Opened: June 18, 1903 as the Mason Opera House, a project of John A. Mason. Harold C. Wyatt was the original lessee. He was the local affiliate of the New York booking syndicate controlled by Charles Frohman, John Frederick Zimmerman, Sr., Samuel F. Nixon, Al Hayman, Marcus A. Klaw and Abraham L. Erlanger. The theatre closed in 1955 after decades as a Mexican film and vaudeville house run by Frank Fouce. This January 16, 1956 Kodachrome slide of the theatre awaiting demolition was taken by Palmer Connor. It's in the Huntington Library collection.
Both Mason and Wyatt were also the operators of the Seaside Theatre, a 1,000 seat house constructed in Ocean Park in 1905.
Architect: Benjamin Marshall of the Chicago firm Marshall & Wilson designed the building in association with John Parkinson. Marshall is notorious for having designed the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, a house that burned in December 1903 with major loss of life. The Mason was on the west side of the street between 1st and 2nd. It
had an extremely long lobby with the theatre itself set back almost on
Hill St.
A section and floorplan from an article by Clarence Blackall on page 23 in the February 1908 issue of The Brickbuilder. Many thanks to Joe Vogel for finding it via Internet Archive. The section looking south through the building is nice but the theatre didn't get built that way. In this first idea by the architect he envisioned the stage backing up onto Hill St. The floorplan shows how it actually got built with the auditorium rotated 90 degrees to end up parallel to Hill St. In both plans Broadway is at the left and Hill St. off to the right.
Joe calls our attention to the fact that the theatre's original layout used ramps to all levels rather than stairs. In the case of the 1st balcony this was redone with some stairs installed in the 20s remodel by Meyer & Holler. The 2nd balcony (aka the Gallery) is even more interesting. The level of Hill St., behind the theatre, was substantially higher than that of Broadway. The article notes: "The theater is built on the side of a hill and, consequently, from the upper level there is an opportunity to gain direct access to the upper row of the gallery, from the rear."
The 100 block of S. Broadway and Hill St. with Broadway at the bottom and 2nd St. running vertically on the left. It's a detail from plate 003 of the 1914 Baist Real Estate Survey map from Historic Map Works. The Mason's long lobby is shown as "A" and the auditorium, parallel to Hill St., is shown as "B."
Seating: 1,650 seats. It was a two balcony house. Later it was listed as 1,552. In the 1907-1908 Henry's Official Western Theatrical Guide it was listed as 1,400. The 2nd balcony only had access from the rear of the building. It evidently wasn't used during the theatre's final decades.
Stage Specifications:
Proscenium: 44' wide x 32 ' high
Stage depth: 47' from footlights to back wall
Footlights to curtain: 4'
Grid height: 86'
Rigging: Hemp
Stage wall to wall: 72'
Illumination: both gas and electric
Dressing rooms: 30
Stage data appears on page 33 in the 1907-1908 Henry's Theatrical Guide and on page 275 of the 1906-1907 Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. Both are on Google Books.
A 1908 program for the play "Paid in Full" at the Mason that Larry Harnisch found on eBay. One of the upcoming shows advertised was "The Clansman," the play that was the basis for D.W. Griffith's "Birth of a Nation," also titled (originally) "The Clansman." Larry's Daily Mirror post "'The Clansman' Comes to Los Angeles" also has several articles about the furor produced by the play.
An ad for "The Clansman" at the Mason in 1908. Thanks to Larry Harnisch for finding it for his Daily Mirror report. Griffith's film version played its first L.A. engagement at Clune's Auditorium, later known as the Philharmonic Auditorium. See a program for the film from the Cezar Del Valle collection.
In April, 1911 Sara Bernhardt appeared at
the Mason for a four night engagement. In March 1912 the Mason was
running the hit Broadway musical "The Pink Lady."
A cover for a 1913 program discovered on eBay by Larry Harnisch. It's featured in his "Mason Opera House - a Lost Landmark" post on The Daily Mirror.
In March 1914 the De Koven Opera Company presented "Robin Hood" and later in the month the Stratford-upon-Avon Players presented seven productions as part of their first American tour.
A February 1918 ad for the Selwyn production of "Fair and Warmer." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the ad for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
In April 1918 noted Shakespearean actor Robert Mantell appeared for a
two week engagement playing leading roles in King Lear, Macbeth, Romeo
and Juliet and other productions.
In 1920 A.L. Erlanger was listing himself as owner with
Charles Frohman, Inc, Klaw and Erlanger and Oliver Morosco as lessees. Frank Wyatt, son of original lessee Harold Wyatt, was the manager at the
time. Later in the 20s, the Mason was still part of the Erlanger legit
circuit and known as Erlanger's Mason. Erlanger also operated the Biltmore Theatre.
An article in the August 14, 1924 issue of the L.A. Times discussed the Meyer & Holler upgrade. The auditorium certainly wasn't "demolished" as the article suggests.
A cover of the 1926 program for "The Butter and Egg Man" when the theatre was still under Erlanger management. Also see the full program from the collection of Danni Bayles-Yeager. Visit Danni's website, the Bayles-Yeager Online Archives of the Performing Arts for many other items from her great collection.
In March 1929 the Mason hosted the
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company performing "Ruddigore" and other Gilbert
& Sullivan productions.
In 1930 R.K.O. leased the house from the Erlanger interests with the intention of producing plays. Their intent was to use the house to foster the talent of upcoming directors and actors. The lease was reported in the September 18 L.A. Times. It was noted that they had ten plays on their schedule.
A poster for the April/May 1938 production of "Why Men Leave Home" is in the Library of Congress collection.
The poster for "The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse" in June and July 1938 at the Mason Opera House. It's in the Library of Congress collection.
This poster for the WPA Federal Theatre Project production of "The Alarm Clock" in August 1938 at the Mason is in the Library of Congress collection. Also in the Library of Congress collection: "Brothers" - 1938 | "Counsellor at Law" - 1938 | "The Milky Way" - 1938 | "To The Ladies" - 1938 | "Dracula" - 1938 | Other FTP shows at the Mason included "Smilin' Thru," "Laff That Off," "Ladies of the Jury" and "Old Autumn." Ken McIntyre found posters for those for a post on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
In 1941 Fouce sub-leased the theatre to a producer of operettas. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding this February 1941 item in the L.A. Times:
A 1952 ad for the Cantinflas film "El Bombero Atomico" at the Mason. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting the ad on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
The end was coming. This was the story in the December 21, 1954 issue of the L.A. Times:
Status: The Mason, and everything else on the block, was
demolished in 1955 and 1956 for a State of California office building. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding this item in the November 8, 1956 issue of the L.A. Times:
And now the building that rose on the site of the Mason Theatre has also been demolished. A new United States Courthouse is now on the north end of the block and weeds grow on the south end.
Lobby areas:
The main lobby in 1910. Through the doors straight ahead you'd be in the foyer at the rear of the main floor. Above note that it's a ramp to get to the first balcony. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.
A 1956 view by Rustan of the lobby prior to demolition. Broadway is off to the left. The Herald Examiner photo is in the USC Digital Library collection.
The auditorium and stage:
A drawing showing the original look of the front of the auditorium. It's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
Ladies helping out with a bit of renovation in 1941. On the right several are touching up the asbestos. It's a photo in the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library.
More exterior views:
c.1904 - The Mason is the beige building on the right in this view south on Broadway. The building with the tower on the left is City Hall. Thanks to Elizabeth Fuller for sharing the card as part of her terrific Old Los Angeles Postrcards collection on Flickr. At last look she had 686 cards. A version of the card appears on Brent Dickerson's delightful tour of "Broadway (Part 2)." It's part of his epic adventure "A Visit to Old Los Angeles."
c.1904 - The photo Elizabeth Fuller's postcard was based on. It's on the USC Digital Library website from the California Historical Society.
c.1904 - An early postcard view looking south with the Mason's stagehouse and auditorium visible two-thirds of the way up on the left. The card appears in an album of Los Angeles photos and cards from A Box of Pictures on Flickr. Joe Vogel offers this assessment:
"That's Broadway in the foreground, running across the lower left corner of the picture. The five-floor building at left was on the northwest corner of Broadway and 1st. To the right of it can be seen the grey stone facade of the old LAPD building, fronting on 1st Street. Behind the police building, the structure that looks like two buildings with pitched roofs is the auditorium and taller stage tower of the old Mason Opera House, which had its main entrance (out of frame to the left) on Broadway between 1st and 2nd. The date this picture was made has to be no earlier than 1903, the year the Mason Opera House was opened."
c.1908 - A facade photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The USC Digital Library also has a copy in their collection from the California Historical Society. The photo makes an appearance in "Music Halls of Yesterday," an article from a 1938 issue of Overture magazine that's in the USC collection.
c.1908 - A postcard based on the USC photo. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding it for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. A version of the card appears on Brent Dickerson's "Broadway (Part 2)."
c.1909 - A delightful postcard view looking south on Broadway with the facade of the Mason down there in the center of the card. Even more prominent is the stagehouse on the far right with its three smoke vents, almost all the way over on Hill St. The postmark is 1909. The message scribbled on the front reads: "We have ate in this restaurant many a time. Broadway is the main street in Los Angeles - we can walk down here to the corner of First and Broadway from where we are staying in ten minutes. Bye Bye - Linda." Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Los Angeles Past for including the card in Noirish post #847.
c.1914 - A view looking east from Olive Street that shows the side of the Mason. We're looking at the house right side of the auditorium and, to its right, the stagehouse. The building across Broadway with the columns is the Chamber of Commerce. The California Historical Society photo by C.C. Pierce is in the USC Digital Library collection.
c.1914 - A detail from the C.C. Pierce photo. On the left end of the Mason auditorium note the walkway to the 2nd balcony. In the upper left of the image it's the auditorium and stagehouse of the Grand Opera House at 110 S. Main Street.
1927 - A look toward the Mason from the top of the new City Hall. It's a detail from a California Historical Society photo that's in the USC Digital Library collection. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor HossC for finding it in the collection for his Noirish post #38513.
1928 - A crowd waiting for a production of "Desert Song" at the Mason. It's a Dick Whittington Studio photo in the Huntington Library collection.
1928 - A detail from the Dick Whittington photo.
c.1930 - Looking north on Broadway toward the Mason from 2nd St. It's a photo from the California Historical Society on the USC Digital Library website.
c.1930 - A detail from the USC photo above.
1940 - The theatre still with an "Erlanger's Mason" vertical but operating as a double feature film house. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.
1940 - An Ansel Adams photo from on top of the Hill St. tunnels looking south. The stagehouse of the Mason is in the upper left corner of the image. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. They also have a second take and a third take. Thanks to Nathan Marsak who, as Beaudry, references these photos in his Noirish Los Angeles post #16062.
The Library offers this commentary: "Around 1939, Ansel Adams was commissioned by Fortune magazine to photograph a series of images for an article covering the aviation history of the Los Angeles area. For the project, Adams took 217 photographs showing everyday life, businesses, street scenes, aerospace employees, and a variety of other subjects, but when the article, "City of Angels," appeared in the March 1941 issue, only a few of the images were included. In the early 1960s, approximately 20 years later, Adams rediscovered all of the photographs among papers at his home in Carmel, and sent a letter of inquiry to the Los Angeles Public Library, asking if the institution would be interested in receiving the collection as a donation. In his letter, Adams expressed that, 'the weather was bad over a rather long period and none of the pictures were very good' and 'if they have no value whatsoever, please dispose of them in the incenerator [sic].' He went on to write that 'I would imagine that they represent about $100.00 minimum value.' In response, the Los Angeles Public Library gladly accepted the gift of 135 contact prints and 217 negatives, and the staff concluded that a fair value for the collection would be $150.00."
1947 - A look at the display cases on the south side of the remodeled ticket lobby. "Aquí está Juan Colorado" was a 1946 film that got a U.S. release in 1947. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.
1947 - The north side of the ticket lobby. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.
c.1948 - The Mason running "Matrimonio sintético," released in June 1948 in Mexico. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.
c.1950 - A photo by Arnold Hylen from the California State Library collection as their item #1382671."Quinto Patio" was released in July 1950 in Mexico.
1950 - A Julien B. Mitchell photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
c.1950 - Looking north on Hill St. from the top of the Hill St. tunnels. The Mason's auditorium and stagehouse are over on the left. It's an Arnold Hylen photo from the California State Library collection. See John Bengtson's fine post "LA's Early Hills, Tunnels Preserved in Noir-Silent Comedies" for views of this area as an interesting film location -- you could look as if you were dangling over downtown.
c.1950 - The south entrance to the tunnels. Many thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Nathan Marsak (aka Baudry) for sharing this photo from his collection. It's on his Noirish post #16062 with other tunnel views. He comments: "In case anyone is wondering where these tunnels were that allowed such a perch over Hill Street -- it's difficult to wrap your head around if you're familiar with the area -- the 1909 LA Pacific tunnel and its later vehicular twin were familiar as anything until that whole part of the world was flattened in 1955-6."
1951 - A lovely photo from the top of City Hall taken by Ellis R. Bosworth for the Associated Press.
1951 - A detail from the photo by Ellis R. Bosworth.
1952 - A February 24 view by Charles W. Cushman looking north on the 100 block of S. Broadway. The photo is in the Cushman Photograph Collection at Indiana University.
1954 - A view from the south. It's another photo from the Eric Lynxwiler collection appearing on Flickr. Thanks, Eric! The main feature on the marquee in these two shots was "Orquídeas para mi esposa," a February release with Marga López and Jorge Mistral.
1955 - A post-closing view from the Herald Examiner collection of the Los Angeles Public Library. The boxoffice had already been carted away.
1955 - A Bunker Hill demo view by Arnold Hylen. We're looking southeast toward 1st and Hill. The Times - Mirror Press building can be seen at the left over on Broadway. Note the stagehouse of the Mason almost to the right of the photo. The two-tone (lighter on top) building facing us on 1st St. is the old L.A. City Jail. Thanks to Gs Jansen for finding the photo in the California State Library collection.
1956 - The theatre awaiting demolition. It's a photo in the Herald Examiner collection of the Los Angeles Public Library.
1956 - Looking south on Broadway from 1st St. toward the Mason. It's slide taken in August by Palmer Connor that's in the Huntington Library collection.
1956 - A December 20 view of 1st and Broadway. It's another Palmer Connor photo in the Huntington Library collection. Also see a view looking south taken the same day as well as more 1st & Broadway views from the Huntington's collection.
c.1957 - At 1st and Broadway after demolition of the north end of the 100 block was complete and excavation had begun. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality for finding the photo on eBay. It's on his Noirish post #806.
1960 - Looking south on Broadway. On the right it's the State building that rose on the Mason's site. It's a slide taken by Palmer Connor. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding it for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
2009 - The lot after the building that replaced the Mason was demolished. It's a Scott Harrison photo for the L.A. Times.
2011 - Looking south from the corner of 1st and Broadway. Photo: Google Maps
2014 - The site cleared of the earlier State Building and the new U.S. Courthouse rising. It's the block in the middle of the photo with the yellow crane. Thanks to Hunter Kerhart for his photo.
2018 - The new Courthouse. We're at 1st and Broadway. On the left it's a bit of the 70s addition to the L.A. Times Building. Photo: Bill Counter
2018 - The view north on Broadway toward the Mason's site on the 100 block. Photo: Bill Counter
The Mason in the Movies:
We get a view of the stagehouse of the Mason in this publicity still for the Harold Lloyd film "Never Weaken" (Pathé, 1921). Note the smoke vents over on the left. We're looking south on Hill St. The shot was done on the top of the Hill St. tunnels. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for shots of Loew's State and the Pantages/Warner Downtown from the film. Also check out John Bengtson's fine Silent Locations post "LA's Early Hills, Tunnels Preserved in Noir-Silent Comedies."
We also get similar shots from the top of the Hill St. tunnel in the Buster Keaton film "Three Ages" (Metro Pictures, 1923).
"He Walked By Night" (Eagle-Lion Films, 1948) also gives us look at the Mason stagehouse from the top of the tunnels. The film, directed by Alfred Werker and an uncredited Anthony Mann, stars Richard Basehart as a quirky killer the LAPD is trying to catch. The ending features a terrific chase through L.A.'s storm drains. On the hunt are Scott Brady, Roy Roberts and Jack Webb. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a shot of the Olympic Theatre on 8th St. from the film.
We get another look south on Hill St. in "The War of the Worlds" (Paramount, 1953). The Mason's stagehouse is seen over on the left. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for a couple of shots on 8th St. showing the Olympic and the RKO Hillstreet.
A number of other films using the top of the Hill St. tunnel as a location are discussed in John Bengtson's post "Lady Cops (and Harold Lloyd) Reveal 1914 Lost LA Treasures."
More information: For more on the Mason see the Cinema Treasures page. The Pacific Coast Architecture Database also has a page about the Mason.
As part of the 1947 Project Larry Harnisch has assembled a wonderful 3 1/2 minute collage of Mason Theatre archival photos, newspaper articles and posters. It's on YouTube.
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