Lankershim Theatre

7532 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood (Los Angeles), CA 91605 | map |

Opened: February 12, 1947 as an operation of Phil Isley and H.J. Griffith, who also had the Picwood Theatre in the pipeline. Among other projects, the duo would later have the Imperial and La Tijera theatres, both projects ending unhappily. The building is on the east side of the street just south of Saticoy St.

The December 1982 photo of the theatre in its Spanish language days appears in Chapter 9 of Jay Allen Sanford's  "Pussycat Theatres: The Inside Story," a 2010 article that originally appeared in the San Diego Reader. It's on blogspot: Chapter 1 | Chapters 2-15 |

Architect: C.W. Kern of North Hollywood. He was mentioned in a newspaper article when the project was nearing completion

Seating: 980 after a 1954 reseating. Ron Strong, on his Bijou Memories page about the theatre, notes it was down to 900 after a re-do in 1963. 

Ron notes that the theatre was a project of Earl L. White and his brother Perc, the former owners of  radio station KELW. They had been making huge profits developing tracts of new houses in the Valley and turned their attention to commercial properties along Lankershim. Earlier they had opened the North Hollywood Village Mart at 7500 Lankershim and the rest of the block between Cohasset St. and Saticoy followed with the theatre project and more retail spaces. 

 

 

 

A newspaper item appearing the day before the opening. Thanks to Ron Strong for locating this. For a treat, visit his Bijou Memories site for lovely pages about his favorite vintage theatres in the San Fernando Valley. And don't miss his page on the Lankershim.

 

 

 

A 1947 pre-opening ad. Thanks to Ron Strong for locating it.

 

 

 

A bit of a ceiling issue. Thanks to Ron Strong for finding this May 25, 1952 newspaper item. 

An ad for the 1953 releases "Hondo" (in 3-D) and "Here Come the Girls." Thanks to Ron Strong for locating it.  

 

 

 

Cinemascope comes to the Lankershim. This ad for "The Robe," the first Cinemascope film, appeared July 15, 1954. It was another find by Ron Strong. 

The theatre playing "Julius Caesar" on the Ides of March in 1955. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the Valley Times ad.

After a long run with Hollywood product (mostly second run fare) it became a porno theatre operated by the Pussycat chain beginning November 26, 1976. It folded in the face of neighborhood opposition in July 1977. It reopened August 5, 1977 as a Spanish language house run by Metropolitan Theatres advertised as the Teatro Lankershim. Thanks to Ron Strong for the research.

Closing: 1991, according to data from Ron. The vertical sign was removed by the Valley Relics Museum in 2013. 

Status: It's now used as a church.

 

1954 - A Valley Times photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The caption that appeared with the photo on January 4: "Valley Times newspaperboys, 518 strong, file into North Hollywood's Lankershim Theater at paper's annual Christmas Party. Program consisted of cartoons, featured film and gifts. Youngsters are already looking forward to another blowout next year." 

 

 

1977 - In operation as a Pussycat theatre. Thanks to Ron Strong for the photo, one appearing on his Bijou Memories page about the Lankershim.

 

1984 - Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this photo. 

 

 

2008 - The theatre as a Spanish language church. Thanks to Don Solosan for this photo, taken as part of a survey of surviving theatre buildings for the for the now-dormant Theatre Committee of the L.A. Conservancy.

2008 - A vertical sign view by Don Solosan. Thanks to Hillsman Wright of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation for making Don's photos available.

2009 - Thanks to Corey Miller for this view. Also check out a vertical sign photo that's in his Movie Theatres album on Flickr.

  
c.2011 - A much flashier color scheme on the vertical. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for his photo, a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. The vertical came off in 2013.

2014 - The facade with the pylon somewhat intact but the vertical sign down. Photo: Google Maps

2018 - Looking south on Lankershim. Photo: Google Maps

More Information: Check out Ron Strong's page about the theatre on his fine site Bijou Memories.

See the Cinema Treasures page on the Lankershim for a few comments. The Cinema Tour page has a 2001 exterior shot by Bob Meza.

Also see the page here on this site about the Lankershim Theatre that was around in the 1920s at 5323 Lankershim Blvd. 

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