Ramos. Boaz Davidson directed, Kenny Ortega did the choreography. The cinematography was by David Gurfinkel. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for two more Westlake views (but no auditorium shots) plus two shots of a stop for ice cream across from the Pantages. 

 

The Westlake signage is over on the right as Ryan Gosling negotiates a deal in Nicholas Winding Refn's film "Drive" (Film District, 2011). The film also features Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman and Christina Hendricks. Thanks to Jonathan Raines for spotting the Westlake signage in the film and for providing the screenshot. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a shot from Ryan's window showing the signage.

The Westlake on TV:

 

We get a nice view of the marquee in action at the end of "Richie Brockelman: The Missing 24 Hours," a 1976 TV movie inspired by "The Rockford Files." The detective played by Dennis Dugan goes to a Bogart festival at the theatre. Thanks to the Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles Facebook page for sharing the 28 second clip in a 2021 post. There was also a 2024 repost to advertise the tours they offer in the MacArthur Park neighborhood. 

 

 

There's a pan down toward the boxoffice in the Richie Brockelman clip. Thanks, Kim and Richard!

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Westlake Theatre for oodles more historical data and recollections by many contributors. The page also has links to more photos from a variety of sources. The Cinema Tour page has several photos from Ken Roe.

A 2019 Abandoned America post about the theatre features fine interior photos by Matthew Christopher. A May 2014 Curbed L.A.story "Mapping the Huge Wave of Gentrification About To Hit Westlake" discusses new housing, transit accessibility and two other nearby theatres in the news: the Hayworth and the Playhouse/Teragram Ballroom.

Sandi Hemmerlein details her adventures at the Westlake in a 2017 Avoiding Regret photo essay "Down the Rabbit Hole..." Check out the 2017 post photographer Matt Lambros did on the Westlake for his After The Final Curtain blog.

Don't miss the terrific article Hadley Meares did for KCET in 2014: "Sign of the Times: Sensation, Scandal and Salvation at Westlake Theater." It's part of their "Lost Landmarks" series.

A February 2018 L.A. Times article by Ruben Vives "As crime and drugs recede..." discusses changes in the area as well as the new Lake on Wilshire project that will include a performing arts center in a 41 story tower. See the five minute 2008 "Tour of the Westlake Theatre" by Pico Union Now on YouTube.

An earlier Westlake Theatre: The 1912 and 1913 city directories list a Westlake Theatre at 680 S. Alvarado. There's a listing started for it but not much more information yet.

Pages about the Westlake Theatre: | back to top - history and exterior views | interior views

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