Los Angeles Theatres: United Artists Theatre: vintage exterior views

United Artists Theatre: vintage exterior views

1926 - A view north on Broadway with Western Costume on the left but nothing beyond in the lot where the United Artists would soon rise. Down in the 800 block we see the side of the New Orpheum, opened in February. It's a Mott Studios photo in the California State Library collection, their catalog #001558803. This could actually be from early 1927. On the big version on the Library's site you can make out a tiny bit of the marquee for the Garrick Theatre, demolished in March 1927 for construction of the Tower Theatre.

May 5, 1927 - A photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection showing Mary Pickford at the groundbreaking ceremony. More photos in the Library's collection also taken the same day: Mary with the brass band | speakers on the platform | the crowd | steam shovel at work |

1927 - Thanks to Leighton Bowers of Western Costume Co. for sending along this image of the main balcony girder being maneuvered into place during construction. The photo comes from Kathy Bjorklund, who had a set of photos from her grandmother. A page on the Western Costume website also has six more views of the girder being fabricated in the shop of Baker Iron Works. It was noted on the back of the photo that it was 91'4" long, 36" wide and 6' high. The weight was 102 tons.

As the UA building rose, that north side of the Western Costume Building at 939 S. Broadway was concealed. It had gone up in 1923, a design of Kenneth MacDonald Jr. Western Costume moved out to Melrose Ave. in 1932.

1927 - A fine construction view from Kirk Gaw on the SoCal Historic Architecture Facebook page. We're looking south on Broadway. Note the signage for the office building, called at the time the California Petroleum Building. Thanks, Kirk!

1927 - A December 1 view from the Eric Lynxwiler collection that he shared on Flickr. The Los Angeles Public Library also has a version of this one. Look at the great checkerboard sidewalk. Here they're still working on the tower.

1927 - A detail from the copy of the photo above that's in the Eric Lynxwiler collection. Nothing on the marquee yet. Check out the Angel City Press book Eric wrote with Tom Zimmerman: "Spectacular Illumination: Neon Los Angeles 1925-1965." Also see Eric's 2016 book "Signs of Life: Los Angeles is the City of Neon."

1927 - Almost ready to open. The photo, a post on the LAHTF Facebook page by Hillsman Wright, is from the Marc Wanamaker Bison Archives collection. The end of the marquee reads "Mary Pickford Premiere."

1927 - A Mott Studios photo in the collection of the California State Library gives us a look at the entrance with the opening attraction, "My Best Girl," on the marquee. It's one of eight photos of the theatre in their set #001407480.

1927 - A Mott Studios look at the top of the building from the California State Library collection.

1927 - A Mott Studios photo of the office building entrance. It's from the collection of the California State Library as their item #1430598.

1927 - Another California State Library Mott Studios "California Petroleum Building" entrance shot in their set #1430596.

also from 1927: pre-construction window exhibit - LAPL | facade view - from above & south "World's Finest Theatre Presents Mary Pickford in My Best Girl"- LAPL |

1928 - An elegant look at the newly completed theatre. The photo, appearing as a post on the LAHTF Facebook page by Hillsman Wright, is from Marc Wanamaker. On the marquee: "Herbert Brenon's Great Love Drama 'Sorrell and Son' With All Star Cast."

1928 - "Sorrel and Son Continues." It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

Also see two February 23 street level views from the USC Digital Library taken during the run of this film: "Sorrell and Son - Last 8 Days," a view north from below 10th and a wider view north also showing the Orpheum.

1928 - A line for "Ramona," a March release with Delores Del Rio and Warner Baxter. It's a photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

c.1928 - Thanks to Brian Michael McCray for this great card from his collection. See the photo that this card is based on in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

1928 - The July issue of Architect and Engineer had this photo of the United Artists running D.W. Griffith's "Drums of Love," a March 31 release. Also in the same issue see the article "United Artists Theater Los Angeles." It's on Internet Archive.

1928 - Lining up for the show in a Dan Watts photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Playing is "The Woman Disputed" with Norma Talmadge, a September release that came out in both sound and silent versions.

1928 - D.W. Griffith's "The Battle of the Sexes" is the feature on the marquee in this postcard. The film was an October release. Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing the scan of the card from his collection on Flickr. The back of the card says "This is a real photograph."

1928 - A detail taken from the "Battle of the Sexes" card showing the mostly vacant storefronts. The Los Angeles Public Library has a marquee and entrance detail from the card in their collection.

c.1928 - A C. C. Pierce view looking south on Broadway that's in the USC Digital Library collection. The Huntington Library also has a version of the photo.

c.1928 - Looking north across the Western Costume Co. building. It's a Luckhaus Studio photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

c.1928 - An undated view Ken McIntyre located for the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles. We're looking south from 8th & Broadway past Hamburger's department store, the Majestic Theatre, and on toward the United Artists. Note that there's not yet the southern expansion of Hamburger's. That would come in 1929.

1929 - "Hear Her Golden Voice." Bruce Kimmel comments: "Mary Pickford wows them in her first talkie, 'Coquette,' which opened at the United Artists on April 3 with a big premiere at 8:30!" Jack Benny was at the mic and Irving Berlin appeared before the feature to sing his composition "Coquette."

The photo is from Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives, appearing on the site's photo gallery. Mr. Wanamaker provides consulting services on historic matters for films and architectural projects. Along with Suzanne Tarbell Cooper and Amy Ronnebeck Hall, Mr. Wanamaker is also the author of "Theatres in Los Angeles" (Arcadia Publishing, 2008). Most of the rare photos in the book are from his Bison Archives. The photo appears as part of the book's preview on Google Books.

1929 - Another view of the crowd lined up for "Coquette." The photo, a post on the LAHTF Facebook page by Hillsman Wright, is from Marc Wanamaker's collection.

1929 - A great look north on Broadway taken during the run of "Coquette." It's a C.C. Pierce photo in the Huntington Library collection. It also appears in the USC Digital Library collection.

1929 - A detail from the C.C. Pierce photo above.

1929 - No more crowds. We're looking west across acres of parking (and Broadway) at the end of the run of "Coquette." They've taken down the fancy display and the marquee then said: "Hurry To Hear Mary Pickford in 'Coquette' - Alibi Starts Wed Eve" The photo is from Marc Wanamaker. It was a post on the LAHTF Facebook page by Hillsman Wright. Thanks, Marc!

1929 - A Los Angeles Public Library photo giving us a nice close look at the boxoffice during the run of "Bulldog Drummond," a May release.

1929 - A look at the entrance with the United Artists playing "Taming of the Shrew" ("all talk") with Mary Pickford and Doug Fairbanks. The film was a November release. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.

1929 - A wider look at the display work for "Taming of the Shrew." Thanks to Michael Lynch for this one on the LAHTF Facebook page.

1929 - A USC Digital Library photo looking north with the United Artists running "The Trespasser" with Gloria Swanson, a November release. It's from the California Historical Society.

1929 - A view north on Broadway during the run of "The Trespasser." Thanks to Kent Abramson for posting this one on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page.

1930 - A Los Angeles Public Library photo looking north toward Broadway on the left with the United Artists and, beyond, the skeleton of the Eastern Columbia Building.

1930 - A great view of the corner and north side of the building in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The theatre was running the Maurice Chevalier feature "The Big Pond." a May release.

1930 - The opening for "Whoopee," a September release with Eddie Cantor. Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this from his collection. It appears in his terrific "Hollywood Productions" album on Flickr. It's also in the "Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation Group Pool" on Flickr that's curated by Michelle Gerdes.

1930 - A USC Digital Library view looking north at the Christmas decorations in December. The Eastern Columbia Building had opened in September 1930. The USC collection also includes another shot taken the same night. Note that a second vertical got added to the building - for Texaco.

1930 - A daytime look at the Christmas decorations. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo. He had it as a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.

1931 - A Los Angeles Public Library photo from the Herald Examiner collection of the theatre running "The Bat Whispers," a November 1930 release. It was shot in Magnifilm, an early 65mm process. Presumably the UA just ran a conventional 35mm print. But they were advertising it as "Twice the Size!" The photo ran February 7.

1931 - The west coast premiere of Josef von Sternberg's "An American Tragedy," an August release starring Phillips Holmes and Sylvia Sidney. It's one of a number of theatre photos on display outside the Ted Mann Theatre at the Academy Museum. The image is from the Tom B'hend-Preston Kauffman Collection, a part of the AMPAS Margaret Herrick Library.

1931 - A photo of the "American Tragedy" premiere from Eric Lynxwiler's collection that appears in his "Hollywood Productions" album on Flickr. It also appears in the "LAHTF Group Pool" on Flickr that's curated by Michelle Gerdes. Thanks, Eric!

1931 - Another view of the "American Tragedy" premiere. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting this one on Worthpoint and sharing it on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.

1931 - Looking north on Broadway from 11th St. on November 21. It's a USC Digital Library photo from the California Historical Society. You can read "Douglas Fairbanks" on the theatre's south readerboard. The Huntington Library also has the photo. They attribute it to C.C. Pierce. The USC collection also has another take from the same day.

1931 - A Los Angeles Public Library photo giving us a nice look north on Broadway.

1930s ? - An undated rooftop view looking northeast in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The caption says: "Busts of medieval men look out over the rooftop of the United Artists Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles that faces the Rives-Strong Building at 9th and Main."

1932 - A Dick Whittington Studio photo looking north on Broadway. It's in the USC Digital Library collection.

1932 - A detail from the Dick Whittington photo above. Times are tough. The UA is closed with "Attend Loews State" on the marquee. When it reopened in October 1932 it would be a Fox West Coast operation. The Majestic Theatre is still there north of the Eastern Columbia building. It was demolished in 1933

Note that the original marquee has been augmented with a flashier display in front. On the sides it's down to two lines of copy from the original three and with more bulbs on top.

1932 - The United Artists running "Red Dust" with Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. This was the first film to play the theatre when Fox West Coast reopened the house October 20 under the direction of Sid Grauman. It had been closed since April 1932.

Note the more elaborate marquee treatment when compared to the photos above. Is that a bit of neon atop the end panel of the marquee reading "Under direction of Sid Grauman"? In the ads it was "Grauman's United Artists." It's a shot appearing in the short "Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell," narrated by Sharon Stone. It's on the DVD of MGM's "Dinner at Eight."

1932 - A terrific view of the marquee during the run of "Mr. Robinson Crusoe" with Douglas Fairbanks. Also on the bill was an appearance by the famous adventurer and filmmaker Aloha Wanderwell and a showing of her short film "The River of Death," based on travels in 1930 and 1931. Thanks to Jonathan Raines for doing the research and locating the photo.

The image from the Richard Diamond Trust appears on AlohaWanderwell.com in the site's photo gallery. Diamond is Aloha's grandson. The photo also appears with the Columbia University Women Film Pioneers Project article by Jessica DePrest about Aloha Wanderwell Baker. The program opened at the UA on December 15. In a review in the Times on the 17th it was mentioned that Grauman was still doing the theatre's programming.

early 30s - The UA and Texaco vertical signs on an old postcard in the Don Lewis Vanishing Movie Theaters collection on Flickr. Note the Texaco signage on the tower on top of the building. Check out many more great theatre photos in Don's collection. It's no later than 1933 as the Majestic vertical can be seen.

early 30s - Another version of the card above (this copy mailed in 1938) is from Elizabeth Fuller on Flickr. Check out her great Old Los Angeles Postcards collection that totaled 686 at last look.

1935 - The opening of "A Night at the Opera" in November. Many thanks to Scott T. Rivers for locating the photo for a post on the Cinema Treasures Facebook page. Thanks to Mike Hume for spotting a share of the post on the All Movie Theatres page. Curious about that machine on the right? See some information on a page about the film on the site Greenbrier Picture Shows.

1936 - A celebration on Broadway as the generators at Boulder Dam are turned on. It's on a Water and Power Associates Museum page about the construction of the dam. The photo is in the DWP Photo Archive, hosted by the Los Angeles Public Library. The October 9, 1936 photo appears on the LAPL website.

The caption reads: "Tens of thousands of people jammed the parade route on Broadway on the night of October 9, 1936, as the street became ablaze with light when the first Hoover power streaked 266 miles from the power plant to Los Angeles." The structure wasn't officially called Hoover Dam until 1947.

The photo also appears on Photos of Los Angeles and there's also a slightly larger version in GS Jansen's collection on Flickr. The UCLA Library has it in their Los Angeles Daily News Negatives Collection. There's a clip from British Pathé on YouTube of FDR hitting the switch to start the dam's turbines. Thanks to Bob Foreman of the site Vintage Theatre Catalogs for finding it.

1936 - Another version of the parade photo appears in Councilman Jose Huizar's Bring Back Broadway collection on Flickr. It's the cover of the 1936 Los Angeles City Planning Commission report. In the photo the United Artists marquee is advertising "Piccadilly Jim," an August 1936 release with Robert Montgomery, Frank Morgan and Billie Burke. The second feature is "Star For a Night" with Claire Trevor, also released in August 1936. Note that the theatre sports its new angled marquee, still on the building today.

1936 - "The Garden of Allah," starring Marlene Dietrich and Charles Boyer, playing in December with Claire Trevor and Michael Whalen in "Career Woman" as the bottom half of the bill. It's a Dick Whittington Studio photo that's in the USC Digital Library collection.

1937 - Looking north on Broadway in a USC Digital Library view taken from the UA/Texaco building.

c.1937 - A view of the facade of the building from Main St. taken by Herman Schultheis. It's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

c.1939 - An interesting view looking north from Main St. toward the United Artists and the Eastern Columbia Building beyond. The diagonal street, no longer in use, is Broadway Place. It was a post from Paul Wisman on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles.

1939 - A look down on the theatre during the run of "Broadway Serenade," an April 7 release with Jeanette MacDonald and Lew Ayres. The bottom half of the double bill was "Everybody's Baby" with Jed Prouty and Shirley Deane. The billboard to the right of the ABC Beer sign is advertising "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle" at the Pantages and Hillstreet. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing the photo from his collection.

1939 - A Dick Whittington Studio photo in the USC Digital Library collection. The UA was running "Hardys Ride High," an April 21 release with Mickey Rooney.

1939 - A detail from the Dick Whittington photo above showing the theatre's entrance and the storefronts.

1939 - Another detail from the Dick Whittington photo giving us a closer look at the marquee -- the one still on the building today, minus some neon and those lovely milk glass letters. USC also has another "Hardys Ride High" shot from Broadway and Olympic, a bit farther south.

1939 - A line down the block for "Gone With The Wind." The west coast premiere of the film was December 28 at the Carthay Circle. The regular engagement began the next day with two reserved seat shows daily at the Carthay and four grind showings at the UA. Thanks to Tom Anderson for locating the image for a post for the Lost Angeles Facebook group.

At the UA the film came with three added short subjects and a one minute intermission between part one and part two. After complaints from Selznick, the schedule became two shows in the daytime with unreserved seats and one 8pm show with all seats reserved. A February 18, 1940 ad noted that "385,000 'Angelenos' have seen it."

1940 - A view looking north from Olympic. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for a post of the photo on Photos of Los Angeles.

c.1940 - A lovely postcard view looking north on Broadway from the United Artists/Texaco building in Elizabeth Fuller's Old Los Angeles Postcards collection on Flickr. Thanks, Elizabeth!

1941 - A glorious postcard view of the United Artists in Cezar Del Valle's Theatre Talks collection. They were running "Smilin' Through" and "Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day." Cezar is a Brooklyn-based theatre historian. Visit his Theatre Talks website and his Facebook page.

The card also appears in the collection of Eric Lynxwiler on Flickr and there's another version on different colored stock on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group from Ken McIntyre.

1943 - A shot taken sometime between January 27 and February 2 by San Francisco-based Waldemar Sievers. It can be seen on the site FineArtAmerica where they will sell you a print of it or put the image on a coffee mug. Waldemar also took a shot of the Orpheum the same day with the marquee advertising a stage appearance of the Ritz Brothers. Mark Brandl dated that one by locating a January 30 ad.

1944 - Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this photo from his collection. "Song of Bernadette" wouldn't be arriving until April. Its premiere had been December 21, 1943 at the Carthay Circle. On the marquee it's "Flesh and Fantasy," an October 1943 release with Charles Boyer and Barbara Stanwyck. The second feature was "Mystery Broadcast," a November 1943 release with Frank Albertson and Ruth Terry. Eric's photo is on Flickr in the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation photo pool.

1946 - A postcard view posted by Ken McIntyre on Photos of Los Angeles in 2011. The theatre was running "Black Angel" with Dan Duryea, June Vincent and Peter Lorre. Also on the program was "Wild Beauty." In a repeat post on PoLA in 2022, Bruce Kimmel noted that this bill opened August 13 and played two weeks.

1946 - A look north from the Metro Library and Archive on Flickr. It's a shot taken during a transit strike that's in their Downtown Los Angeles set.

1947 - A dazzling view of the United Artists as we look north on Broadway posted by Gary Alinder on MacroChef as part of the set Travel: My Father's Color Images of Southern California in the 1940s. The photo, on 35mm Kodachrome, is by Ed Alinder.

Sharp sleuths Scott Santoro and Wendell Benedetti figured out that the film advertised in the photo was "Smash Up: The Story of a Woman" starring Susan Hayward and Lee Bowman (Universal International, 1947). The photo also appears on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles.

1947 - A view of the streetcars as we look north on Broadway past the United Artists. The photo once appeared on a blog called U in the USA but somebody's pulled the plug on it.

1948 - It started as a smaller boxoffice but at some point got extended back toward the entrance doors. Thanks to the Ronald W. Mahan Collection for sharing this photo that was taken by Nate Singer before another remodel was undertaken. They were running "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein," a June release featuring Glenn Strange as the monster. The co-feature was the documentary "Kings of the Olympics," a May release.

1948 - A view after the remodel. The new snackbar was accessible from both the street and inside the lobby. Thanks to the Ronald W. Mahan Collection for sharing the photo. See four views of the look of the inside end of the new bar on the outer lobby page.

1949 - A look at the theatre running the May release "The Lady Gambles" with Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Preston along with "Enchanted Valley." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the shot for a Facebook post on Ken's Movie Page.

1949 - A closer look at the jumbo dice for "The Lady Gambles."

1951 - A telephoto look north showing the signage for the United Artists, the Orpheum, Rialto, Newsreel/Tower and the Globe. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this one for a post for the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. It's a photo taken for the L.A. Examiner that's in the USC Digital Library collection. Scott Collette included it with nine other downtown 1951 Examiner shots in a post on his Forgotten Los Angeles Facebook page. Scott's set is also on Instagram.

1951 - Another look up Broadway from the USC Digital Library collection that was taken for the L.A. Examiner. A big double bill at the UA: "Reunion in Reno" and "Unknown World" played for a week in October. Thanks to John Lee for locating this one for a post for the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. Scott Collette also included it in his 1951 downtown set on the Forgotten Los Angeles Facebook page and on Instagram.

1951 - We're looking south from in front of the Eastern Columbia Building in this Los Angeles Public Library photo from their Blackstock Negatives Collection. Where's the UA? Well, all we get is a sliver of the vertical sign.

1951 - A fine clear day vista toward the hills with "Quo Vadis" on the UA marquee. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this one for a post for the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. It next appeared with "20 photos of LA in the 1950s," an article by Stacker Studio on the ABC 17 website where it was credited to American Stock/Classicstock/Getty Images. Also see a similar view, perhaps shot on the same day, that was located by Yasmin Elming in the Hollywood Historic Photos collection.

1951 - A lovely "Quo Vadis" shot taken in November. Note the redecoration of the boxoffice (again) when compared to the 1948 pre- and post-renovation views we have on the page. Thanks to esteemed L.A. historian Nathan Marsak for locating it. He's the author of the 2020 Angel City Press book "Bunker Hill Los Angeles: Essence of Sunshine and Noir." It's available at your local bookseller or from Amazon.

1951 - A "Quo Vadis" entrance detail. Thanks again to Nathan Marsak.

1952 - A photo in the Examiner collection of the USC Digital Library located by Scott Collette for a post on his Forgotten Los Angeles Facebook page. It's also on Instagram. He comments:

"Absolutely mesmerizing long exposure of Broadway at night, looking north from Olympic in 1952.Tons to see here, starting with a little diner called 'Juice Box' hiding at the edge of the 25-cent parking lot on the left, just above Olympic. Past that, bearing the giant ad for Coca-Cola, is 939 S. Broadway, which was a surplus store at the time. This building was originally home to the Western Costume Company before it relocated to Melrose near Paramount in the 1930s. Next is the Texaco Building, originally built as the California Petroleum Corporation Building in 1927. It was also home to the United Artists Theatre. Today, this building is the Ace Hotel.

"Past that is the iconic Eastern Columbia Building, designed by Claud Beelman who built it in just nine months in 1930. It was home to the Eastern-Columbia Department Store, which operated in this space until 1957, using 10 of its 13 stories as retail space. What's particularly cool here is that its clock tower actually shows us how long it took the photographer to capture the image, as the illuminated minute-hand appears as a solid block of light stretching from 9:21 to 9:26, indicating that the shutter was kept open for five minutes. In the distance, if you zoom in, you can just make out neons for The May Co., Leed's Shoes, Bullocks, and Millirons.

"Across the street is the 'Ninth & Broadway Building,' which was also built by Beelman in 1930. Above it, in the darkness, is a radio tower and scaffolding for the Orpheum Theatre’s electric sign, and then you can see City Hall creeping into frame on the right. Going down, we see an antenna for KALMUS-TV just above a billboard for 'The Flash Boys,' which claimed to be the nation’s largest retailer of televisions. Below that is a sign for Lockie Music Exchange, which rented instruments to school bands. The blown-out neons are for two other TV retailers, Hallicrafters and Admiral, and 'Dorn’s House of Miracles' television and radio shop is on the corner. Finally, the street that runs diagonally to the right was known as 'Broadway Place.' Not sure when it disappeared." Thanks, Scott!

1954 - This view in the Metro Library and Archive on Flickr gets us a diagonal look up Broadway Place from Main St. toward the United Artists and the Eastern Columbia Building. It's an Alan Weeks photo in Metro's Downtown Los Angeles set.

See Nathan Masters' fine piece on the now unused Broadway Place on the KCET website.

c.1954 - A riot of signage at Broadway Place. Thanks to Steve Crise for noting that it's a photo by Donald Sims that appears with "Broadway Place Vanishes," an article on the Pacific Electric Historical Society website. Note the appearance of Googies on the right.

1954 - The Metro Library and Archive on Flickr includes this Alan Weeks photo looking north. The streetcar on the right is heading onto Broadway Place. "She Wolf" is playing, an Italian film released in the U.S. by Republic. An "added attraction" on the bill was "The Willie Mays Story." Thanks to Monica Seitz Vega for finding the photo in the Metro Archive.

Bruce Kimmel comments: "'La Lupa'! Directed by Alberto Lattuada, who co-directed 'Variety Lights' with Fellini. Interestingly, it seems to be the film debut of May Britt, who would, of course, go on to star in the remake of 'The Blue Angel' and marry Mr. Sammy Davis, Jr. Opened on December 1, seven days before I turned - seven. So, I wouldn't have been able to see it anyway. It's on YouTube - I'll check out the steamy Kerima." The advertising called that character "the most evil woman who ever lived."

1955 - "Torn From Today's Headlines!" It's a big double feature of "Girl Gang" and "Secrets of a High School Girl." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the photo for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. And thanks to Bruce Kimmel for determining that this bill played the week of February 9.

1956 - A great look up Broadway with "Oklahoma!" and "TODD-AO" on the marquee. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing this image, taken from the original slide in his collection. See a slightly cropped and muddier version from the Metro Library and Archive on Flickr. It's in their LATL Streetcar Lines set.

c.1961-62 - When was the United Artists not the United Artists? When it was called the Alameda, of course. Just a brief experiment by United Artists Theatre Circuit -- then the sign ended up on the East L.A. United Artists. Thanks to Sean Ault for the photo, the only one to have surfaced showing this signage.

1963 - A photo by William Reagh in the Los Angeles Public Library collection that shows the Gothic tracery on the exterior to nice effect. The Library happens to date this as 1957 but our main feature is "La Fierecilla del Puerto," a 1963 release. It's also in the California State Library collection. And it's also on Photos of Los Angeles from Ken McIntyre-- with a poster for the feature.

Note the new version of the "United Artists" letters after a redo of the sign following the Alameda experiment.

1967 - Cantinflas in "Su excelencia" along with the 1965 release "Un hombre en la trampa." Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this photo from his collection on Flickr.

1967 - Another Cantinflas shot from Eric Lynxwiler on Flickr. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for including Eric's theatre photos in the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation Group Pool on Flickr.

1971 - Looking south on Broadway during the UA's days as a Spanish language film house. Thanks to L.A. transit historian Sean Ault for the photo. See another view (with a different bus) taken the same day from Jeff Bentley on Vintage Los Angeles.

1972 - Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this "Tampico" shot for a post on the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group.

1974 - A view west from Main St. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting the photo when it was for sale on eBay.

1970s - A fine view looking north across the United Artists from the Sean Ault collection. Thanks, Sean! Jeff Bentley has a post of it on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.

1979 - A photo by Aaron Gallup that's included in a 30 page photo gallery on the National Park Service website that accompanied a 2001 application to expand the boundaries of the Broadway Theatre and Commercial District on the National Register. The lower end set in 1979 when the district was formed had been 8th St. Thanks to Mike Hume/Historic Theatre Photography for finding the photos.

1979 - An Aaron Gallup photo looking south. That's the Blackstone Department Store building on the right, now apartments. The photo appears in a photo gallery pdf on the National Park Service website.

c.1980 - Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for once sharing this early morning view. The Cantinflas film "Conserje en Condominio" dated from 1974.

c.1980 - An evening view from the American Classic Images collection.

1982 - A William Reagh photo in the collection of the California State Library collection that was taken from a block east on Main St. The Broadway Palace apartments are now on the parking lot that's in the foreground. It's the Library's item #001383445.

1987 - A look north on Broadway with the UA on the left. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing this photo from his collection.

Los Angeles Theatres

United Artists Theatre: vintage exterior views

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