Electric / Roosevelt Theatre

212 N. Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 | map - approximate |

 

Opened: Sometime around 1911. It was a conversion from retail space in a building that had been around at least since the 1890s. The location was on the east side of the street opposite Temple St., which at that time deadended at Main.

 

Thanks to eminent L.A. historian Nathan Marsak for sharing this 1950s photo from his collection. He's the author of the 2020 Angel City Press book "Bunker Hill Los Angeles: Essence of Sunshine and Noir." It's available at your local bookseller or from Amazon.

 

Building architect: Unknown

 

Seating: It was listed as 250 in a 1915 listing, according to research by Bill Gabel. 340 is a later number quoted, probably from a Film Daily Yearbook of unknown date. 

 

A detail from Nathan's photo.

The 1911 city directory gives this address a listing under "moving picture theaters" for Morris Hurwitz. Hurzitz was in a partnership called Lustig & Hurwitz with the Lustig in question being Bernhardt H., not to be confused with another Lustig that operated theatres, Burt S.  

It's in the 1913, 1914 and 1915 city directories as the Electric Theatre at 212 N. Main. This one shouldn't be confused with the Tally's Electric of 1902 at 262 S. Main.

 

"Doing good business," but the proprietor, a Mr. Davidson, was trying to sell it in July 1916. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the ad. 

 

In the 1916, 1917 and 1918 city directories it's listed at 214. In 1919 and later it's shown at 212 again. 

A detail of plate 003 of the 1921 Baist Real Estate Survey from Historic Map Works. The building the Electric was in was just a couple doors north of Market St.  

 

 

 

The Electric was listed in the "Paramount Week" ad that ran in the September 1, 1923 issue of the Times. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for this shot of it. The theatre was also in the Paramount Week ads in August/September 1924.

 

 

In the 1930s the Electric began running Spanish language product. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this November 29, 1933 ad. Mrs. Ruth S. Ewing was listed as manager in the 1934 city directory.

 

Frank Fouce took over the management at some point. He had also been running the California Theatre and in 1937 took over the former Miller's/Triangle Theatre at 842 S. Main. That's the "New Theater" noted in this article that also mentions the Electric: 

As noted here, the former Miller's Theatre was being called the Roosevelt. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this June 1937 article. The 9th and Main Roosevelt didn't stay open long. 

The Electric was still running through 1940. It's in the city directory that year but not listed in 1941. It reemerges in the 1942 city directory as the Roosevelt Theatre, a name that had been moved up by Fouce from the closed theatre at 9th and Main.

A 1947 ad in the Times with the theatre running day and date with the California and the Mason. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the ad. Evidently Fouce closed the new Roosevelt later in 1947.

Ken found a May 1950 item in the trade magazine Boxoffice noting a reopening with Chinese product:

"Lou Goldstein, former film salesman connected at various times with several of the independent exchanges here, has leased the Roosevelt Theater on North Main Street from Max Gardens and will book Chinese language films into the house." 

It was still running into the early 50's as the Roosevelt.

Status: It was demolished c.1955. The bank building north of the theatre was demolished in 1955. The Amestoy Block to the south came down in 1958. Temple St. was extended east through the theatre site in 1960.

 

c.1890 - A drawing of the east side of the street. The Amestoy Block is on the far right at the corner of Main and Requena, a street later renamed Market. To its left is the building the Electric would later go in. The Lanfranco Building, a Curlett, Eisen & Cuthbertson design from 1888 is the third in from the right. Thanks to Joe Vogel for finding this in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

 

 

1924 - A view of the Lanfranco Building, 218-222 N. Main. We get a sliver of the Roosevelt on the far right. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the photo for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.

c.1926 - Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Hoss C for finding this photo of the new Bank of Italy building just north of the theatre. It replaced the Lanfranco. Note the displays for the Roosevelt on the far right. On the far left we have the entrance of the Plaza Theatre at 224 N. Main. It's a California State Library photo. Hoss has it, along with a 1955 bank demo photo on his Noirish post #33420.  

c.1926 - A detail from the California State Library photo. They've got a vertical sign up but no marquee yet. Their big feature at the time of the photo was "The Wall Street Whiz," a film with Richard Talmadge that had originally been released in September 1925 under the less-catchy title "The New Butler."

 c.1935 - The theatre is over toward the left. It appears that the marquee says "Live Theatre." To the right of the theatre it's the Amestoy Block on the northeast corner of Main and Market. The U.S. Hotel is in the middle of the image at 170 N. Main. The hotel dated from 1874 and was demolished in 1939. One of its storefronts housed a nickelodeon at 166 N. Main in the 1911-1914 era. The California Historical Society photo is on the USC Digital Library website. Also see a wider 1939 Dick Whittington photo in the collection that shows the Baker Block in the distance. 

 

1936 - The facade of the Roosevelt Theatre from across the street. They had gone to Spanish language programming several years earlier. That's Temple St. going off to the right. It was later extended east through the block where we see the theatre. The photo from the California Historical Society appears on the USC Digital Library website.

 

1944 - The Roosevelt running the 1944 release "La vida inútil de Pito Pérez" ("The Useless Life of Pito Perez") with Maneuel Medel along with "Tres Hermanos," out in 1943. Thanks to Lou Rugani for spotting this on eBay from a seller who claimed it was taken in Wisconsin. Lou shared the photo in a post on the Theatre Architecture private Facebook group.

1947 - The Roosevelt's marquee is in the center of this detail from a Herald Examiner Collection photo appearing on the USC Digital Library website. In the upper left it's a bit of Commercial St., more or less where Aliso is now. Behind the theatre building it's Los Angeles St. On the right of the theatre building is the Amestoy Block and Market St. 

1954 - The closed theatre gets a cameo near the end of Andre de Toth's "Crime Wave" (Warner Bros.) when we visit City Hall. The film, which also gives us a nice view of several Glendale theatres, stars Gene Nelson and Sterling Hayden. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for two more shots showing the Roosevelt. Also in the post are views of the Alex, Glendale, Temple and Hide Away theatres in Glendale.

The Amestoy Block, on the right, would survive a bit longer than the theatre building. It was demolished in 1958. The Huntington Library has ten photos of it taken in the 50s by Palmer Connor.

2019 - Looking southeast on Main toward the site of the Roosevelt. That's Temple St. heading off to the left. It originally was a dead end at Main. Photo: Bill Counter 

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Roosevelt for lots of interesting comments. This Electric Theatre shouldn't be confused with the Tally's Electric of 1902 at 262 S. Main.

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