Los Angeles Theatres: Fischer's / Princess/ Spanish Theatre

121 W. 1st St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 | map |

Opened: May 7, 1905 as Fischer's Theatre. Ernest A. Fischer of San Francisco was the proprietor. On opening day the L.A. Times noted: "The bill begins with a ladies' minstrel show, and will close with a musical burlesque, entitled 'A Merry Whirl.' A vaudeville program will be presented."

The location was on the north side of the street between Spring and Main. This September 1905 C.C. Pierce photo from the California Historical Society appears on the USC Digital Library website. The Los Angeles Public Library also has a copy of it. Tickets for the vaudeville shows were 10 and 20 cents, 25 cents for the reserved seats. Note the misspelling of Mr. Fischer's name in the stained glass at the top of the display kiosk.

Seating: 800

Stage Specifications: Illumination in 1907 was both gas and electric. The proscenium was 24' wide with a height of 22'. Stage depth was 30' with a grid height of 45' and a wall to wall measurement of 50'. The data comes from the 1907-1908 edition of Henry's Official Theatrical Guide. It's on Google Books. Henry's notes that the house was at the time devoted to stock musical productions year round.

At various times Fischer ran theatres in San Francisco. The best known was the pre-quake Fischer's Theatre on O'Farrell St.

A May 8, 1905 Times report of the opening. Note that they transposed Fischer's initials.

The cover for the program at Fischer's for the week of July 3, 1905. Thanks to Jeff Greenwood for sharing this from his collection of memorabilia related to his great-grand-aunt Anna Robinson. She was a vaudeville performer and on the bill this week in slot #2 with her magician husband Frederick Palmer as "Palmer and Robinson, The Sorcerer and the Soubrette." When she performed solo she was sometimes billed as "The Little Girl with the Big Voice" and "The Great Coon Shouter."

A page from the July 3 program. With a bit of a typo in the title of the Palmer and Robinson act. Here's he's billed as a "Scorer."

The main attraction for the week of July 3, 1905 was Fischer's All-Star Stock Co, in "Rubes and Roses." And in case you were wondering who decorated the house: "All the furnishings of this Theatre from Mackie-Fredericks Co, 543-47 S. Broadway."

Another item from the July 3 program. "Send your children to the matinees: they will be taken care of as well as if they were at home."

A 1905 trade magazine ad for Palmer and Robinson. In 1905 they also played at the Unique Theatre. Several of the same acts we see in the Fischer's program were also on the bill at the Unique. Thanks for sharing this, Jeff!

In 1908 Fischer also opened the Chronophone Theatre at 423 S. Spring, a venue later known as Horne's Big Show. There was also a Fischer's Theatre in Pasadena (later called the Oaks) at about the same time.

A March 30, 1909 Times story about Fischer getting out. He took a break then did some producing. In 1911 he took over the Lyceum Theatre, 227 S. Spring, but didn't stay long.

"Fisher's [sic] Theatre," on 1st St. west of Main, is seen in the lower center of this detail from a Birdseye View Co. map that's in the Library of Congress collection. This one includes some 1910 revisions. Also see an earlier version. Both are dated 1909. Another interesting downtown map is the 1913 Business Property Map by the Robert Marsh Co. that's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The Marsh map shows many buildings and indicates sizes for some of the lots.

Fischer's was soon renamed the Princess Theatre. It's listed as the Princess in the 1910 city directory.

A 1911 L.A. Times ad for the Princess that was located by Ken McIntyre.

A 1912 photo of the Princess from the Huntington Library collection. It was taken by G. Haven Bishop for Southern California Edison to advertise the joys of electric signage.

A detail of the entrance from the 1912 G. Haven Bishop photo.

An August 1913 ad for the Princess. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting it on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.

It's in the 1915 city directory as the Princess First St. Theatre. In the 1919 and 1923 directories it's listed as the Princess although by mid-1922 it was called the Spanish Theatre offering both movies and stage shows. Thanks to Cinema Treasures researcher Jeff Bridges for finding this June 17, 1922 L.A. Times item:

"Nearly 150 patrons of the Spanish Theater, 121 West First street, were in peril at 9 p.m. yesterday, when a motion-picture film became ignited and exploded. The audience and the members of the Spanish company on the stage at the time, terrorized by the noise and the burst of flame, rushed for the exits, and for a short time panic ensued.

"The motion-picture operator, A.W. Donovan, was slightly burned in an attempt to beat out the flames with his hands. He was soon forced to flee...The establishment, formerly the Princess Theater, is now a combination house for both the spoken and the silent drama for the benefit of Spanish-speaking people. The flames were extinguished with nominal damage."

A detail from plate 003 of the 1921 Baist Real Estate Survey from Historic Map Works. That's 1st St. running across near the bottom with the theatre mid-way between Main and Spring.

Closing: Sometime around 1927. It's still listed as the Princess in the 1926 and 1927 city directories.

Status: It was demolished to clear an area around the new City Hall, which opened in 1928. The site is now part of the south lawn.

Looking north across 1st St. toward the site of the Princess Theatre. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

Los Angeles Theatres

Fischer's / Princess/ Spanish Theatre

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