Opened: August 2, 1919 as the Victory Theatre by Mr. and Mrs. F. G. Mouffe. It was such a success that by September they were offering shows seven days a week. Thanks to Joe Vogel for finding this photo in a late 1919 issue of The Architect & Engineer. He notes that it appeared in an ad for the L.A. Pressed Brick Co. which said that the building was faced with pressed brick in ivory enamel, with grey and white enamel trim. Joe posted the photo on the Cinema Treasures page about the theatre.
The building, on the southwest corner of San Fernando and Angeleno Ave., was known as the Victory Building, as can be seen in the lettering above the marquee. It also contained the Burbank Hotel. An early address for the theatre was 205 E. San Fernando Rd.
Architect: Henry J. Knauer. He had been identified in the L.A. Pressed Brick Co. ad located by Joe Vogel. He comments about the architect:
"He is best known for the numerous period style mansions he designed in such posh Los Angeles neighborhoods as Hancock Park and Windsor Square, as well as a number of Art Deco commercial buildings in and around Hollywood. He did design at least one other theater early in his career, a 1915 project on Vermont Avenue at 41st Place..."
A 1927 ad when the theatre was being operated by B. Myers. It's included in Burbankia's San Fernando Road album.
In the 1928 city directory it's still called the Victory Theatre. Sometime prior to 1932 it got renamed the Burbank Theatre at which time it was owned by Bern G. and Neva H. Richardson. They were suing Al Minor at the Loma Theatre over product, claiming he got his choice of the better bookings. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for
finding this item in an October 1932 issue of the L.A. Times:
"Conspiracy in restraint of trade is charged in a suit filed yesterday
in the Superior Court in a controversy between two Burbank theaters over
motion picture films. The action is brought in the name of Bern G.
Richardson and Neva H. Richardson, owners of the Burbank Theater
building, against A.F. Minor, proprietor of the Loma Theater, and
practically all the larger film-distributing concerns. According to the
Richardsons' complaint, the film companies conspired with Minor to sell
films for Burbank showing only in his theater."
Closing: The Burbank closed in 1950. An item in an April issue of Boxoffice that was located by Ken McIntyre noted:
"BURBANK, CALIF - The Burbank Theater, one of four showcases operated here by Charles Minor, has gone dark. Minor explains that the current business outlook does not warrant it remaining open at this time. It is a 900-seat house. Minor will continue operating the Loma, Magnolia and Major theaters."
Status: The theatre spaces got absorbed into the hotel operation. The building was demolished in 1979 with the site then being used as a parking garage for the Holiday Inn.
More exterior views:
1926 - A photo attributed to C.C. Pierce. The front of the marquee says "Now Showing Leading Photoplays." They have a banner up for "Desert Gold," a March 1926 Paramount release with Neil Hamilton and Shirley Mason. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting the photo on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. There's a version of it on the USC Digital Library site from the California Historical Society.
1920s - A look north on San Fernando Rd. with the Victory Theatre on the left. The California Historical Society photo appears on the USC Digital Library website. In the previous photo the building in the block beyond the theatre had been a hotel. Here it's morphed into some other use.
1920s - A detail from the California Historical Society photo. It appears they're running a film with Pola Negri.
1927 - A different detail from the wider shot that's two images above. It's one appearing in the Burbankia San Fernando Road album on Google Photos.
1928 - "An Independent Theatre" playing "Once and Forever" and "The Bronc Stomper." The photo by Walters Studio appeared in a publication with the caption "Burbank's leading theatre, which provides good, clean entertainment for the entire family, featuring only the best in pictures at popular prices." Thanks to Wes Clark's Burbankia site for locating this one. The photo appears in the site's San Fernando Road album.
1935 - A look at the vertical after it had been changed to read "Burbank." It's a detail from a postcard in the Burbankia San Fernando Road album.
1940s - A photo from the Burbankia San Fernando Road album on Google Photos.
1946 - Thanks to Paul Lori for posting this one on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles. He says his great uncle took the photo when he worked here as a young man. The theatre closed in early 1950.
1963 - The repurposed marquee used for the hotel. It's a photo from the Burbank Historical Society that appears on the website of the Cal State Northridge Oviatt Library. With the photo: "In 1979, the fire department used the building for testing and training purposes before demolishing it. Later a parking structure for the Holiday Inn was built in its place."
mid-1960s - Looking north with Tujunga Ave. in the foreground. The photo appears in Burbankia's San Fernando Road album on Google Photos. Note the "Burbank Hotel" roof sign on the former theatre building on the left.
c.1969 - The Cine-Globe, a temporary theatre. That's the Burbank Theatre building over on the left. The photo appears in Burbankia's San Fernando Road album on Google Photos. Thanks to Deanna Bayless for finding this one in the collection.
1970s - Malling the street in front of the former theatre. Thanks to Deanna Bayless for her photo, a post on Cinema Treasures.
1979 - Demolition of the building after it had been used for practice by the Burbank Fire Department. It hadn't been a theatre since 1950. Thanks to Deanna Bayless for the photo.
The other Burbank Theatre: Dr. David Burbank, who the city was named for, built a theatre on Main St. in downtown Los Angeles called, appropriately enough, the Burbank Theatre.
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