Chinese Theatre

216 Marchessault St. Los Angeles, CA 90012   | map |

Opened: October 22, 1884. It's unknown what the theatre was called by the Chinese population. It was on the south side of the street between Alameda and Los Angeles St. In this c.1900 view we're looking west on Marchessault toward Alameda with the theatre seen centered across the street. It's a photo from the El Pueblo Monument collection appearing on the Los Angeles Public Library website.

Seating: 800

 

 This item about the opening appeared in the October 23, 1884 issue of the L.A. Times. 

 

This venue was listed as the Chinese Opera House in the 1888 L.A. city directory. 

 

 

A July 1889 listing of recent fires included one at the Chinese, with "nominal" damage. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a thread about the theatre on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.

 

 

 

The building is identified as "Chinese Theatre" on this detail from image 26 of Volume One of the 1890 Sanborn Fire insurance Map that's in the Library of Congress collection.

An undated map showing Marchessault St. along the north edge of the Plaza. Chinatown was spread across both sides of Alameda. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Sopas EJ for finding the map for his Noirish post #53.  

 

It's shown as the Chinese Theatre in the 1892 and 1894 city directories under "theatres." 

 

 

An 1893 story discussing the new props and costumes imported for the theatre by Au Mou, the proprietor at the time. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the article.

 

 

A November 1898 article from the L.A. Times about the 1890 killing of Fung Ah Lung, an actor who had been employed at the theatre. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the story.

 

Closing date: Unknown

 

The property appears in the lower center with an address of 216 Marchessault but isn't identified as a theatre in this detail from plate 003 from the 1910 Baist Real estate Survey Map from Historic Map Works. Alameda is the diagonal street at the bottom of the image. It's Main St. running across the top. That "Nat'l Hotel" just south of the Plaza is the Pico House. 

 

 

A "pre-1930s" map on display at the Chinese American Museum. We've added the location in blue of the Chinese Theatre building on Marchessault. In red the museum has shown the 101 freeway as well as the re-routing of Los Angeles St. to serve as an approach to Union Station. The station itself is indicated on the right in pink.

Status: The building survived at least into the early 1950s. The theatre location on Marchessault St. in the block west of Alameda has been redeveloped. Los Angeles St. got rerouted somewhat and split in two where it joins Alameda. 

 

The section of Marchessault St. and other Chinatown blocks east of Alameda got leveled for construction of Union Station, which opened in 1939. 

 

 

Marchessault St. West of Alameda:  

A detail from a c.1938 view west across Alameda to the 200 block with the former theatre building the second in from the corner. By this time it had lost the second floor balcony and the canopy above that. It's from a Dick Whittington photo in the USC Digital Library collection. | the full image |

A c.1940 view southeast across the 200 block of Marchessault St. with Alameda on the left. The Chinese Theatre had been in the center building on the block. On the right is the Fook Wo Curio Company Building. The Dragon's Den restaurant opened in 1935. Los Angeles St. is on the right. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Also see a partial view of the west end of the theatre building facade. 

 

 

The former theatre building is on the far left in this 1943 photo. The Dragon's Den building is at the corner of Marchessault and Los Angeles. This view to the southwest is from the Blackstock Negatives Collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. They note: 

"Looking southwest towards La Plaza and the Civic Center from N. Alameda, north of where it crosses Marchessault Street (left) and before it meets Los Angeles Street (right, out of view). Seen are Tyrus Wong's Dragon's Den Chinese Foods Restaurant (part of Old Chinatown), a glimpse of the Baker Block on Main Street, City Hall, the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, the headquarters of the Southern California-Arizona Conference of the Methodist Church (in what later became the Biscailuz Building), and a White Log Coffee Shop."

 

 

A c.1949 view across Alameda from Union Station. Beyond the back of that flatbed truck we're looking up Marchessault St. toward the former theatre, with the lower part of its facade painted white. It's a frame from eight minutes of footage taken for film or TV process shot backgrounds. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Riichkay for featuring it on Noirish post #61904. The colorized footage, on YouTube from NASS, is mostly various views from the front of Union Station but we also get Courthouse shots, the Beverly Hills City Hall, and a bit of Wilshire near Robertson.

The area where Marchessault St. was on the west side of Alameda. It's now an extension of Los Angeles St. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

Marchessault St. East of Alameda: 

An early 1900s view looking west toward Alameda. The Chinese Theatre is seen across Alameda. It's a photo in the El Pueblo Monument collection appearing on the Los Angeles Public Library website. A similar view from the collection is at the top of the page.

A 1920s view west toward Alameda. It's a California Historical Society photo on the USC Digital Library website. 

Looking east across Alameda into Marchessault c.1935. It's a C.C. Pierce photo from the California Historical Society collection appearing on the USC Digital Library website.

The tracks on the street are the main line of the Southern Pacific leading to their station, then on Central between 4th and 6th. Also see a c.1920 photo looking east that's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

Looking east on Marchessault from Alameda St. in 1933. It's a photo from the L.A. City Archives. Thanks to James J. Chun for finding the photo for a post for the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.

 

A c.1932 photo of the 300 block taken by Anton Wagner. Thanks to James J. Chun for locating this one for a post for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.

Wagner took hundreds of photos of the L.A. area in 1932 and 1933 for a thesis topic having to do with the way the area's topology influenced the character of its inhabitants. The California Historical Society has collected over 400 of them for their album "Anton Wagner: Los Angeles 1932-33."

A 1937 photo showing construction of the Union Station clock tower. Thanks to James J. Chun for finding it for a post for the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.

Union Station opened in 1939 on the east side of Alameda. The area where Marchessault St. had been is now the entrance drive for Union Station. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019 

More information: Thanks to UCLA researchers Ashley Huendo and Sagarika Roychoudhury for spotting the 1888 city directory listing of the Chinese Opera House as part of their 2020 project documenting early foreign language theatres in L.A. See the listings they've assembled on Map Hub. A companion timeline is on Time Mapper. Also see the related UCLA site Architectural Reconstructions on Broadway.  

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