Los Angeles Theatres: Magnolia Theatre

4403 W. Magnolia Blvd. Burbank, CA 91505 | map |

Opened: October 9, 1940. The building is on the northwest corner of Magnolia Blvd. and Valley St. The address seems to vary in different city directories over the years from 4403 to 4433. Thanks to Ron Strong for the 1975 photo. It's on his Bijou Memories page about the theatre. The building is now a recording studio.

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/theevergreenstage

Architect: Clifford A. Balch. Thanks to Joe Vogel for finding a card in the LAPL's California Index that lists Balch as the architect. They cite an item in the May 17, 1940 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor. A Loopnet listing for the property once noted that it's a 15,000 square foot building on a 40,000 square foot lot.

Seating: 737

Screen size: 40' at the end of the theatre's life.

The project had been announced in this January 1940 item. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding it for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. They rather mangled the architect's name.

Albert Fonda Minor had the Burbank market in his pocket, except for the San-Val Drive-In. As noted in the newspaper story, he also had the Major Theatre, the Loma Theatre and the Burbank Theatre, formerly the Victory.

This item appeared in the October 12, 1940 issue of Boxoffice. Thanks to Ron Pierce for locating it.

Al Minor died in 1941. In the 1945 through 1949 editions of the Film Daily Yearbook it's his widow, Minnie Minor, listed as the owner of Minor Theatres. After Al's death the company's four theatres were managed by his son Charles.

Charles closed the Burbank in 1950, citing unfavorable business conditions. Ron Strong reports that Sterling Theatres, Inc., a firm headed by William J. Kupper, Jr., bought the remaining Minor Theatres holdings in August 1950. Sterling had opened the Cornell Theatre in 1949 and would open the California Theatre in December 1950. The firm was no relation to the Seattle-based Sterling Theatres.

Charles stayed on as manager of the Major, Loma and Magnolia. The California, being in the same neighborhood as the Magnolia, got the better bookings and the older, smaller house had a tough time. In 1952 the Magnolia tried a foreign film policy without great success. By October 1952 it was a weekend-only business and it closed in June 1953.

On May 14, 1954 the building was sold to Jack Grossman-Harry Rosenberg Enterprises. The October 13 reopening was with "On the Waterfront" and "Dial M for Murder." Grossman managed the theatre well into the 1960s. He's on the far right in this 1961 photo taken by George Brich for the Valley Times:

"Joe Pasternak (left) stands next to his two stars of the MGM film 'Where the Boys Are,' Paula Prentiss and Jim Hutton, during presentation ceremonies at the Magnolia Theatre in Burbank which saw the two thespians receive the 'most promising newcomers of 1960' award. Sharon Farmer and theater manager Jack Grossman (extreme right) assisted in the proceedings." The photo is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

Grossman's 1964 renovation was covered in the Boxoffice issue of November 16, 1964.

Closing: The Magnolia closed in 1979 when the operators at the time lost their lease because the building owners had decided to sell the property.

The building was sold to Barbra Streisand and refitted as a recording studio, Evergreen Studios. It was later under different ownership and got renovations in 1998 and 2004. It was on the market again in 2011 with an asking price of $6.5 million and sold in 2012. It reopened after a $3 million refurbishment as L.A. Sound Gallery. The site Studio Expresso has a page on that operation.

Status: It's now a recording facility called The Evergreen Stage.

Interior views:

A bad scan of a photo that appeared in the July 18, 1966 issue of Boxoffice. They noted: "Complete modernization program...included replacement of marquee, seats, screen, carpet and installation of a central gas-fired Arkla air conditioning system. System includes five 6.4 ton units installed in an equipment room in rear of theatre. Thermostat permits cooling, heating, air circulation, temperature."

The interior as a recording studio. Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for his 2017 photo.

Another view. Photo: Donavan S. Moye - 2017

More exterior views:

1944 - A view of the theatre from Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives that appears on p.102 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. Thanks, Marc!

1948 - Debbie Reynolds in line for a ticket. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the photo for a Facebook post on Ken's Movie Page.

c.1957 - The theatre before its sale to Jack Grossman. Thanks to Bob Meza for sharing this photo from his collection. It appears on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre. The photo also appears on Cinema Treasures and on Ron Strong's Bijou Memories page about the theatre.

1959 - A 1909 Hupmobile as a promotion for the run of "Gigi" at the Magnolia. Theatre owner Jack Grossman is on the left. It's a Valley Times photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

1966 - A sub-run of "How the West Was Won." Thanks to Moviejs 1944 for finding the photo for a post on Cinema Treasures. It had appeared in the Boxoffice issue of July 18, 1966.

c.1968 - Looking east on Magnolia Blvd. The theatre is over on the left playing "The Lion in Winter." Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Scott Charles for including the photo on his Noirish post #48235. The image from some unidentified publication had appeared in a post on the blog Dear Old San Fernando Valley.

2003 - A photo by Bob Meza appearing on Cinema Tour. Thanks, Bob!

2006 - Thanks to Doran for this facade view appearing on Flickr.

2011 - The building offered for sale. Photo: Google Maps

2019 - Looking west on Magnolia Blvd. Photo: Bill Counter

The Magnolia in the Movies and on TV:

Kim Nokak comes out the doors after a movie in Richard Quine's film "Pushover" (Columbia, 1954). Fred MacMurray, Philip Carey and Dorothy Malone also star. Thanks to Escott O. Norton for the screen shot. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for four more shots from the scene at the Magnolia.

The Magnolia also puts in an appearance in Arthur Penn's "Night Moves" (Warner Bros., 1975). Here Gene Hackman is cruising by to see what his wife is up to on her movie date with a "friend." See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for two more views of the Magnolia from this scene as well as a shot of the Cornell Theatre.

The theatre as it appeared in a 1973 episode of "Colombo" titled "Double Exposure." Thanks to

Torbjörn Eriksson for posting the shot on the Southern California Nostalgia Facebook page.

We get a glimpse of the Magnolia marquee after the theatre had closed in an episode of "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl." Thanks to Ron Strong for the screenshot.

The former theatre is seen as the Van Beek samba and tapas joint in Damien Chazelle's "La La Land" (Lionsgate, 2016). Jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) mourns this transformation of what had been his favorite jazz club. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for more views of the Magnolia as well as views of other theatres seen in the film including the Rialto in South Pasadena, the El Rey and Hayworth on Wilshire, and the Variety in West Adams.

1 comment:

AnonymousAugust 13, 2024 at 1:59 AM
My local theater during the 1950's and 60's. In the back left hand side of the theater was a crying room; a glass fronted room with several oversized comfy chairs where new born babies and their mom's could watch films and not disturb other patrons with their crying. These were popular after 2WW II in some theaters.