2300 S. Central Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90011 | map |
Opened: October 7, 1927. The Lincoln was the largest theatre to be constructed along Central, then the hub of the African American community. The building was a project of Adolph Ramish, whose holdings were later rolled into the West Coast Theatres circuit. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022
An item in the Times on June 22, 1926 that was located by Ken McIntyre had noted:
"A picture theater for negroes only to be as elaborately beautiful as any theater in the city and to seat 1700 persons will be built by Adolph Ramish, according to the announcement of that enterprising citizen yesterday. The new theater will be situated at Twenty Third and Central Streets, and the architect will be John Paxton Perrine. All the entertainers who surround the picture bill will be negroes as also will be all attaches and attendants of the house. Films of first quality will be shown, as is done in other first-class neighborhood houses."
An October 5, 1927 article in the Times. Thanks to Mike Hume for locating it. Visit his
Historic Theatre Photography site for historcal data and hundreds of photos of the theatres he's explored.
The opening day ad. At the invitational premiere the previous evening A. Phillip Randolph, the
head of the Pullman Porters Union, spoke. Blues singer Sarah Martin and Curtis Mosby’s Dixieland Blue Blowers were
on the first week's bill. The revue for the week was "Chocolate Scandals." The
opening picture was First National's "Rose of the Golden West" with Mary
Astor and Gilbert Roland. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Comfortably Cool for posting the ad on the site's page about the Lincoln.
Architect: John Paxton Perrine designed the Moorish
inspired building. He also designed the Fox Redondo, the Roosevelt
Theatre in Hawthorne (never completed), the California Theatre in San Bernardino and the
California Theatre in San Diego.
Seating: 1,960. An opening week article in the Times gave the capacity as 2,100.
This was the showplace of South Central that hosted all
the big black touring acts and was famous for its weekly talent shows. A
mural of Abraham Lincoln hung above the stairs to the balcony. Performers that have appeared on the Lincoln's stage include Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Fats Domino, Sammy Davis Jr., Billie Holliday and BB King.
An article appearing in the October 14, 1927 issue of the California Eagle, a paper serving the Los Angeles African-American population. Thanks to Jim Lewis for locating the article.
The chorus line at the Lincoln. They were called Mildred Washington's Creole Cuties. It's an undated
Los Angeles Public Library photo.
A May 1929 ad for the Lafayette Players at the Lincoln.
Sometime around 1930 Fox West Coast bailed out of the Lincoln. The operation was taken over by
the management of the
Rosebud Theatre, three blocks to the north, and this theatre was, for a time anyway, called the
Lincoln Rosebud Theatre.
A 1930 article from the California Eagle. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.
A March 1931 ad in the California Eagle. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for adding it as a comment to a post about the theatre for the private Facebook group
Photos of Los Angeles.
"Home again." It's a June 1932 ad for the Lafayette Players in "Kongo." Thanks to Paula Broussard for locating this.
Tap star Bill Robinson to appear shortly in "Hot From Harlem" after finishing his Orpheum circuit engagements. Thanks to Paula Broussard for locating this in the July 11, 1932 issue of the Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News. This and the "Kongo" ads were posted as comments to an
Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles Facebook post about the theatre.
A July 1933 ad for "King Kong" that was located by Ken McIntyre.
Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this October 1933 ad from the California Eagle for a post for the
Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
A November 1943 ad appearing in the California Eagle.
An April 1944 ad appearing in the California Eagle. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting the 1943 and 1944 ads on
Photos of Los Angeles. The post also includes two clippings about the building's conversion to church use.
In 1946 Metropolitan Theatres took over the operation with the idea of again featuring stage shows with big names. It's unknown how long that policy lasted. Thanks to David Saffer for locating a June 1946 article headlined "Lincoln Theater to Have Grand Opening." The text:
"Closing for renovations starting June 26, the Lincoln will undergo a complete face-lifting process in preparation for the inauguration of stage shows. The 23rd and Central Playhouse, which is now owned and operated by the management of the Orpheum and Million Dollar, will emerge as one of the major stage show theaters of Los Angeles.
"Monday, July 8, a Grand Charity Premiere will be staged at 8:45 p.m. All the glamour and excitement of the post-war period will be in evidence, with lights, Hollywood stars, and a gala stage revue. Seats are reserved at $2 and $1 with the entire proceeds being donated to three local charities, namely: Laura Slayton Youth Guidance League, Avalon Child Care Guild, and United Negro and Allied Veterans of America.
"On the following day, Tuesday, July 9 at noon, the new policy of topnotch stage shows and first run feature pictures will start. Daily matinees are scheduled, with the Ink Spots, in person, headlining the initial revue, plus Eddie 'Mr. Cleanhead' Vinson and Orchestra, Ida James, Peg Leg Bates and Coke and Poke. Important 'big names' scheduled to follow are Sugar Chile Robinson, Jimmie Lanceford, International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Cootie Williams, Louis Jordan, Lionel Hampton, and many other stellar names."
A 1951 ad in the California Eagle. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for adding it as a comment to a post about the theatre for the
Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
Closing: Sometime around 1961 with Metropolitan Theatres as the last operator. The building was sold in November 1961.
Status: It's been a church since March 1962. After the first church left it was a mosque for a Black Muslim Group.
The building was designated Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #744 in 2003. It was placed on the National register in 2009. The L.A.Times had a June 12, 2009 story about the occasion. There's a pdf of the National Register application on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
While much of the interior has been repainted in beige tones with some gold accents, the building has not been substantially altered. The top of the proscenium, the ante-proscenium area and the front two-thirds of the ceiling still have their original paint scheme.
The building was sold in 2020 to Historic Lincoln Theatre LP, a partnership controlled by Mark Wilson of CRCD LLP, aka the Coalition for Responsible Community Development. Thanks to Jesús García for sharing the ownership information in comments to a July 2022 post about the theatre on the Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles Facebook page. He adds: "Looks like the sale transaction happened on 12/09/2020 with a $11.1M loan from the City of Los Angeles."
Since mid-2022 the parking lot north of the theatre has been in use as a tent village operated by Urban Alchemy, a homeless outreach organization. Esotouric commented: "So the parking lot could be handed to Urban Alchemy at no cost to them--what is going on here?!" There's currently chain link fence up barricading the full width of the theatre facade that's removed on Sundays.
The building received a grant from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund in 2023. The National Trust for Historic Preservation's June 13 release titled "$3.8M in Action Fund Grants Help Protect 40 African American Sites" noted that grants for various properties ranged from $50,000 to $150,000 each. Their comments about the Lincoln:
"Referred to as the 'Apollo of the West,' the Lincoln Theatre opened in Los Angeles in 1927 on Central Avenue, a social, cultural, and political hub for African American art, literature, and music. In December 2020, the Coalition for Responsible Community Development acquired the theater with the intention of restoring it as a space for live performances, community events and training space for Black and Brown residents interested in media and arts-related industries. Funding will assist the organization in initiating planning work to return this historically significant West Coast Black performance space to prominence."
Thanks to
Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles for noting the article about the awards in a June 2023 Facebook post about the theatre. Alan Bell notes: "The Coalition for Responsible Community Development
also owns the Dunbar Hotel on Central and the Paul Williams-designed
YMCA on 28th St."
The current church organization renting the building is Ministerios Juda, a group with a Spanish-speaking congregation. Their website:
www.pulpitodelaire.org.
Lobby areas:
Balcony stairs after a bit of a remodel. Looks like Abe is no more. Photo: Ken McIntyre - 2007
The balcony lobby. Photo: Ken McIntyre - 2007
The balcony lobby from house right. The image is from "
Dios en todo tiempo," an 8 minute video on YouTube that was produced in 2020 by Ministerios Juda, the church tenant. Thanks to
Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles for locating the video to share on a Facebook post.
A peek in from the back of the main floor. Image: "Dios en todo tiempo" - 2020
The church set on the stage. Image: "Dios en todo tiempo" - 2020
The rear of the main floor. Image: "Dios en todo tiempo" - 2020
A view toward the stage during a church service. Photo: Ken McIntyre - 2007
The house left side of the balcony. Image: "Dios en todo tiempo" - 2020
Another house left wall view. Photo: Ken McIntyre - 2007
A look across from house right. Note the original decorative treatment still remaining on the top of the proscenium and several bays of the ceiling. It's a 2008 photo by French photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre. See the
Theaters (2005-2021) portfolio on their website for more of their fine work. This
image also appears on page 264 of their gigantic book "Movie Theaters"
(Prestel, 2021). It's available on
Amazon or from your local bookseller.
The house right wall in the balcony. Photo: Ken McIntyre - 2007
The back corner house right. Photo: Ken McIntyre - 2007
The rear of the balcony house right. Image: "Dios en todo tiempo" - 2020
More exterior views:
1928 - A view of the "Creole Cuties" and Curtis Mosby’s Dixieland Blues Blowers, the house band, out front. The feature film was "The Shield of Honor," a February release. The photo appears on page 19 of "The Black Music History of Los Angeles - Its Roots: a Classical Pictorial History of Black Music in Los Angeles from 1920-1970." The image is in pdf format from the
Oviatt Library - Cal State Northridge. The photo appeared in the book courtesy of Mildred Boyd-Lamkin. The caption:
"It was the largest venue for Black entertainment west of the Mississippi River. Throughout its existence, the Lincoln Theatre brought in the best of local and international entertainment from film, radio, television and records. Its bill of fare read like 'Who's Who in Sepia Entertainment.' Old timer 'Spud' Collins remembers, 'I saw a live show and movie for only 50 cents in 1928.' In the 1960s, Rev. Samuel Crouch, the uncle of Andre Crouch, bought the legendary Lincoln Theatre, which was used for his Church of Christ Assemblies."
1928 - Another photo from the same shoot from the collection of Mildred Boyd-Lamkin that appears in "The Black Music History of Los Angeles." The two images are also indexed as "Lincoln Theater Marquee" on the CSUN document "
L.A.: On Film and On Record."
1949 - A photo taken in July of that year that appears in the
NAACP 1949 Convention album on Flickr. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting it for a post for the private Facebook group
Photos of Los Angeles. Ken later included it in a Facebook thread about the theatre on
Ken's Movie page. That reissue double bill of "Gunga Din" and "Lost Patrol" had initially played the Pantages and Hillstreet in June.
c.1961 - Looking south on Central after the theatre closed. Photo:
Los Angeles Public Library
c.1961 - "For S LE OR L ASE." Photo:
Los Angeles Public Library
c.1962 - Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Elmorovivo for posting this photo by Harry Adams on the site's page about the
Lincoln. The photo appears in a watermarked version on the website of
California State University Northridge, where they date it as 1961. The CSUN collection also includes
another photo by Mr. Adams taken at the same time, which they date as 1962.
c.1962 - A closer look at the abandoned theatre. It's a
Los Angeles Public Library photo that they date as 1960.
1980s - Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this facade view.
1980s - A south wall view from American Classic Images.
c.2000 - The theatre between church tenants. It's a photo that appeared on a now-vanished Geocities site about L.A. theatres.
2005 - Thanks to Bob Meza for this photo, one of three he has on the
Cinema Tour page about the Lincoln.
2007 - A facade view appearing on
Wikimedia Commons. Note that the building has lost its vertical sign.
2007 - A marquee detail. Photo: Ken McIntyre
2007 - The north side of the front of the building. Photo: Ken McIntyre
2007 - Looking toward the street from the stage end of the building. Photo: Ken McIntyre. Thanks, Ken!
2010 - A view from the north. Photo: Bill Counter
2010 - A closer look at the facade. Note the exposed roof trusses. Photo: Bill Counter
2010 - The view from across the street. Photo: Bill Counter
2020 - A drone's view of the facade. For some nice exterior footage as well as interior shots see "
Dios en todo tiempo," an 8 minute video on YouTube that was produced by Ministerios Juda, the church tenant. Thanks to the Facebook page
Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles for sharing the video in a post.
2020 - The view east across the roof. Image: "Dios en todo tiempo" - 2020
2020 - Looking north toward downtown. Image: "Dios en todo tiempo" - 2020
2022 - A March photo from Google Maps. That's E. 23rd St. on the left.
2022 - Chain link fence up in front. It comes down on the weekends. Thanks to
Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles for sharing the photo in a July post about the theatre on their Facebook page. Also see another photo on a
second post.
2022 - The gleaming white exoskeleton is quite a sight even from two blocks north of the theatre. Photo: Bill Counter
2022 - A view from the south. The church's former parking lot is now a tent city for the homeless managed by the outreach firm Urban Alchemy. Photo: Bill Counter
2022 - A facade detail. Photo: Bill Counter
2022 - A first floor facade detail. Photo: Bill Counter
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Lincoln. The Cinema Tour page on the theatre has several 2005 Bob Meza exterior photos.
The Lincoln Theatre is discussed at length in R.J. Smith's "The Great Black Way: LA in the 40's" from Public Affairs Press, New York, 2007. It's available on Amazon.
The L.A. Conservancy has a page on the Lincoln. Also see the Wikipedia article on the theatre. The Lincoln also gets a listing with some history on Wikimapia.
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