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Rounder Theatre

510 S. Main St. | map |

Opened: Sometime around 1910. It was in the south storefront in the Rennie Hotel building on the east side of the street just south of 5th. The hotel entrance at the south side of the building used an address of 510 1/2.

Arthur Hyman was running the Rounder in 1911. It was listed as one of his houses in the August 1911 issue of the trade magazine Motography. See the College Theatre page for more on the Hyman circuit. Evidently Arthur didn't stick around. 



The Rounder advertised for sale by O.F. Wilson in a 1911 L.A. Times ad. 



Another 1911 ad. Many thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding these.

It was a busy block. In addition to the Rounder, theatres on the east side of the block included the Galway at 514 S. Main, the Sherman at 518 (running until 1919) and the Burbank at 548. On the west side of the street were the Gayety at 523, the Star at 529, the Optic at 533, the Picture at 545 (until 1926), the Art at 551 and the Bijou (until 1914) at 553.



This detail from plate 002 of the 1914 Real Estate Survey from Historic Map Works showing the building the Rounder was in, the Rennie Hotel Building, at 508-510 S. Main. The Leonide Hotel building just to the south at 512-516 was later the home of the Galway. The Sherman was once in the building just south of that at 518. 

Closing: Maybe 1911 was it. There are no listings for the Rounder in the 1909 to 1912 city directories. 

Status: The building the Rounder was in got a major makeover in 2014 but the facade still looks vintage. It's in use as a community services agency using a 508 S. Main address. 510 is no longer in use.



c.1935 - A look south from 5th along the east side of the 500 block. The second building down had been the home of the Rounder. Way down the block the squat facade of the Burbank Theatre is visible just this side of the Santa Fe Building at 6th and Main. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.



c.1968 - A look north on Main St. toward 5th. The Rennie Hotel Building, former home of the Rounder, is the center of the three buildings on the right. Note the Galway Theatre, 514 S. Main, on the far right. Thanks to L.A. transit historian Sean Ault for sharing the photo from his collection. He comments that "Scream of the Butterfly" (1965) is one of the items on the Galway's marquee.



1973 - Looking south from 5th toward the building the Rounder had been in. Halfway down the block we see the Galway's vertical sign saying "Theatre." Farther down toward 6th we get a glimpse of the Burbank Theatre with its vertical reading "Burlesk." It's a photo by Victor Plukas in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Also see a 1972 view south by Plukas that's in the collection.



2019 - The building the Rounder was once in. The facade is original but everything behind the facade of both this building and the one to the left was stripped out and a new building constructed behind. The Leonide Hotel building on the right was once home to the Galway Theatre. Photo: Bill Counter

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