Opened: This new Ebell Club building opened around 1905. Note the auditorium in back. The group's first Los Angeles building of their own was on Broadway south of 7th. Before that they had rented an auxiliary building from a church. The club was founded in 1897 and had branches in several Los Angeles area communities including South L.A., Highland Park and Long Beach.
Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality for finding the c.1909 postcard on eBay for his Noirish post #3500. The card is based on a C. C. Pierce photo from the California Historical Society that's in the USC Digital Library collection.
The club moved to their current building on Wilshire in 1927, a complex that includes the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. In late 1927 they leased out this Figueroa building for $200 a month to a group operating the venue as the Community Playhouse.
An October 9, 1927 article about the formation of the Community Playhouse. Thanks to Bruce Monson for finding the article.
Status: It's not known how long the building was operated by the Community Playhouse or what its life was after 1927. It survived into the early 30s at least but was later demolished. There are now single story commercial buildings on the site. The location is just south of the I-10 freeway on the west side of the street.
A 1927 photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
A postcard of the Ebell from Elizabeth Fuller's Old Los Angeles Postcards collection on Flickr. Thanks, Elizabeth!
A 1929 photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
A later view after the ivy had gotten out of control. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality for finding the snapshot on eBay for inclusion with his Noirish post #3500. The post also features many photos of the current Ebell building on Wilshire.
A 1933 photo from the Herald Examiner. It's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
The west side of the 1700 block of Figueroa now. We're looking north with the 10 freeway on the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
More information: See Jennifer Steinhauer's August 2010 New York Times Article "A Sanctuary for Women, Even Today" for a nice history of the club and its activities.
Noirish Los Angeles contributor Gaylord Wilshire has photos of the South L.A. and Hancock Park Ebell buildings on his Noirish post #3508. He has an additional photo from USC of the Highland Park building on his post #3509.
The earlier Ebell buildings downtown:
The cottage in the foreground was first Ebell building downtown. The signage above the entrance says "Ebell." It was a rental from the adjacent church. The photo from the California Historical Society appears on the USC Digital Library website where it's dated as 1900.
A c.1905 view of the Ebell Club building on Broadway south of 7th St. It's a C.C. Pierce photo in the Huntington Library collection. It's also in the USC Digital Library collection from the California Historical Society.
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