Opened: December 21, 1903 as Waldeck's Casino Theatre, a vaudeville theatre project of Jacob Waldeck, who previously worked at the Grand Opera House at the time when that theatre was called the Orpheum. This 1913 image as the Empress shows the entrance four doors north of the original, listed as 338 or sometimes 340 S. Spring. It's a detail from a photo by G. Haven Bishop taken for Southern California Edison Co. that's in the Huntington Library collection. The theatre had many names including the Los Angeles, the Empress and the Capitol.
The theatre was on the east side of the street just north of the
Hellman/Banco Popular Building, still surviving on the northeast corner of
4th and Spring. The original entrance, as seen in the 1906 map below, was in a two story building with a long lobby that got you back to the house right side of the auditorium. The theatre entrance was at 344 and the Casino Cafe at 346. Upstairs was the Casino Billiard Parlor and a roof garden. There was also a wax museum with figures imported from the Eden Musee in New York. At 340 S. Spring there were peep show movie machines in an arcade called Automatic Vaudeville that was operated by Harry Temperly. On the map it's identified as "Auto. Slot Machines."
Spring St. is at the top with the theatre called the Hotchkiss at the time of this 1906 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. It's a detail from image 8 of Volume 2 from the Library of Congress collection. Note the theatre entrance at 344. The building shown in yellow alongside the theatre provided access to the rear of the auditorium as well as most of it being the theatre's prop room. At the bottom of the image it's the Belasco at 337 S. Main St., a theatre later known as the Follies.
Seating: 1,100 according to several theatrical guides from the 1906-1909 era. There was only one balcony. The theatre's six boxes were all at main floor level. The auditorium was 60' x 72'.
Architect: Abraham M. Edelman. He also did the Belasco/Follies on Main,
right behind this theatre. With Leo Burnett as a partner he designed the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. He was also involved in early phases of the Shrine Auditorium project.
The theatre is discussed in part two of the article "Spring St. Was
Vaudeville Row...," an article by Bruce LaLanne that appeared in the Tom
B'hend publication Greater L.A. Metro Newsreel. Thanks to Ron Mahan for
scanning a copy. It's reproduced at the bottom of the page.
The project was announced in the July 19, 1903 issue of the L.A. Times. Thanks to Jeff Bridges for finding the article. It noted:
"Casino Theater Building. The contract for erecting the single-story brick theater building that is to be put up for the Casino Theater Company, on the east side of Spring street, between Third and Fourth streets, after plans of Architect A.M. Edelman, has been let to Earl F. Low, for $23,250. It is to be finished within ninety working days from July 15."
Stage Specifications:
Proscenium: 30' wide x 24' high
Depth: 24' footlights to back wall
Wall to wall: 60'
Grid height: 36' Distance between fly girders: 40'
Flyfloor height: 18 1/2'
Grooves for moving scenery: none
Depth under stage: 11'
Traps: 2, located center and at 2nd entrance.
Illumination: gas and electric
Power available: DC, 112 volts. Amps: "unlimited"
The data comes from the 1906-07 Julius Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide where the theatre is listed as the Hotchkiss. The 1908-1909 Julius Cahn edition lists the theatre as the Los Angeles and offers the same information. The 1907-08 Henry's Official Western Theatrical Guide has similar data and also lists the theatre as the Los Angeles. All three publications are on Google Books.
Getting ready for the opening: An October 12, 1903 article in the L.A. Times located by Jeff Bridges touted the wonders of the new theatre:
"Waldeck's Enterprise Three-Ring Show. Museum, Theater and Billiard Rooms in One House. New Spring-street Amusement Resort Coming Rapidly to Completion. Carload of 'Eden Musee' Material Soon to Arrive. This week will se the arrival of more than a carload of wax figures for Waldeck’s new 'Eden Musee,' located in the building of the new Casino Theater, just north of the big Hellman structure at Fourth and Spring streets. In amusement enterprises here the Eden Musee will be new, and will have the same attractions as a similar place in New York City. In fact, these models and scenic accessories now on the way come direct from New York. With them comes a corps of artists, modelers and sculptors, who will install the Los Angeles establishment. When finished, it will be thrown open, its proprietors allege, as one of the most original and complete establishments of its kind on the Pacific Coast. The principal material of the place will be its wax figures and models, all of life size, properly set as to lights and surroundings. Representations are of eminent men, a group of the world’s rulers, and statuary groups.
"The home of the Casino Theater company, in connection with the Eden Musee, is also rushing along toward completion. The auditorium of the new house will be 60 by 72 feet in size, and will seat comfortably 1200 persons. There will be one balcony and six boxes, all of these on the lower floor. An orchestra about the size of the present Orpheum orchestra will furnish the music. The opening will be about December 1. The dimensions of the stage are even larger than those of the Orpheum, being 27 feet deep, with a width of 60 feet. There will be facilities for the latest contrivances and manipulations in the realm of stageland, according to the manager, and the house will at least not want for mechanical means wherewith to produce effects.
"The Casino theater will be run principally with vaudeville entertainment, but it is the idea of Manager Waldeck to branch out into other things as soon as he finds opportunity and time. For instance, he believes what is very evidently true, that one of the greatest demands in the amusement line is for a continued season of light opera at popular prices. Rightly managed, this would doubtless prove a great success here. There have been organizations in the local field, and there are now, which aspire to professionalism. A comic opera run, with a cast of average fairness and mountings in taste and keeping, although not necessarily sumptuous, would be almost sure to pay. Contrary to the custom in most resorts of these prices, smoking will not be allowed, and no liquor will be sold on the premises. Waldeck intends to profit by the hotel trade, and says that he secured his location with that end in view.
"Performances will be given every day in the year, and already considerable booking has been done in the north. The present promoter says that he is backed by no circuit, and, while maybe friendly with other concerns, depends on no syndicate for attractions. It is avowed an independent undertaking of purely local interest in every way. 'The Eden Musee and the theater will not be my only drawing cards for public patronage,' said Manager Waldeck last evening. 'On the upper floor of my building I am planning to place the finest billiard parlor in the city.' Yet there are still other things which will be placed in this three-ring performance on Spring street. Moving-picture machines, the kind that usually operate with a nickel attachment, will be put in, but the appliances will work for a penny. There will be other things, too, and more will be added each month, says the proprietor. The organization of the Casino Theater Company, as completed, is as follows: President and general manager, J.E. Waldeck; vice-president, Maj. J.W.F. Diss; secretary, R.R. Weller; treasurer, C. Modini-Wood. The directors are M.C. Adler, C. Modini-Wood, W.R. Weller and Otto Sweet. There is a paid-up capital of $50,000."
A December 3 Times article discussed the initial attractions. Again thanks to Jeff Bridges for the terrific research. The report:
"The Casino - And now Manager Jacob Waldeck proposes to start a circuit of theaters. If the amusement boom keeps up along its present lines much longer, Los Angeles must become known as a sort or theatrical center. The Casino Theater has just signed its attractions, and positive date for opening is set for Monday evening, December 21. The house will play Weber & Fields shows, on engagement of thirty weeks having been entered into. Heading the Waldeck organization will be well-known Tom Pearse and Edith Mason, Rice and Cady, and last-but not least, Barney Bernard. Bernard has been playing at Fischer’s in San Francisco, for a long time, and has made a great hit with northern audiences. There was hot rivalry with some of the bigger circuits to secure a contract with Bernard. A chorus of thirty-two individuals is being trained daily in San Francisco, and for the opening night the Waldeck stage will have all the people upon it that it can comfortably hold. The orchestra will be larger than that of any theater outside the Mason Opera House. For the opening bill the choice lies between 'Pousse Cafe,' and Weber & Fields' New York success of recent months, 'Whirly-Twirly.'
"Among other things, the Casino is unique in its many features of amusement. These vary from a penny peepshow on the sidewalk to one of the finest billiard rooms in the Southwest, above the stairs. Yesterday the contractors began to lay the heavy green carpet upon the floor of this apartment, and to bring in its black-oak furniture. Admirable in lighting effects, with a special skylight for each table, there are promised all the conveniences necessary for record-breaking billiard playing. Just off this parlor opens a tiny roof garden, which will certainly be a convenience in hot weather. A similar promenade runs from the balcony of the Casino Theater. Inside the auditorium of the theater itself the last touches of decoration are being placed. The wall are frescoed in a scheme in which cardinal and blue predominate. Seats are just ready to be put in, and the finishing up of the building is only a matter of days. The last touch-the painting of scenery-is going on rapidly in the stage loft. After he has once established his theater in Los Angeles Jacob Waldeck proposes to take the Casino Theater Company outside this city and establish in like manner similar houses at any point in the entire Southwest at which he may find and opening."
The Eden Musee was open but the theatre wasn't ready. It's a December 5, 1903 ad appearing in the L.A. Times. The theatre would open December 21.
The Times reported on the opening in their December 22, 1903 issue:
"In the Casino Theater, Jacob Waldeck is filling a traditional long-felt want with a bright, clean, well-acted burlesque show. At the brilliant opening of this pretty little playhouse on South Spring street last evening the four hundred of Los Angeles were strongly represented. Not since the opening of the Mason Opera House has there been a theatrical event so much of a 'function' ...The Casino Theater has been prettily decorated, cardinal tints prevailing in the scheme. The orchestra, which is a very full one, does ample justice to the music."
A January 1904 L.A. Times ad for Waldeck's Casino. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a post on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
An ad appearing in the 1904 city directory.
Waldeck in trouble: In May 1904 Waldeck dies after a breakdown caused partially by the financial strain. Fights for control ensue. A later story noted that he was found "half demented in a canyon near Santa Monica." Thanks to Jeff Bridges for finding this May 7 Times story:
"Jacob Waldeck Passes Out - Death Follows Exposure of a Week Ago - Unsuccessful Financiering and Consequent Fatal Breakdown of Popular Theater Manager Attributed By Friends To His Delightful Generosity. Never having recovered from exposure when he was found half dead in a canyon back of Santa Monica, last Sunday, Jacob E. Waldeck died yesterday afternoon at his home....Mr. Waldeck was manager of the Casino Theater, the financing of which indirectly caused his death...
"He was born forty-four years ago in Frankfort-on-the-Main, and came to this country while a youth...Six or seven years ago he became assistant treasurer of the Orpheum, at that time under the management of Rush Bronson. In a short time he became treasurer of the house, which position he resigned to open the Casino last December....If Waldeck had a fault as a theatrical manager, it was his delightful generosity. He wanted to let everybody in free to his theater, and couldn’t bear to take their money..."
After Waldeek's demise the theatre just known as the Casino. It's in the 1904 and 1905 city directories as the Casino.
A look to the rear of the Casino. It's an atmospheric house: look at the clouds painted along the sides and at the rear of the ceiling. The photo is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
After a war, Morganstern takes over: The battles for control begin. Jeff Bridges found this February 3, 1905 story in the Times:
After a war, Morganstern takes over: The battles for control begin. Jeff Bridges found this February 3, 1905 story in the Times:
"Casino About To Be Sold! Negotiations for the transfer of the South Spring-street playhouse pending. It is reported on reliable authority that Alfred J. Morganstern is negotiating for the purchase of the Casino Theater to add to his string of playhouses. It has been talked for some time that efforts were being made to buy out the Casino company. It was believed that John Fisher of San Francisco, who recently sold the Fisher Opera House in that city, was after the Casino. He has been in Los Angeles several days looking over the field. A deal is pending."
The "John Fisher" mentioned was undoubtedly E.A. Fischer, who had run Fischer's Theatre in San Francisco. Fischer would open Fischer's Theatre May 1905 on 1st St. The venue was later renamed the Princess Theatre. He also produced shows at other theatres in town and at one point was operating the Lyceum Theatre on Spring St.
The theatre ended up getting leased to Oliver Morosco and H.C. Wyatt who were running it as a vaudeville house. The owners of the building evidently had higher aspirations for the theatre, alleged breach of contract, and locked out the lessees. Morosco brought over his team from the Burbank Theatre to regain control. See the page about the Globe for more about Morosco. The February 19 report in the Times:
A February 26, 1905 Times article chronicled the continuing battles for control of the house:
The theatre ended up getting leased to Oliver Morosco and H.C. Wyatt who were running it as a vaudeville house. The owners of the building evidently had higher aspirations for the theatre, alleged breach of contract, and locked out the lessees. Morosco brought over his team from the Burbank Theatre to regain control. See the page about the Globe for more about Morosco. The February 19 report in the Times:
"Armed Guards Hold Theater. Cannon's Sign Says Casino Will Not Open Tonight. War of Lessees and Owners Takes Fierce Turn - Padlocks Broken, Defiance Hurled At Invaders - Who Will Get The Casino After All Is Over? The Casino Theater, continual object of managerial ructions, is now kept open by its lessees by force of arms. Six men, stationed yesterday in various parts of the building, prevent the directorate from putting obstacles in the way of open-house maintenance. The guard is kept up day and night, while a small cannon, stationed menacingly in front, bears the audacious legend - 'We Open Sunday Night with a Boom!' D.R. Weller, secretary and treasurer of the Casino directorate, has long objected, with some others, to a vaudeville show in the house.
"Wyatt and Morosco, the lessees, state that a vaudeville entertainment pays better at present than any other attraction, and accordingly under the direction of Aliskey of San Francisco, that class of amusement has held the boards for some time. Alfred J. Morganstern and others have been 'figuring' on the house from time comparatively immemorial, and rumors of a change in the active management have been rife of late - have been published, republished and as repeatedly contradicted. Messrs. Wyatt and Morosco, the lessees, state that their rent has been tendered for the current month, according to contract, and that, being refused, it was placed in the First National bank, where the Casino directors can call for it at any time. The guard established yesterday is to prevent the actual closing of the theater by the representatives of the owners. Going down to open for daily business, the Wyatt-Morosco employees found the doors locked and padlocked.
"They broke the padlocks and threw them away. Then Charles Eyton of the Burbank, heading a few lusty youths, took up his stand near the door to watch results. Another attempt was soon made to enter the theater and oust the present tenants. 'Pass into this building, and you’ve got me to lick first!' shouted Eyton, and the directors’ following, knowing Eyton’s prowess as a boxer, gracefully desisted. The guards will remain on duty night and day: and the formidable little cannon, placed in front, announces to the world a reopening tonight under the same old management. A lawsuit probably will be brought to settle the matter, as it is understood that several charges (including even misappropriation of funds) have been passed and counter-passed in the heated controversy between the theatrical men and the owners. It was announced that the closing last week was 'to repair a leaky roof.'"
A February 26, 1905 Times article chronicled the continuing battles for control of the house:
"War Breaks Out Once More - Casino Theater Co. Secures Brand New Injunction. No sooner had Judge Trask rendered a decision in the attachment proceeding arising out of the suit begun by D.R. Weller against Oliver Morosco and H.C. Wyatt for possession of the Casino Theater, than hostilities broke out in a new place. The law firm of Jones & Weller in behalf of the Casino Theater Company, began a new injunction suit against Morosco and Wyatt, to have the courts declare that the contract under which the defendants have held possession of the theater is terminated. This contract was entered into on April 30 last year, but for the reason that on February 14 and 15 last the defendants closed the house, the plaintiff claims that it had the right-which it now exercises-to elect that the contract should terminate.
"Incidentally, too, it is charged that the defendants have received moneys in connection with the theater for which no accounting has been made, that they have not paid all the expenses of conducting the house, and have allowed the place to fall into a dilapidated condition. To cap these complaints it is alleged that Oliver Morosco is insolvent, and that no adequate relief can be obtained if the court should refuse to issue the injunction prayed for. Judge Trask signed the injunction restraining the defendants from entering the Casino Theater building or in any way interfering with it, pending the adjudication of the new difficulty created. Jacob Adloff and John Hauerwaas qualified on the bond for $2500 necessary before the injunction could issue. This instrument went into force last night at midnight."
Dinner just off the lobby. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this 1905 ad in a column of restaurant listings.
In March 1905 hostilities cease and, after a payment is made, Wyatt and Morosco cede the battle to D.R. Weller of the Casino Theatre Company. And then they hand out "questionable cigars." This was the story:
Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the article for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
Weller leases the theatre to Alfred Morganstern. A March 5, 1905 Times article unearthed by Jeff Bridges:
That "Broadway Manager's" note referred to the Broadway Theatre that Morganstern had opened in December 1903 on Broadway just north of 6th. Soon the house would end up managed by Thomas Tally.
"It's Morganstern's - Casino Theater Signed Over To the Broadway Manager's Sole Control Yesterday. Morganstern’s contract with the Casino Theater Company was signed yesterday, transferring to the Broadway manager the sole control of the Spring-street playhouse. Thus endeth a six months' squabble and a constant reign of internal turmoil and actorial-managerial strife, which has kept up almost continually since the death of J.E. Waldeck.
"The possession of the Casino has been Morganstern’s objective point for more than half a year, during which time people have laughed at him, taunted him with his failure to secure the lease, and have predicted that he never would achieve his end. But Morganstern kept at it, and now the laugh is his. Morganstern’s shows will commence playing the theater one week from tomorrow night. This week the house will be renovated and partially remodeled."
Things don't go well for Morganstern: A July 15, 1905 Times article headed "Hoodoo of the Casino" about the tribulations of Alfred Morgenstern's tenure managing the Casino was located by Jeff Bridges. All the scandalous details:
"Making Trouble for Newest of the Magnates. Morganstern in Deep Hole as Result of Losses. Mrs. Summers the Angel Who Carries Him Through. Theatrical men believe in hoodoos. They say that they have a right to point to the ill-fated Casino Theater here as an example. After wrecking the life of J.E. Waldeck, its founder, the Casino drove its company to financial loss, took money out of the pockets of Edward F. Seamans, proved anything but a paving investment to Managers Wyatt and Morosco, and at last, according to facts which came to light yesterday, has nearly upset the business of Alfred J. Morganstern, its last lessee. Morganstern is the soldier of fortune among local managers. By some he is styled the theatrical adventurer of the town, because of his daring and his pioneering in fields not previously exploited.
"A few days ago Mr. Morganstern turned the theater temporarily over to Rube Welch, his assistant manager, and himself went to San Francisco on the advice of Mrs. Emma Summers, who as his business backer, has been the real exploiter of the Broadway and Casino theaters in this city, and other theaters in towns near by. According to the statements of the manager, the treasurer and Mrs. Summers, the theater has again turned its box office balance slightly on the profit side, and will be enabled, by careful management, to pull out of the deep indebtedness into which it has plunged itself during he last two or three months. Morganstern for a year has been in a sense the most unique figure in Los Angeles theatrical circles. He attempted things only on a gigantic scale. He would not manage a single vaudeville playhouse, but a circuit of them, reaching half-way across the West.
"He was successful in an unusual measure for awhile, but a long and unfortunate contract, into which he entered concerning his San Bernadino house, is said to have started the tide against him. Morganstern took the Casino Theater and played against tradition. Nobody believed he could make it go; he believed he would break a record for success. And, indeed, so he might, had not an apparent fate been dead against him from the start. The trouble with Morganstern was that he played too expensive a show. His expenses during the past two months have averaged-so it is said-about $1400 or $1500 a week, while intake was not $1200. Mrs. Summers, who is the magnate of them all when it comes to financiering, has been for the past week virtual mistress of both theaters, and says that with expenses properly cut, they have cleared more than $300 from the Casino alone. So the Casino is not a bankrupt thing, after all.
"Inspection of the house at the matinee and evening performances yesterday showed a well-filled auditorium. Mrs. Morganstern said last evening that her husband had nearly concluded the business that called him to San Francisco, and would be back in Los Angeles either today or Monday-probably Monday. Rube Welch, acting manager, said yesterday afternoon: 'Mr. Morganstern's outside ventures handicapped him fearfully, and he has been unable to run this show profitably, partly on account of them. His debts were against him, but they were honest ones. When he went away he gave me all his statements and accounts. That's proof of his desire to do the right thing. I have been getting the accounts into shape, and when he comes back, as he certainly will, he will be able to handle the house with profit.'
"Said Mrs. Summers: 'Nobody has any doubt of Mr. Morganstern's honesty, and I, as one who has had a large and frequent business dealings with him, would be the last to cast any aspersion on it. The substance of the matter is this: In his work Mr. Morganstern has made enemies, quite naturally and has contracted big debts, which, with the failure of some smaller ventures, have all combined to seriously embarrass him at the present moment. The Casino is again on the up-grade, and is making money for us all. I have just received a telegram from him, saying that he has finished his San Francisco business, and will come down tomorrow or Monday. If anyone hints that he doesn't intend to come back, they lie!' According to Welch, no change in the policy of the theater will be made. On the paper now out Welch is named as director of amusements."
A July 20, 1905 Times article reported:
"Morganstern Back - Alfred J. Morganstern, manager of the Casino Theater, returned to his post of duty at the Casino office yesterday morning. Morganstern says that the theater is running with the usual force in the usual way. Mrs. Emma Summers, the oil queen who has come into public notice as an amusement magnate, returned from San Francisco with Mr. Morganstern. She says that the financial clouds have cleared away."
End of the Casino era: Morganstern was soon finished after the oil queen pulled her support and in late 1905 the house became the Hotchkiss Theatre. Jeff Bridges found a December 28, 1905 Times article about the transition:
Although dead, "J.E. Waldeek" is still listed as manager of the Hotchkiss in the 1906-1907 Julius Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide. Arthur A. Lotto was listed as the business manager. Prices listed ranged from 25 cents to a dollar.
More hoodoo at the Hotchkiss: A July 23, 1906 Times article located by Jeff Bridges was about the widely discussed jinx on the theatre:
"Casino Reported Sold - Lease of local Playhouse Said To Have Changed Hands - Mrs. Hotchkiss Named as Lessee. "Has the Casino Theater lease changed hands? This question was concerning local theater managers yesterday, when the report gained credence that Mrs. M.A. Hotchkiss, owner of the property on which the Casino Theater building stands, had taken over the lease for her son, Jeff White. For more than a year it has been known that the Casino has not been paying large dividends, and A.L. Morganstern, manager of the theater, has had a stupendous task on his hands. The playhouse, though centrally located, has apparently possessed a hoodoo which cannot be raised. The building was erected at a cost of $40,000. Light opera was played then vaudeville, but the house steadily lost money.
"About a year ago, when the affairs of the theater first began to be shaky, Mrs. Emma A. Summers, the oil queen of Los Angeles, went on the bond of Morganstern, the manager, and for a time the playhouse did a good business. Mrs. Summers severed all connection with Morganstern and the theater company yesterday morning. Recently there has been a desire on the part of the company to sell and negotiations have been in progress with several of the local managers. W.C. Wyatt, E.A. Fisher and several others have made offers for the desired lease. The report that it was sold yesterday came from reliable parties. Mrs. Hotchkiss, however, denied having purchased the lease. She admitted that negotiations are in progress, and said the house will be conducted by Jeff White in the event of the lease coming into her hands. Jeff White, for whom the lease is said to have been purchased, expects to start next week with a company in charge of Rube Welsh, on a tour of Arizona. He declared he knew nothing of the purchase of the theater lease."
Although dead, "J.E. Waldeek" is still listed as manager of the Hotchkiss in the 1906-1907 Julius Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide. Arthur A. Lotto was listed as the business manager. Prices listed ranged from 25 cents to a dollar.
More hoodoo at the Hotchkiss: A July 23, 1906 Times article located by Jeff Bridges was about the widely discussed jinx on the theatre:
"Hoodoo's Prey Loses His Leg. New Manager of Hotchkiss is Ninth Victim - Falls Under Street Car Wheels and is Seriously Injured—Series of Misfortunes has Visited Men Connected With Management of Ill-Fated Playhouse. The left leg of Don A. Chick, manager of the Hotchkiss Theater, was amputated just below the knee yesterday morning as the result of injuries received in a fall from a car on Main street about midnight...Mr. Chick is the ninth victim of a 'hoodoo' that is supposed to hover over the Hotchkiss, formerly the Casino Theater. Peculiar fatality has attached to the management of this house ever since its opening. Prosperity has attended some of its seasons, but the heads of the establishment have always suffered, in one way or another, after their connection with the house.
"The Hotchkiss was reopened yesterday, after a week’s idleness. On Saturday night Chick worked late at his office, in the theater building, and left about midnight to go to his home. Passing around on Main street, he waited in front of the Star Theater for some time and finally, seeing a car coming his way, made a try for the front step. Mr. Chick is past the sprightliness of youth, is large and heavy. He missed the platform and the next instant the front truck ground his leg to a pulp. The first manager of the theater was the man for whom it was built, Jacob Waldeck. The burlesque season, which was his opening feature, was splendidly inaugurated, but soon his finances became involved, and though he made the most strenuous efforts to meet all obligations, he became hopelessly in debt. He wandered off one day into a lonely canyon, receiving exposure from which he died. His salaried associate in the management was Arthur A. Lotte, who soon failed and abandoned the management entirely.
"Messrs. Morosco and Wyatt, successful in their own playhouses, took this one upon a co-partnership basis, and ran it together for a number of months. They, too, gave it up. Alfred J. Morganstern, a San Francisco lawyer, who had had an almost startling triumph in the amalgamation of vaudeville houses in Southern California, next took over the Casino as his chief theater. Then the gigantic bubble of the outside circuit bursted. Morganstern took in Rube Welch, and the two managed the place together. After a series of sensational stage plays, and the facing of numerous creditors' allegations, both Mr. Welch and Mr. Morganstern faded suddenly from sight. Edward F. Seamans, manager of the Olympic Opera Company, took hold of the theater for a second time last winter. With him was associated T. Jeff White, foster son of Mrs. Mary A. Hotchkiss, owner of the theater and the ground on which it stands. Mr. White’s recent fights in high finance have furnished town gossip for a week or two. After the exodus of White, Seamans remained only a few days. He said he had found trouble enough. In justice to the present staff it should be said that the Kolb and Dill engagement has been an entire success, as far as attraction and financial returns have been concerned. Both attaches and players avow that they will stand by Chick and 'see him through.'"
"Warrant Issued for T. Jefferson White at Instance Of His Wife, Charging Non-Support. Claimed That Theatrical Man Deserted Mother Of His Children For Chorus Girl. A complaint charging Thomas Jefferson White, a well-known theatrical manager, with non-support of his wife was filed yesterday in Justice Chamber’s court... White is the adopted son of Mrs. Jauch, formerly Mrs. Hotchkiss, formerly Mrs. Mooney, owner of the Hotchkiss Theater. Last season during a visit of the German comedians, Kolb and Dill, in Los Angeles, White acted as manager for both the company and the showhouse and at that time met Miss Fib Whitesides, a chorus girl, with whom he is now alleged to be living at San Diego...White, after his first wife secured a divorce from him six years ago, began to pay attention to a pretty young woman who lived at his mother’s home. Mrs. Hotchkiss favored the match and a wedding resulted. They lived happily for five years... Then came the Kolb and Dill show and with it the pretty chorus girl with her wealth of golden curly hair and her big gray eyes. Mrs. White, in a little Arizona town, began to receive postal cards instead of letters from her husband and then even these ceased. Last January, a second little girl was born to Mrs. White. She wired her husband of the important event and asked for a little money...When she returned to Los Angeles, the Kolb and Dill company, with its show girls had left for San Francisco. But one remained, the same little golden-haired girl who had kicked in the front row. When the Hotchkiss Theater failed, White left for San Diego. Mrs White has not heard from him since the time she received the note after the birth of her baby to the present time..."
Another new name for the house: Later in 1907 the Hotchkiss was renamed the Los Angeles Theatre. In the 1907-1908 Henry's Official Theatrical Guide Charles York is listed as the manager. The theatre is listed as the Los Angeles in the 1909, 1910 and 1911 city directories.
An earlier theatre called the Los Angeles was a block up the street at 227 S. Spring. In 1903 it had been renamed the Orpheum and would finish its career as the Lyceum after Orpheum moved on to Broadway in 1911. The present Los Angeles Theatre on Broadway opened in 1931.
A postcard for a 1907 show at the Los Angeles. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing this item from his collection.
A 1908 Times item about a typical week at the Los Angeles. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding it.
A 1910 Times ad located by Ken McIntyre. It was a post for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
Sullivan and Considine get the house:
Sullivan and Considine get the house:
A c.1910 ad located by Ken McIntyre. At the time, the theatre was part of the Sullivan and Considine vaudeville circuit. The Grand Opera House is seen here back to its earlier name. It had been the Orpheum from 1894 until 1903.
"Where Everybody Goes." We get photos of Messrs. Sullivan and Considine
as well as a lovely showgirl in this poster for vaudeville at the Los
Angeles Theatre. The image has been turned into, of all things, a
refrigerator magnet. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for finding it on eBay. The same image was used for a program cover in 1909 at the Majestic in Chicago, with the image credited to Collier's Weekly. Lucian Tomes Jr. shared an image of that one on the Vaudeville! Facebook page.
"The Slums of New York and Travelogs of the World." It was a free lecture by 'Noodles' Fagan, sponsored by the Los Angeles Record in May 1910. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the article for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. Noodles had visited USC and told the students about the "great industrial life" they would enter upon graduation.
A postcard of a January 1911 billboard. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting it on eBay.
Later in 1911 Sullivan and Considine renamed the theatre the Empress, sort of a trademark name for them. The Times reported the change in their June 2 issue. At the time it was noted that the circuit had about 40 other theatres called Empress.
A 1911 ad for the Empress. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a post for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
In 1911, just to keep things interesting on the block, John A. Quinn and his partner G. H. McLean planned a nickelodeon in a storefront just must have been just south of the new entrance of the Empress. Joe Vogel found a page six item in the February 5, 1911, issue of the Los Angeles Herald: "Frank L. Stiff, plans for a moving picture theater to be built at 340 South Spring street for Quinn & McLean. It will have tile entrance, ornamental plaster front, composition roof, metal lath, plumbing and electric wiring. The cost will be about $3000." Evidently this didn't get built as it's not in the 1911 or 1912 city directories. Quinn did return to the block to take over the Empress in 1916.
In 1911, just to keep things interesting on the block, John A. Quinn and his partner G. H. McLean planned a nickelodeon in a storefront just must have been just south of the new entrance of the Empress. Joe Vogel found a page six item in the February 5, 1911, issue of the Los Angeles Herald: "Frank L. Stiff, plans for a moving picture theater to be built at 340 South Spring street for Quinn & McLean. It will have tile entrance, ornamental plaster front, composition roof, metal lath, plumbing and electric wiring. The cost will be about $3000." Evidently this didn't get built as it's not in the 1911 or 1912 city directories. Quinn did return to the block to take over the Empress in 1916.
A c.1911 advertising card for the theatre. Note the finger in the lower right: "Put red sheet over picture ..." The card came in an envelope with a red filter. Here's the very strange back of the card:
And the resulting images with the red filter:
"Where is the witch?" and "What is to be seen here?" It's unknown why Sullivan and Considine thought this would appeal to their patrons. Thanks to theatre sleuth Michelle Gerdes for spotting this strange item on eBay where it was for sale for $19.95.
A 1913 ad for the Empress. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing it in a post for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
The Times review of Charles "Chapman" at the Empress. Thanks to Michael Hudson-Medina for locating it. The Empress engagement gets a mention on page 52 of Stuart Oderman's "Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle: A Biography of the Silent Film Comedian 1887-1933." It's on Google Books.
A December 1913 ad in the Times.
A 1914 Empress ad in the Times.
A 1914 Times ad. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for this one.
5 reels of film at 11am. A new policy announced in April 1914. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the article for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
A 1914 Times ad. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for this one.
Later operators:
In 1914 Marcus Loew picked up a number of Sullivan and Considine houses when
that circuit disintegrated following the death of one of the partners. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this November 1914 ad for Marcus Loew's Empress.
A 1915 Times ad for Loew's Empress. They were still calling it just the Empress in the 1912 and 1914 city directories. In the 1915 city directory it's Loew's Empress.
Another 1915 ad for the theatre under Loew's management. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting this one for a post for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
Loew didn't stick around long. This November 1915 item notes a reopening by Louis B. Jacobs. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a comment in a post on Photos of Los Angeles.
It had a listing as Quinn's Empress Theatre in the 1916 city directory as well as one just as the Empress.
A June 1916 Quinn's ad that Ken McIntyre located for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Private Facebook group.
J.A. Quinn operated a number of other theatres in town. See the page on Quinn's Superba for a timeline of his exhibition adventures. Evidently Quinn didn't keep the Empress very long. In the 1917 and 1918 city directories it's just the Empress.
In 1919 it was called Biola Hall, and late in 1919 it was known as the Zendejas, a venue for Spanish language productions. It has a listing as the Empress again in the 1920 directory but there's also a listing for it as the Novel Theatre, also known as the Teatro Novel. It's listed as the Novel in the 1921 city directory as well. As the Novel it was featuring Spanish language stage productions.
In 1920 and 1921 it was listed in the city directories as Gore's Capitol. A May 15, 1921 article in the Times located by Jeff Bridges headed "Those Baby Dolls" had the news about a renovation:
"The velvet curtains on the stage of Gore’s Capitol Theater on Spring street will rise today upon Ed Armstong’s famous musical comedy organization. From now on the home of the famous baby dolls is to be this intimate playhouse. No money has been spared in making the Capitol one of the most comfortable and prettiest theaters in Los Angeles. The interior suit the taste of the most discriminating, and Ed Armstrong’s first production, 'The Love Nest,' tuneful and gay musical comedy will receive its first showing under the most auspicious circumstances. All the famous favorites who have for so many weeks displayed the talents and grace on the stage at the Burbank will be seen at the Capitol henceforth..."
It's still listed as Gore's Capitol in the 1923 city directory. In the 1922, 1925 and 1929 directories it's just the Capitol Theatre. For the occasional Spanish language production in 1924 it was advertised as the Teatro Capitolio.
In December 1927 the lessee was F. Schoengold, offering plays including "Orphans of the Street," "Hello Schmendrick," "Every Woman's Desire," "Der Yiddisher Galach" and "Her Great Moment." Sam Aurbach and Sadie Schoengold were the featured performers. Morris Waxman began producing plays at the Capitol in December 1928. In an April 25, 1929 story the Times announced that the theatre was being renamed Waxman's Capitol. The first event after the renaming was an English language production of "Dybbuk." The play was reviewed in the May 12 Times where it was noted it was there for an indefinite run. The theatre was also referred to as just Waxman's.
Closing: 1929 might have been the last year of operation. The closing date is unknown.
Status: The site is now a parking lot. The L.A. Conservancy lists 1930 as a demolition date. It's not in the 1932 city directory.
More real estate maps:
A 1906 Sanborn fire insurance map that's been nicely annotated by Jeff Bridges. The theatre, here called the Hotchkiss, is in the turquoise outline at the left. Note the original location of the lobby. The one in the center is the Belasco/Follies Theatre at 337 S. Main St. The New Star Theatre outlined at the upper right was later known as the Regal Theatre (among many other names). It was in a Turnverein Hall building at 323 S. Main St. Jeff posted the map on Flickr.
A detail from plate 002 of the 1910 Baist Real Estate Survey from Historic Map Works showing the theatre as the Los Angeles. The lobby had by this time been moved to one of the storefronts directly behind the auditorium. That's Spring St. across the top, Main St. on the bottom, 4th St. on the left. Note the Belasco Theatre behind the Los Angeles on Main. The Regal/New Star at 323 S. Main is here shown as the Turnverein Hall. To the right of it at 315 S. Main is the Wonderland/Jade Theatre.
A detail from plate 002 of the 1921 Baist Real Estate Survey from Historic Map Works showing the theatre as Gore's Capitol. The theatre behind the Capitol at 337 S. Main is here seen as the Follies.
More exterior views:
1903 - The Casino Theatre can be seen down in the next block as we look north
toward 4th St. This side of the intersection it's what is considered L.A.'s first
skyscraper, the Braly Block, now known as the Continental Building,
completed in 1904. Across 4th is the Herman W. Hellman building, now known as
the Banco Popular Building, completed late in 1903. It's a photo from
the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1903 - A detail from the image above. "Casino" can be seen on the side of the theatre's building.
c.1906
- A postcard mailed in 1907 showing the east side of the 300 block as we look
south from just above 3rd St. The large building at the end of the block
is the Hellman Building (1903). The theatre is nestled in just this
side of it. Thanks to J. Scott Shannon for including the card in his Los
Angeles Past blog post "South from 250 Spring, in the Aughts." The copy on the card indicating the photo was taken "from Elk's Hall" refers to the building better known as Lyceum Hall, just south of the Lyceum Theatre.
Just across 4th is the tallest building then downtown, the Braly/Continental Building. A comment to the post noted that on the extreme left edge of the card it's the Stimson Building on the northeast corner of 3rd and Spring. It's the Lankershim Building across the street on the southeast corner.
Just across 4th is the tallest building then downtown, the Braly/Continental Building. A comment to the post noted that on the extreme left edge of the card it's the Stimson Building on the northeast corner of 3rd and Spring. It's the Lankershim Building across the street on the southeast corner.
c.1906 -
The Hotchkiss Theatre is nestled in to the left of the H.W. Hellman Building.
At the right we're looking east on 4th St. with the Van Nuys Hotel (1897, now the Barclay) on the northwest corner of 4th and Main. Across Main on the northeast corner the building with the tower is the Westminster Hotel (1888-1960). The California Historical Society photo appears on the USC Digital Library website. The Los Angeles Public Library also has the photo in their collection. The California State Library also has a copy. They credit C.C. Pierce as the photographer.
c.1906 - A detail from the USC photo. The cafe to the right still carries the previous name of the theatre as the Casino Cafe. Upstairs above the very long theatre lobby it's the Casino Billiard Parlor. The second line of their signage says "Entrance through theater lobby."
c.1906 - A view looking south toward 4th St. The photo by Putnam Studios is in the California State Library collection.
c.1906 - A detail from the Putnam Studios photo looking toward the Hotchkiss Theatre and the H.W. Hellman Building beyond. Note where the entrance to the Hotchkiss is -- the second storefront this side of the Hellman Building. Closer to us note the signage for the peep show arcade Automatic Vaudeville at 340. Sometime in 1907 that arcade would move a block south to 434 S. Spring.
Now the interesting thing is the quite new looking archway to the left. It appears that here it's barricaded and we're doing work in the street in front of it. Take a look at G. Haven Bishop's 1913 photo and you'll see that this arched facade has become the theatre's entrance.
c.1910 - We get a bit of the theatre's entrance on the right in this photo of the tailor shop to the north. The signage advises that the house at this point has been renamed the Los Angeles Theatre and is under Sullivan and Considine management offering "Wonder Vaudeville." Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting the photo on eBay.
1911 - A postcard of a billboard for the Los Angeles running Sullivan and Considine vaudeville shows. On the left the Belasco is touting the fact that they never raise their prices. This was the Belasco at 337 S. Main, a theatre later known as the Follies. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for spotting this on eBay.
c.1910 - We get a bit of the theatre's entrance on the right in this photo of the tailor shop to the north. The signage advises that the house at this point has been renamed the Los Angeles Theatre and is under Sullivan and Considine management offering "Wonder Vaudeville." Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting the photo on eBay.
1911 - A postcard of a billboard for the Los Angeles running Sullivan and Considine vaudeville shows. On the left the Belasco is touting the fact that they never raise their prices. This was the Belasco at 337 S. Main, a theatre later known as the Follies. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for spotting this on eBay.
1913 - A closer look at the signage seen in the G. Haven Bishop photo.
c.1920 - A billboard for Carmen Rodriguez appearing in "La Duqesa de Bal Tabarin"at the Teatro Novel. The location of this building was the southeast corner of New High St. and Ord St. The photo is in the USC Digital Library collection from the California Historical Society. It also appears in the collection of the Huntington Library, where they credit it to C.C. Pierce.
1956 - The theatre itself is gone as well as the storefronts in front of it, one of which was the later lobby. The two story building on the right was the original lobby. It also had the Casino Cafe on the ground floor, a billiard parlor on the second floor and a small roof garden. The June photo by Palmer Connor is in the Huntington Library collection.
On the left it's the back of the Follies Theatre, 337 S. Main St., a building that would survive until 1974. Through the lots the building we see with the two towers is the Westminster Hotel on the northeast corner of 4th and Main. It would be demolished in 1980.
1957 - A Palmer Connor photo looking north on Spring from 4th St. The white building beyond the Hellman Building is the one that had been used as an early lobby for the theatre. The site of the later lobby building beyond that has become a parking lot. The photo is in the Huntington Library collection. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Fred H. for finding the photo and including it as part of his Noirish post #21448.
2019 - The parking lot where the Capitol was. On the right that's the Banco Popular / Hellman Building. We're looking through to Main St. across the lot where the Follies once was at 337 S. Main. Photo: Bill Counter
"Spring St. Was Vaudeville Row," an article from the February 1993 issue of Metro Newsreel:
The issue with the article is in the Ronald W. Mahan Collection. Thanks to Ron for scanning it.
"Spring St. Was Vaudeville Row," an article from the February 1993 issue of Metro Newsreel:
The issue with the article is in the Ronald W. Mahan Collection. Thanks to Ron for scanning it.
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Capitol for amazing stories about Waldeck (the original promoter), bookings, hoodoo, financial problems, death, fights for control and many more fun details unearthed by great research from Jeff Bridges (aka Vokoban) and Joe Vogel. Lots of discussion by Jeff Bridges and other diligent researchers also surfaces on the Cinema Treasures page for Broadway's Cozy / Astro Theatre.
See the mention of the Novel Theatre and other venues offering Spanish language films and legit productions in "Handbook of Hispanic Culture-Literature" by Nicolas Kanellos. It's on Google Books. It mentions the prime years for this theatre as a Spanish language theatre as from 1919 to 1924.
Also here on the 300 block: The arcade called Automatic Vaudeville was at 340 S. Spring. Also on the block but on the west side of the street at various times were Tally's Phonograph and Vitascope Parlor locations at 311 and 339 S. Spring.
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