The first Van Nuys theatre: The first theatre in the community, called the Van Nuys Theatre, opened in 1917 using an address of Sherman Way near E St. This part of Sherman was later renamed Van Nuys Blvd.
A 1917 opening week ad for the Van Nuys. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Dallas Movie Theaters for locating it. It's unknown how long it operated. For information on the theatre opening in 1924 as the Van Nuys Theatre see the page about the Fox Van Nuys.
The 2nd theatre: It opened August 18, 1921 as the Rivoli Theatre. According to Bill Gabel's research the initial film was "Crazy to Marry" with Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle.
In the 1921 city directory there's a listing calling it the Van Nuys Theatre
at Sherman Way near Erwin. M.E. Fulton and A.E. Driskell are listed as
the operators. The assumption is that at the time the directory was
compiled they hadn't settled on a name yet. In an item located by Joe Vogel from the June 23, 1921 issue of the Van
Nuys News it was announced that Bessie Harrison Prothero had won a
contest to determine the new name for the Van Nuys Theatre.
The theatre was just north of Erwin St. on the east side of the street. In the 1922, 1923 and 1924 city directories
it's listed as the Rivoli Theatre at 260 Sherman Way, Van Nuys.
George Mann of the dance team of Barto and Mann took this 1926 photo. His son Brad Smith has it on Flickr
as part of a terrific "Theatre Marquees" album. For many more
wonderfully evocative views of a vanished theatrical culture, see the George Mann Archive. Thanks, Brad!
The address is listed as 6262 Van Nuys Blvd. in the 1926 city directory, 6260 in 1928, 6258 in the 1939/40 directory with it being called the Fox Rivoli. Fox West Coast Theatres operated the house for much of its life.
Architect: Architectural & Engineering Co. was the designer. Joe Vogel notes that the firm had its offices in the Story Building in downtown Los Angeles. Greenberg & Siebert were the developers. Joe found an announcement about the project in the March 18, 1921, issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor. The assumption is that the building was new in 1921 and not just a remodel of the 1917 Van Nuys Theatre, which may not even have been on the same lot.
Seating: 700
Clifford Balch did a remodel in 1941 that included facade and restroom
work. In 1960 the building got another remodel and emerged as
the Capri Theatre with a reopening on June 29.
In December 1969 the Capri was running "I Am Curious (Yellow)." Ken McIntyre found this item in an issue of the Valley News:
"Law enforcement officers began confiscating the Swedish sex film 'I Am Curious (Yellow)' from Southland theaters yesterday on the authority of warrants alleging the movie is obscene. Lt. L.M. Dwyer of the Police Dept.’s administrative vice squad said the film had been seized from at least one Valley theater, the Fox West Coast Capri, 6258 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys, yesterday. Another Valley theater, the Guild, 5161 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, was also showing the picture and was expected to be affected..."
Status: It was demolished in 1975 for a Federal Building parking lot. Research by Chris Nichols reveals that the demolition permit was issued January 31.
The theatre's former location is now part of the site of the Van Nuys / City of L.A. Braude "Constituent Service Center." What had been Erwin St. east of Van Nuys Blvd. is now a pedestrian walkway between the City of L.A. building and the Federal Building to the south.
The Fox Rivoli snackbar dressed up in the 1950s to promote a western. The photo by Nate Singer / Western Photo is in the Tom B'hend and Preston Kaufmann Collection of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick Library.
More exterior views:
1926 - A detail from the Dick Whittington photo revealing the Rivoli's vertical. Several photos from this set also make an appearance on page 5 of the "Early Views of San Fernando Valley" section of the Water & Power Associates Museum Pages.
1945 - Thanks to Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives for this view. It appears on page 104 of the terrific 2008 Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres in Los Angeles" by Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, Amy Ronnebeck Hall and Mr. Wanamaker. There's a preview of the book on Google Books.
c.1950 - A detail from Sean's photo.
c.1951 - Thanks to Bill Gabel for spotting this shot looking south on Van Nuys Blvd. toward the Rivoli. He posted it on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles. David Zornig, posting it on Cinema Treasures, notes that it appears somewhere on one of the many Water and Power Associates Museum pages.
1952 - A look north on Van Nuys Blvd. from Sean Ault's wonderful collection. The Rivoli is on the right.
1952 - Not a good day to go to the movies. It's one of 22 storm photos taken in November by the Los Angeles Examiner that appear on the USC Digital Library website. Thanks to Barney Desimone for finding the photo for a post on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. Check out the big new sign for Pep Boys. Scott Collette notes that the Riv was running "Let's Go Navy!" and "African Treasure."
1950s - The Rivoli is over on the right in this Christmas view. Thanks to Amy Cortland for including it in a Bethlehem Star Parade album on Facebook. She credits it to the Van Nuys High School Alumni from the 60s Facebook page. Senorsock also has posted this one on Cinema Treasures.
1960 - This photo shows the theatre, renamed the Capri, running "Black Orpheus," a December 1959 release. Thanks to Phil De Pauk for posting the image on the Valley Relics Museum Facebook page where it got many comments. Deanna Bayless notes that one can still see "Rivoli Theatre" painted on the side of the building. Douglas Rudd also has a version of the photo on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page where he credits it to the Kids of the San Fernando Valley page.
1963 - A Christmas season view in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. It's a Valley Times photo by Bob Martin.
1972 - Cruise night at the the Capri. It's a photo by Richard 'Rick Mack' McCloskey that appears in his 1972 book "Van Nuys Boulevard 1972." The photo can also be seen on the Van Nuys Boulevard 1972 page of his Rick Mack Photography website. Thanks to Chris Nichols for researching the source.
1972 - A view of kids in front taken by Richard McCloskey during the engagement of "The Godfather." Thanks to Chris Nichols for locating it. It appears on a page of the Rick Mack website titled "The Cast" with the photo titled "Godfather Review."
c.1976 - A view of the closed theatre taken by Gary Maker, a contributor to Cinema Treasures under the name Gary Rabbit.
c.1976 - Another shot by Gary Maker appearing on Cinema Treasures. Thanks, Gary!
The Rivoli in the Movies:
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on this one. Joe Vogel has, as usual, contributed some fine research.
Also see our page here on this site about the theatre two blocks farther north, the Fox Van Nuys.
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