320 S. Mission Dr. San Gabriel, CA 91776 |
map |
Opened: March 5, 1927 as the Mission Play House. It was a venue designed for John Steven McGroarty's "Mission Play," an elaborate stage show about the founding of the California Missions. Photo: Bill Counter - 2025
McGroarty (1862-1944) was also an author of other plays, a poet, a Los Angeles Times columnist, and a two-term U.S. Congressman. The theatre was designed with dressing room space to accommodate a cast
of 150. The play didn't start with this building. See some information
about original 1912 Mission Playhouse at the bottom of the page. It was
located in the park across from the San Gabriel Mission.
Phone: 626-308-2865 Website: www.missionplayhouse.org | rental information guide PDF |
Architects: Arthur Burnett Benton and William J. Dodd. The
theatre's elaborate interior features tapestries donated by the King of
Spain and decoration inspired by Aztec and American Indian designs. The
chandeliers are said to replicate the look of lanterns used on Spanish
galleons.
The cornerstone has a 1922 date on it and calls it the Mission Play Theatre. In the 1925 through 1932 city directories it's listed as the San Gabriel Theatre at W. Mission Dr. corner W. Angeleno Ave. Joe Vogel comments on Cinema Treasures:
"Arthur Burnett Benton drew the original plans for this Mission Playhouse in 1921, and the cornerstone was laid in 1923, but the progress of construction was slow and the building was not completed until 1927, when it opened on March 5. I’ve come across several sources (a scholarly tome by William Deverell, published by the University of California, for one) claiming that, by 1926, Benton had become too ill (he died in 1927) to complete the project, and it was taken over by William J. Dodd and the firm Dodd & Richards (architects of the Kinema Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, later to become the Fox Criterion.) Dodd is said to have substantially altered the design, so he should probably be credited along with Benton as the architect. Dodd & Richards also designed a 1929 addition to the playhouse, a project that added a curio shop and exhibition gallery."
Seating: 1,387 - mostly on the main floor. There is a row of boxes along either side of the main floor as well as a shallow balcony with five rows of seats.
This drawing by L.A. Times artist A. L. Ewing appeared in their issue of March 6, 1927, the day after the opening. Thanks to Mike Hume for locating the Times' coverage. See the lovely page about the Playhouse on his
Historic Theatre Photography site. Also in the Times March 6 issue was "Architecture Typifies Golden Days of State," an article by Marquis Busby:
"Out at Old San Gabriel, where the past still keeps its lingering hold, a dream house has been built. Like all dream houses it has the spaciousness and proud beauty of air castles in Spain, and yet it has all the tangibility of twentieth century America. John Steven McGroarty realized a long-deferred dream when the Mission Play opened its sixteenth season in the lovely new Mission Play Theater last night. The new playhouse is across the road from the old weather-beaten, picturesque structure that housed the pageant for so many years. At last this glorious dream of the golden days of California, days when the brown-clad Franciscan fathers walked the dusty El Camino Real from mission to mission, has s structure worthy of the story unfolded. The new Mission Play Theater is a gleaming white building, designed by Arthur Benton, after the San Antonio de Padua Mission in Monterey county, now crumbling into ruins. The lovely lines of this old building seemed to lend itself to accommodating an auditorium, a foyer and cloistered promenades. Of fireproof construction throughout, the new playhouse cost approximately $650,000.
"Of Historic Charm. But in spite of its newness the theater already seems part of the historic charm that is San Gabriel's. There is romance in every brick of the walls and in every rough stone in the courtyard. The bricks were made from adobe excavated on the grounds by the Mission Indians. The stones which pave the courtyard were brought from Calabasas Road, near 'The Millionaires' Club of Happiness,' of which McGroarty writes in his newspaper articles. If the outside suggests the past, the interior of the theater is the last word in modern construction. One enters from a wide foyer, with graceful iron-grilled balconies above, and then into the auditorium itself, a warm color symphony in browns and blues and greens. On the walls of the auditorium are hung banners of the different provinces of Spain, Aragon, Castile and on through the list, their brave colors adding a rich splash to the ensemble. Lighting of the auditorium is diffused through great lanterns of wrought iron, being of that weather-beaten, rusted appearance of antiquity.
"East To Recall. It is very easy to remember the number that can be seated in this auditorium. Columbus discovered America in 1492 and just that number of people can view 'The Mission Play' at the same time. It is an interesting coincident and quite unintentional, said McGroarty. Spaciousness rules in the Mission Play Theater, which is again a charming touch of the days that are gone, when California haciendas were low-lying and pleasantly rambling. Aisles in the playhouse are unusually wide, and perhaps no other theater has allowed more room between the rows of seats. Access to the loges along either side of the auditorium is through a long, wide, private hallway.
"The curtains are things of beauty too. An asbestos drop of brown, on which is emblazoned the royal coat of arms of Spain, seems in a miraculous fashion to blend into the other walls. It is almost as if there were no stage, no proscenium arch. Back of this drop, however, is a glorious curtain of soft blue irrediscent [sic] tapestry, with figures of conquistadores [sic] and senoritas embroidered thereon. The stage is particularly large, allowing full sway to the pageantry of the play. The dressing-rooms are large and all have rows of windows. The star's dressing-room has its own private reception room. Ventilating Device. Every attention has been given to the comfort of the audience. On one side of the stage is a fan which sends fresh heated air into the auditorium and on the other is a device which draws it out. The air is washed every three minutes.
"But perhaps the feature which comes closest to the heart of John Steven McGroarty is the long, outdoor cloistered promenade, where the audiences can walk and talk between acts. It is here that the miniatures of the twenty-one missions will be found, a tiny El Camino Real in itself. And from this cloister can be seen the vineyards, orchards and the green hills beyond, not so much when Fray Junipero Serra first saw the fertile valley. The site of the new playhouse is a seven-acre garden tract, which was once part of the cactus-walled compound of the old San Gabriel Mission.
"Remaining in the tract are many objects of historic interest. One is the world-famous grapevine of San Gabriel, planted by the mission fathers in 1798, and the parent vine of all the grapes in California. Then there is the quaint adobe house referred to in Helen Hunt Jackson's novel as the birthplace of Ramona. Underneath the rambling vines of the grape arbor is now an outdoor cafe, with service from the little adobe house. And here will be heard the strains of 'La Paloma' and 'La Golondrina,' played on Spanish guitars - all part of the theater itself. Later on there will be built an Indian village reproducing exactly the homes of the people who inhabited this section of California when the first white man set foot on its golden shores. Indians, descendants of the people who used to dominate this section, will actually live here and go about their craft of rug weaving, silver molding and pottery making."
After 3,198 performances, the depression and an attempt to take the show to Broadway forced the group into bankruptcy at the end of 1932. They lost the theatre to foreclosure.
It was a film house for more than a decade following the foreclosure. In 1937 it's listed as the Mission Playhouse at the current address. During World War II the dressing rooms were used as apartments. In August 1945 voters approved a measure to buy the theatre and it was renamed the San Gabriel Civic Auditorium.
Part of the facade tumbled and one of the bell towers collapsed into a storage room adjacent to the lobby during the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake. The house reopened in February 1988. It was renamed the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse by the city in 2007.
Organ: The original organ was a 2 manual 21 rank Aeolian. The 3 manual 17 rank Wurlitzer currently in the theatre was donated in 1968 and got a restoration in 2009. It was originally installed in the Albee Theatre, Brooklyn. It's on a lift at the center of the pit.
Status: Alive and well as a performing arts center owned by the city of San Gabriel. Tours are available for groups of 5 or more.
Stage Specifications:
Proscenium width: 53'10"
Proscenium height: 29'7" (at highest point)
Stage depth: 48'1"
Apron depth: 6'3"
Center line to SR: 46'1"
Center line to SL: 46'1"
Floor: black tempered masonite.
Grid height: 62'10"
Counterweight system: 40 sets operated at stage level stage right
Arbor capacity: 1000 lbs.
Batten length: 52' with 52' of travel
Flyfloors/Pinrails: 20'9" from deck, stage left and stage right
Loading bridge: use flyfloor
Orchestra pit: capacity about 20, no lift
Loading: door upstage center. No dock.
Wardrobe: SR 2nd floor, no elevator
Dressing rooms: 2 star rooms, 2 ensemble rooms, 1 chorus room at stage level SL, 1 chorus room and 5 ensemble rooms on 2nd floor SL.
Thanks to Josh Fairman for his hospitality and loving care of the building. He's been there for several decades, starting on the crew backstage and shifting to the maintenance department in search of a steadier paycheck. He now oversees all the maintenance work, from plumbing to stage equipment upgrades, to helping tune the Wurlitzer.
The lobby:
A 2002 look toward the house left side of the lobby by Betty Sword. It's in the collection of Cezar Del Valle, a Brooklyn-based theatre historian with a serious interest in Los Angeles Theatres. For interesting material he's discovered lately check out his
Theatre Talks blog.
The bust of John Steven McGroarty, author of "The Mission Play," on the north wall. Thanks to Candi Nash for this 2017 photo and others appearing here. She shared a set of fourteen on the
SoCal Historic Architecture private Facebook group.
A wider lobby view. Photo: Candi Nash - 2017
The house right side of the lobby. Thanks to Ron Lim Photography for the photo. It's one of 20 great photos on Ron's 2011 Mission Playhouse page.
A ceiling detail. Photo: Michelle Gerdes - 2018
A look down toward the entrance doors. Photo: Candi Nash - 2017
The lobby from the house left end of the upper level. It's a photo that once appeared on the theatre's website.
Building supervisor Josh Fairman discusses the theatre's history before leading a May 19, 2025 tour for the San Gabriel Historical Society. This detail was taken from a shot included in a post of ten images of the event that were shared on the organization's
Facebook page.
The crossaisle behind the main floor seating. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
A peek in from house right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
A look down the house right aisle. Photo:
Ron Lim Photography - 2011
A ceiling detail. Thanks to Mike Hume for his 2017 photo. Visit his
Historic Theatre Photography site for tech data and hundreds of terrific photos of the theatres he's explored. And don't miss his page on the
Mission Playhouse.
A closer look at two of the ceiling panels. Photo: Michelle Gerdes - 2018
The auditorium from the rear. Photo: Bill Counter - 2025
The Wurlitzer in action. It's a c.2017 photo by an unknown photographer that once appeared on the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation Facebook page. The organization is actively involved in the study and preservation of the
vintage theatres in the Los Angeles area.
www.lahtf.org |
group Facebook page |
official FB page
A 2025 shot of the organ console from the San Gabriel Historical Society. This is from one of the ten images they shared in a post on the organization's
Facebook page about their May 19 tour of the theatre.
The ornament at the center of the proscenium. Photo: Mike Hume - 2017
A house left organ grille detail. Photo: Candi Nash -
SoCal Historic Architecture - 2017
The house left boxes. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
Behind the boxes: the house left side aisle. Photo: Candi Nash - 2017
A look down the house left boxes. Photo: Candi Nash - 2017
A look along the house right boxes. Photo: Michelle Gerdes - 2018
A view along the balcony from house right. It's a photo that once appeared on the theatre's website.
The front of the booth. Photo: Michelle Gerdes - 2018
A look to the stage from the balcony house right. Photo: Mike Hume - 2017
The front of the auditorium from the balcony. Photo: Mike Hume - 2017
A look at the asbestos curtain. Photo: Michelle Gerdes - 2018. Thanks, Michelle!
On the far left side of the balcony. Photo: Candi Nash - 2017
A house left wall detail from the balcony. Photo:
Ron Lim Photography - 2011
A look across to the house right wall. Photo: Candi Nash - 2017
A detail of the house right wall back near the balcony. Photo: Mike Hume - 2017
A look down the house right wall from the balcony. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for her 2017 photo.
A house right wall detail. That's the Aztec-inspired organ grille on the left. Photo:
Ron Lim Photography - 2011
The house right organ grille. Photo: Mike Hume - 2017
Several of the chandeliers. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for her 2017 photo.
A view from the theatre's collection of unknown date. Note that here the tech position hadn't yet been installed at the rear on house left. Thanks to the San Gabriel Historical Association for sharing the image as a post on their
Facebook page.
The rear of the auditorium from house right. Photo:
Ron Lim Photography - 2011
A look to the rear from house left. Photo: Candi Nash - 2017. Thanks, Candi!
Backstage:
Looking off left. Although both side aisles lead to the dressing room corridors, the level ends up being substantially above the stage. The stairs seen here get you up to that level at the first landing -- or on up to a flyfloor. The beige device back in the corner is a lift up to dressing room level. Photo: Bill Counter - 2025
A view off right. The upstage stairs get you to a dance studio and other support spaces including a costume shop -- or on to the flyfloor. From that level there's a ladder to the grid. Photo: Bill Counter - 2025
A view into the house from centerstage. Photo: Bill Counter - 2025
A view to stage right from the stairs, at dressing room level. Photo: Wendell Benedetti -
LAHTF Facebook page - 2017. Thanks, Wendell!
On the stairs stage right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2025
Looking downstage. Photo: Bill Counter - 2025
The panoramic view from upstage right. Photo: Wendell Benedetti -
LAHTF Facebook page - 2017
The T-wall and lockrail from downstage right. Photo: Mike Hume - 2017
The ramp at left leads to the loading doors upstage center. Thanks to John Hough for his 2017 photo.
Another look across to stage left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
A view to the grid. At the bottom of the image that's the pinrail on the stage left flyfloor. Photo: John Hough - 2017
In the trap room. Photo: John Hough - 2017
Another trap room view The door at the left gets you to the organ lift. Photo: John Hough - 2017. Thanks, John!
Another trap room view looking downstage toward stage left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
Checking out the Spencer organ blower in the basement downstage right. Photo: Michelle Gerdes - 2018
The dance studio on the 2nd floor offstage right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
One of the many dressing rooms upstairs stage left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
Another dressing room view. Photo: Michelle Gerdes - 2018
Another dressing room stage left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
In the attic:
The storage room above the lobby. The white wall faces the street. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
Props and more props. Photo: Michelle Gerdes - 2018
Another attic storage room view. Going through the arches you're pointed toward the stage. Off to the right is a staircase leading down to a landing on the house right balcony stairs. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
Seat bottoms with original 1925 upholstery. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
Looking into the attic above the auditorium. We're looking toward the stage end of the building. Photo: Michelle Gerdes - 2018
Another attic view. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
More exterior views:
c.1925 - A construction view from the San Gabriel Historical Association's collection that they shared in a post on their Facebook page.
1926 - A later construction view from the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
March 5, 1927 - The crowd for opening night. It's an L.A. Times photo on the
Calisphere from the UCLA's Los Angeles Times Photographic Archives. At the bottom of the Calisphere page see other photos of various performers.
1927 - A Mott Studios photo in the California State Library collection. This is one in a set of four Mott photos they have, all catalogued as set #
001386272.
1927 - A corner view. Photo: Mott Studios -
California State Library
1927 - A facade detail. Photo: Mott Studios -
California State Library
c.1928 - A postcard in the
California State Library collection, their item #001378092.
1928 - A California historical Society photo in the collection of the
USC Digital Library. At the left there's a poster for the "Mission Play."
1929 - An
Overnite Sleeper Coach in front. Thanks to Martin Turnbull for sharing this one on his
Garden of Allah Novels Facebook page. He credits it to the Thingies Facebook group and comments:
"I
don’t know if the double-decker Pickwick Stages Overnite Sleeper Coach
was comfortable — neither level looks like it had much head room. Or if
it was convenient — one article said their main route went from San
Diego to LA to Santa Barbara to San Francisco to Portland, then later
expanded east to Phoenix and El Paso. But I do like the coach’s sleek
styling especially those nifty portholes."
1930 - A photo from the
Los Angeles Public Library collection. The sign in the arch was advertising the "Mission Play."
early 1930s - A facade view from the
Los Angeles Public Library collection
1937 - The theatre running "The Prince and the Pauper" with Errol Flynn and Claude Rains along with Patsy Kelly and Lyda Roberti in "Nobody's Baby." It's a Herman Schultheis photo in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection. Also see a
c.1937 view with a parade that's by Mr. Schultheis.
1938 - A shot by Burton O. Bert that's in the Works Progress Administration collection of the Los Angeles Public Library. The signage on the sandwich board reads "$250 Bank Account Drawing Thu Nite."
1940 - Another view of the Playhouse in its film exhibition period. The photo is in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
2009 - Thanks to Matthew Cohen for sharing this facade view on
Flickr.
2012 - A Google Maps view from the west.
2017 - Thanks to Candi Nash for this facade view, one in a set of fourteen photos she posted on the
SoCal Historic Architecture Facebook page.
2017 - A lovely view at dusk that appeared on the
LAHTF Facebook page as a post by Escott O. Norton.
2018 - The facade getting a new coat of paint. Photo: Bill Counter
2018 - The fountain and an auxiliary building to the east. Photo: Bill Counter
2018 - Looking east in the entrance arcade. Photo: Bill Counter
2018 - A set of entrance doors. Photo: Bill Counter
2018 - The west side of the building. Photo: Bill Counter
2018 - Around to the stagehouse. Photo: Bill Counter
2018 - The stagehouse from the east. Photo: Bill Counter
2018 - Another look along the east side of the building. Photo: Bill Counter
2022 - Painting facade details. Thanks to Mike Hume for spotting this photo in an August 14 post on the
San Gabriel Mission Playhouse Facebook page. The caption: "Earlier this week, artist Evan LeGrande Wilson began painting decorative detail on the front of our theater. He highlighted the crest, molding, and other elements enhancing the beauty of our façade!"
2025 - The fountain and the auxiliary building to the east. Photo: Bill Counter
2025 - Looking west in the entrance arcade toward the boxoffice. Photo: Bill Counter
The first Mission Playhouse:
Patrons waiting at the theatre entrance. Thanks to the San Gabriel Historical Society for sharing this postcard as a post on their Facebook page.
The interior of the original Mission Playhouse, located across from the San Gabriel Mission in Plaza Park. It was first used in 1912. The image comes from the Richard Arnold collection and appeared as a post on the
San Gabriel Historical Society Facebook page. They commented:
"The beautifully decorated interior of the first Mission Playhouse was suggestive of the mission era. An old mission-style bell hung from the rafters to the right of the stage was rung to announce the beginning of each act. The curtain, a copy of an old Spanish tapestry, was of soft blue material with a Spanish coat of arms in dull gold. The exterior was complemented with tropical vines and shrubs that were a pleasant backdrop to the 21 miniature missions placed along the walkway surrounding the Mission Playhouse."
An ad for the show's second season that appeared in a Pasadena paper in 1913.
A 1915 shot by G. Haven Bishop advertising the San Gabriel Mission Play. The photo, in the
Huntington Library collection, was taken for Southern California Edison to advertise the glories of electric signage. The location is the east side of the 500 block of Broadway in downtown L.A.
An ad for the show at the earlier building that appeared in the March 1, 1920 issue of the Long Beach Daily Telegram. Thanks to Ron Mahan for locating it.
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Mission Playhouse for many photos and comments. Don't miss Sandi Hemmerlein's 2015 Avoiding Regret photo essay "San Gabriel Mission Playhouse." Mike Hume has a terrific page about the theatre on his Historic Theatre Photography site.
The Los Angeles Public Library photo collection has many more images of the theatre including: Ernest Douglas at the organ - 1928 | 1930 exterior - with performers in front | an undated side view | cast in front - undated | another cast shot | undated facade view - no signage | another early facade view | yet another | The Library also has many early views of performers if you search "Mission Playhouse."
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