More Roxie Theatre pages: recent exterior views | interior views
Opened: November 25, 1931. The Roxie was the last of the Broadway theatres to open. It was built on the site of Quinn's Superba Theatre. Thanks to John Rice for the 1977 photo.
The building's owner was unknown but the Roxie's lessees were Gus A. Metzger and
Harry Srere. These two, along with a third partner, were the operators of the Fairfax Theatre, opening in March 1930. Srere had also operated the Rialto in the late 20s and, with Metzger and others, took over the Palace beginning in October 1928. Soon that one ended up in the Fox West Coast circuit. The duo also had a minority interest in the Forum Theatre.
"New Roxie Theater Opens Today At Noon." On opening day the news of the Roxie that Ken McIntyre found in the Los Angeles Record got a big headline but it was just one small item in a column of news about the attractions at various theatres:
The grand opening ad that appeared in the Los Angeles Record on November 25, 1931. Even a stage show: Eda Edson and her International Entertainers. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating the ad. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org
A sad end for one of the Metzger family members in August 1943. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the Times article.
Matt Lambros relates more of the theatre's noirish history on an After the Final Curtain post about the building:
"On Christmas Eve 1954, a woman killed herself in her seat during a double feature showing of 'Crossed Swords' and 'Track of the Cat.' The Roxie was an all-night theater at the time, so her body wasn’t discovered until the lights went on at 3:30AM. The only clues to her identity were a Canadian dollar bill and a telephone number written on a cafe receipt in her pockets. She’s never been identified.
"Richard Studeny, an usher, tied up the manager and robbed the theater in June of 1958. He turned himself in to the police in Florida the following December."
The theatre went to a Spanish language policy under Metropolitan Theatres management beginning January 29, 1978. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating that day's ad.
Status: The lobby is currently divided in half for two retail tenants. The auditorium is unused except for an occasional film shoot. The building was purchased, along with the Cameo and Arcade theatres, in the early 90s by Joseph Hellen. Ryan Vaillancourt had a nice 2010 story
in LA Downtown News about Mr. Hellen: "The Survivor." Joe Hellen died in November 2019. The company, Downtown Management (also known as Mideb), is now run by Hellen's son Michael along with Greg Martin as VP.
Behind the theatres: The parking lot behind the three theatres is also owned by Downtown Development. Joe Hellen had proposed a number of different plans for building a parking garage and
housing complex on the site but all the variations have run into problems with the City. One concern has been that the various options that have been proposed could limit the future usefulness of the three theatres by restricting
access to the rear of the buildings.
The word as of February 2016 was that there will be no tower built
behind the theatres. At least for now. New designs for a 40 story tower had been unveiled in March
2015 but there were disagreements with the City over the lack of a
historic feel to the proposed building.
early 1930s - Looking south on Broadway with the Roxie, Cameo and Arcade theatres on the left. Note that the Arcade Theatre (renamed in 1928) still has a Dalton's sign on the side of the building. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.
1934 - A great view of the Roxie and Cameo Theatres with hot rods on parade. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting the shot on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles. Here we're still using the original milk glass letters on the Roxie marquee. Kay Francis is billed on the bottom line on the south end of the marquee. Scott Santoro suggests that the top line might read L (for Leslie) Howard and that the film might be "British Agent."
1935 - A look south toward the Roxie and Cameo during the visit of Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt. It's an October 1 photo on Calisphere from the UCLA Los Angeles Daily News Negatives collection. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a post on Photos of Los Angeles.
1939 - A wonderful Dick Whittington Studio view of the Cameo and Roxie from the USC Digital Library collection. On the marquee at the Cameo is "Algiers," which was released in 1938.
1939 - A detail of the Roxie from the Dick Whittington photo. They're running "The Little Princess" with Shirley Temple along with "St. Louis Blues" starring Dorothy Lamour and Lloyd Nolan.
1958 - A great shot looking look north on Broadway featuring the Roxie, Cameo and Arcade Theatres. Thanks to Richard Wojcik for sharing the photo from his collection.
1958 - Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing this lovely photo from his collection.
1963 - "Young Guns of Texas" with James Mitchum, Alana Ladd, Jody McCrea and Chill Wills was at the Roxie along with "The Day Mars Invaded Earth" and some film with "Suspense" in the title. Thanks to Sean Ault for locating the photo.
1963 - A look south across 5th St. toward a fine jungle of vertical signs on Broadway. The signage for the theatres is seriously outnumbered by that for department stores and other businesses. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing the photo from his collection. We still have wires overhead but trolley service had been discontinued at the end of March 1963. The tracks got paved over.
1963 - A detail from Sean's photo. The Roxie is over on the left running Hitchcock's "The Birds," a March release starring Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren. The second feature is "Diamond Head," a December 1962 release with Charlton Heston and Yvette Mimieux. We get a bit of the Cameo's marquee peeking out beyond the Roxie and down in the next block the verticals for the Palace and Los Angeles. Thanks, Sean!
1960s - A great postcard view looking south on Broadway from 5th with the Roxie on the left. We don't get a title on the marquee but "James Stewart Charlton Heston Richard Boone" -- presumably in 3 different features. Thanks to Sean Ault for finding the card. Steven Otto notes that the Thrifty Drug location on the southwest corner was once home to the Fifth Street Store, Milliron's and Ohrbach's.
1974 - A wider view from the same photographer as the previous photo. Thanks, Sean!
1980 - Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this fine view looking south. "La máscara" was a 1977 release with Patrizia Adriani. "Mexico, Mexico, ra ra ra" was out in 1976.
1980 - A view looking north from the American Classic Images collection. At the Cameo it was "Arabian Adventure" (1979), William Freidkin's "Sorcerer" (1977), "The Man With the Glass Eye" (1969) and "The Incredible Melting Man" (1977). The Arcade was polaying "Enter the Panther" (1976), "Fists Like Lee" (aka "Along Came a Tiger," 1977), "Grizzly" (1976) and "The Choirboys" (1977).
1983 - A peek into the lobby from the American Classic Images collection.
1983 - Looking south at the "triplets." It's a photo that was once on the American Classic Images website.
1983 - A look north at the Arcade, Cameo and Roxie from the American Classic Images collection.
1988 - A look at the Roxie, Cameo and Arcade theatres by filmmaker and cinematographer Gary Graver. More of his theatre photos can be seen on You Tube: "Second Run - part 1" and "Second Run - part 2." Thanks to Sean Graver for use of the photo.
1989 - The year of the theatre's closing. Thanks to Bill Gabel for this post-closing view. It was a post on Cinema Treasures.
The Roxie in the Movies:
Richard Dreyfuss has a little accident in his Rolls when driving by the Roxie, Cameo and Arcade theatres in Paul Mazursky's "Down and Out in
Beverly Hills" (Touchstone, 1986). Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting the theatres.
The film also features Nick Nolte, Bette Midler, Little Richard,
Tracy Nelson, Elizabeth Peña, Evan Richards, Donald F. Muhich, Valerie
Curtin and Mike the Dog. The cinematography was by Donald McAlpine. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for five more shots from the scene.
Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" (Annapurna Pictures, 2014) did some filming inside the Roxie Theatre, 518 S. Broadway, but there's not really anything Roxie-ish that shows up in the finished movie. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for several photos.
The Roxie in Music Videos: We get a couple of exterior Roxie shots on the David Bowie video "Day-in Day-out." It's on YouTube. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting it.
More Information: The Cinema Treasures page on the Roxie has a nice history. The Roxie page on Cinema Tour offers some more exterior views of the theatre.
Matt Lambros has a fine After the Final Curtain post about the Roxie that features interior photos taken during a 2017 visit.
Visit the Roxie Theatre on Facebook. It's a page promoting restoration and active reuse of the building as a theatre.
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Fantastic facts! I decided to look up this theater after seeing it on a vintage postcard sent to me in 2023 (one of the postcards on this page!) - so sad to see it in its current condition. Wish I had been around back in its heyday to take in what must've been breathtaking beauty (much like the Loyola theater in Westchester). Thanks for taking the time to create this page!
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