Crystal Theatre

247 S. Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 | map |

Opened: Perhaps late 1910. It was listed as the Crystal Theatre in the 1911 city directory under "moving picture theaters." 

The building was either constructed or rehabbed as a theatre in 1910, according to building permit records searched by Noirish Los Angeles contributor Tovangar 2. See the comment on Noirish post #30852. The City Planning Department's Zimas database does not show a construction date. In the 1910 city directory the 247 address was a pawnbroker. 

A tame African lion was featured on the stage of the Crystal in 1911. Jeff Bridges, aka Vokoban, mentions this in a comment on the Cinema Treasures page about another Crystal Theatre, a later one in East L.A.

The city directory listing in 1912 under "moving picture theaters" was for B.T. Lustig, who also had the Rex and the National (on the site of the Regent).

Closing: It appears that a run of approximately two years was all it got. In the 1913 and 1914 city directories the address is listed as a shoe store.

Status: The assumption is that the building at 245-247 S. Main that housed the Crystal is still there and just remodeled. The 247 space is now the club The Smell. The 245 storefront in the same building is a bar called New Jalisco. The building is just north of the Downtown Independent at 251 S. Main.

The future is uncertain for both buildings as there have a number of property acquisitions on the block. The tenants were given a "heads up" notice in 2016 to advise them that there might be redevelopment sometime in the future. There's more information on the Downtown Independent page.

early 20s - Looking north toward 2nd St. Note the nine single-story storefronts in the middle. That light-colored one without an awning second in from the end is 247, the former Crystal Theatre location. The two this side of that, 249 and 251, were demolished for construction of the Arrow/Linda Lea Theatre in 1925. The five closest to us were still there after the Arrow was built. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 

1939 - Just beyond the Arrow Theatre (later called the Linda Lea) is the building that earlier had been the Crystal Theatre. It's a detail from a Dick Whittington photo in the USC Digital Library collection. The Downtown Independent is now on the Arrow site.

1998 - The Crystal's space as the Centro Mini Market. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Socal09 for the photo. It appears on the site's page about the Linda Lea.

2019 - The Crystal's space as the club The Smell, with the "Not Our President" signage. They use the alley as the entrance. Photo: Bill Counter

2019 - The north side of the building with the Downtown Independent on the left. Photo: Bill Counter 

More information: See our pages on two other theatres sharing the name: the Lucia/Crystal on Main just south of Adams Blvd. and another Crystal Theatre in East L.A.

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