Opened: It was running by 1922 as the Tujunga Valley Theatre, the first in town. It was on the west side of the street half a block south of Tujunga Canyon Blvd. Commerce Ave. was originally called Sunset Blvd. The 1922 photo from the California Historical Society appears on the USC Digital Library website. Posters on display the day of the photo included John Barrymore in "Sherlock Holmes" and the Oliver Morosco production of "The Half Breed."
Seating: In the 1926 Film Daily Yearbook it was listed as 280 seats. In the 1929 edition it was given a 300 seat capacity. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Lost Memory for the data.
The theatre got fancied up in 1925 and was then known as the Jewel Theatre.
Closing: Evidently it was demolished in the 1930s. The closing date is unknown.
Status: It's been demolished and a single story building is now on the site. Joe Vogel notes that there's a possibility that some of the theatre building was incorporated into the new structure. It evidently dates from 1940.
1925 - A photo of the theatre after its remodel and rebranding running "Black Cyclone" starring Rex, "the unconquerable wild horse." The photo was taken by J.H Lamson for the Tujunga Record-Ledger. It was a donation from the Little Landers Historical Society and appears on the Cal State Northridge Oviatt Library website.
1925 - Another shot of the theatre running "Black Cyclone." It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection acquired from the Valley Times.
c.1925 - A postcard view looking north on Sunset Blvd. The Jewel is down there on the left with its marquee visible just this side of the telephone pole. The card is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
A version of the card is also on the CSUN Oviatt Library website. Other Oviatt Library views looking up Sunset/Commerce: c.1930 postcard view | 1949 photo with snow |
1929 - A J.H. Lamson photo of Tujunga looking north on Commerce Ave. (then Sunset Blvd.) from Foothill Blvd. (at the bottom of the photo). The theatre is on the left up in the second block. The California Historical Society photo appears on the USC Digital Library website. The CSUN Oviatt Library has a similar view but taken c.1950.
c.1950 - A postcard view up Commerce St. from Greeley toward Tujunga Valley Blvd. The former bank building is here seen as a drug store. The theatre is gone, replaced by the single story building behind the streetlight. The card is on the CSUN Oviatt Library website.
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Jewel Theatre for some nice detective work by Joe Vogel including determining the theatre's address. Cinematour also has a page.
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