Casino Building / Capitol Theatre

127 S. El Paseo Redondo Beach, CA 90277 | map |

Opened: Well, it was scheduled to open as The Casino on June 28, 1907. But the fire we see in this photo was the big event of the day instead of the opening ceremonies. Thanks to Douglas Thompson for locating this photo that was taken by Redondo photographers Worrall & Crummer. It's in the collection of the Redondo Beach Library from the Redondo Beach Historical Museum.

The new three story half-timbered building was intended to be a replacement for this less exciting Casino building operated by a duo named Hall and Shafer that had been erected on the same site in 1892. Thanks to Douglas Thompson for this detail from a 1903 USC Digital Library photo.

Architect: John Parkinson, according to research by Ken Roe. It's not known who did the 1920 conversion to a film house. Ken notes: "The auditorium and stage portion was built on wooden pilings above the sand."

While Henry Huntington was not going to finance or operate the Casino building (unlike the new Pavilion and Plunge), he had to approve the whole project as his companies controlled the land. The new project was going to stimulate increased passenger traffic on Huntington's Red Cars that ran along the coast. Thanks to Douglas Thompson for locating this February 27, 1907 L.A. Times article:

The article notes that Michael Mayer would be building the new $20,000 Casino. Douglas adds that one of those buildings removed from the waterfront to make way for the new construction was the town's first public library, an institution which didn't find a new home until 1909. 

The location was just south of the Redondo Pavilion, going up at the same time, which contained shops, restaurants, a ground floor theatre called the Pavilion Theatre, and the Mandarin Ballroom on the second floor. In the photo the Pavilion is on the right, with its construction scaffolding still in place. Firemen were able to spare it from the flames. Douglas reports that an article in the Redondo Reflex noted that it was able to open on schedule two days later on July 1, 1907. 

South of the Casino was the saltwater Plunge, also referred to as the Bathhouse, which opened in 1909. The pools there were heated by a Pacific Electric generating plant. The Plunge was demolished in 1941 and the site became a parking lot to handle the crowds at the Pavilion's ballroom. The Pavilion was demolished in 1960.

The story about the "fire-eaten ruins"  of the "Heidelberg-type casino" was covered in a June 29, 1907 article in the L.A. Times:

Thanks to Douglas Thompson for locating the article. The Casino was rebuilt according to the original plans. The article notes that the contractors pledged to have it done in 40 days.

 

Conversion to a film house: After a 1920 remodel it reopened August 1 as Fancher's Capitol. It's unknown who the architect was for the film house conversion. 

 

 

This article in June 19, 1920 Riverside Enterprise noted that the Casino Cafe was no more and that the building had changed hands and was being converted into "a first-class moving picture theater." Thanks to Kevin Walsh for locating this via the California Digital Newspaper Collection website.

 

 

 

The upcoming grand opening of the Capitol was noted in this item from the July 28, 1920 Los Angeles Herald. Thanks to Kevin Walsh for locating the article. 

 

"Formal Opening." A July 30, 1920 Los Angeles Herald ad announcing the event that was located by Kevin Walsh via the CDNC site. 

Seating: About 900 originally. Later it was 710 with 600 on the main floor and a bit over a hundred in the shallow balcony.

 

Pipe Organ: Ken Roe notes: "A Wurlitzer theatre organ Opus 307, style 135A was shipped to the Capitol on 13th May 1920."

 

 A March 1921 ad located by Ken McIntyre for a Facebook post on Ken's Movie Page.

The Capitol was soon operated by the Gore Bros. and then by West Coast Theatres when the Gore interests were rolled into that new firm. It remained the major theater in Redondo Beach until the opening of the Fox Redondo in February 1929 when manager Thomas Quinn moved over to the new house and the Capitol went to a policy of second runs and westerns.

Redondo Beach was a prime resort town as well as a shipping port. The beginning of development of San Pedro as a port in 1899 started changing all that. By 1912 ships operated by the Pacific Steamship Company no longer stopped at Redondo. With the railroad pulling out in 1926, lumber schooners no longer used the Pier 3 at Topaz St. The number of visitors continued to decline due to prohibition and the depression. The three-story 225 room Hotel Redondo, constructed in 1890 for $250,000, closed and was sold for $3,000 to be recycled for its lumber.

Closing of the Capitol: The closing date is unknown. Perhaps it was still running as a movie theatre into the early 1940s. More data is needed. A February 19, 1944 L.A. Times article discusses the demolition:

Thanks to Douglas Thompson for locating the article. As he notes, it has several problems. It gives an 1890 date for the building, rather than 1907. And it makes no mention of the building's use at the Capitol Theatre, once the leading theatre in town. Perhaps the Times has the Casino confused with another building.

Status: All the amusement buildings in the area have been demolished. The El Paseo is now under water. The area was dredged to form a new harbor in 1961.


An interior view:

A 1920 trade magazine photo that appeared with the caption "Auditorium and balcony floors of new Capitol, Redondo, Cal." Thanks to Elmorovivo for finding the shot for the Cinema Treasures page about the Capitol. It appears that they didn't have the balcony ready yet.


More exterior views:

c.1908 - A lovely postcard view of the building. It's unknown whether this is the original building ready to open or the rebuilt version. Thanks to realtors Bruce and Maureen Megowan for the card, one appearing in the fine South Bay History section of their website.

c.1908 - The Redondo Pavilion with the Casino beyond. At the far left there's no sign yet of the Bathhouse. It's a California Historical Society photo appearing on the USC Digital Library website.

c.1908 - A detail of the Casino from the California Historical Society photo.

c.1909 - A view from the pier of a bit of the Pavilion plus the Casino and Bathhouse. The latter appears to be still under construction. Note the scaffolding. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo.

c.1910 - A postcard view of the back of the three buildings. It's from the John and Jane Adams Postcards collection at San Diego State University. 

 

 

c.1910 - A view south down the tracks toward Newport Beach. The Pavilion is at the right with the Casino and Bathhouse to the left. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.

c.1910 - A South Bay Daily Breeze file photo appearing with Sam Gnerre's 2011 article "The Redondo Barn." That was a late name for the ballroom in the Pavilion. 

 

c.1910 - A fine panoramic view of the Paseo. The Pavilion/Auditorium is in the center with the Casino to the left. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo. 

c.1910 - A postcard from the Redondo Beach section of the site Penny Postcards from California.

 

c.1910 - A moonlight postcard view with the dark hulk of the Casino in the middle between the nicely lit Bathhouse and Auditorium. The card was on eBay.

 

 

c.1915 - A view north toward the Casino from the Redondo Beach Historical Society collection. It appeared in a slideshow with the 2014 Easy Reader article "Waterfront Development in Redondo Beach: a timeline." Sharrye Hagins also included it in her Old South Bay photos Facebook album. Kevin Walsh shared the image with a Pacific Electric Facebook group with a c.1910 date and got this comment: 

 

"If you count the windows in these two cars, it is apparent that these are PE 1001 series cars. The first one has windows in the former open section and the second one still has its open section. The c.1910 dating is wrong. The 'tens' were acquired in 1913. It was in 1914 when two cars (1028 and 1029) were upgraded by enclosing the open section with windows. Eight cars (1030-1037) received two toilets on either side of the separating bulkhead c.1915 -- the second car in this train looks like it may be one of these cars. It was not until 1928-29 that the open sections of the rest of the 'tens' received window sash."

c.1915 - A look north along the shoreline. Thanks to Sharrye Hagins for sharing this card she located in an Old South Bay photos Facebook album. The unidentified book that reproduced this black and white version of the card credited it to the Marilyn Ron collection.  

 

 

c.1917 - "New Pleasure Pier." It's a card that appears on a Vintage Redondo Beach post of the blog Surfin' Through Life.  black and white version of another color card from the Marilyn Ron collection. This copy had an August  See Sam Gnerre's Daily Breeze article about the "Endless Pier."

1921 - A lovely photo of the Capitol from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The feature is "Reputation," a May release with Priscilla Dean and Harry von Meter. The building had reopened as a film house on August 1, 1920.

1922 - A postcard of the theatre and the Bathhouse. The feature playing is "Turn To The Right," directed by Rex Ingram. Thanks to Kevin Walsh for locating the card. He notes that this copy had a 1937 postmark. Projectkevp also has a copy of the card on Flickr, included in their KP Cinemas: postcards album of mostly British cinemas, but with detours to Hawaii and other locales

c.1923 - Looking south along the Pavilion toward the Capitol Theatre and the Bathhouse beyond. It's a postcard by Mission Art Company that's in the California State Library collection.

c.1923 - A detail from the California State Library photo.

c.1925 - Looking south on Pacific Ave. with the Paseo on the right. That's the Garland Hotel straight ahead. It's a California Historical Society photo on the USC Digital Library website.

c.1925 - A closer look at the theatre and its new vertical sign from the California Historical Society photo. The marquee appears to be advertising Colleen Moore on the end panel.

c.1925 - A postcard view of the theatre and Pavilion beyond. It was a find on eBay.

1928 - A view showing the "Giant Dipper" and to the right, (where Wharf #1 had been) one end of the "Endless Pier" (1916-1928), the Pavilion, the sloped roof of the Casino/Capitol Theatre, the bathhouse, and the Monstad Pier (sticking straight out, 1928-present). Thanks to Sam Gnerre for including the photo in his 2019 Daily Breeze article "South Bay's roller coaster was a hit 100 years ago in Redondo Beach." He credits the photo to a now-vanished Nostalgic Amusement Parks Facebook page. Thanks to Douglas Thompson for locating the article.

1961 - Looking south to the area where the Bathhouse, Capitol Theatre and Pavilion had once been. It was dredged for a new marina area as part of the King Harbor development. It's a South Bay Daily Breeze photo appearing with Sam Gnerre's 2011 article "The Redondo Barn." The photo was taken from the roof of the Fox Redondo. 

More information: Check out the Arcadia Publishing book "Redondo Beach Pier" by Jennifer Krintz. There's a preview on Google Books. See the Cinema Treasures page on the Capitol Theatre for a fine history by Ken Roe.

There's a history page about the city on the website of the City of Redondo Beach. See Sam Gnerre's 2011 Daily Breeze article "The Redondo Barn" about the Pavilion and its ballroom. The site Silent Era has a page on the Capitol with a photo but no other information.

Douglas Thompson notes that issues of the weekly newspaper the "Redondo Reflex" from 1906 to 1970 as well as some city directories of various vintages from a variety of publishers are online at Laserweb.Redondo.org.  

Other early Redondo beach theatres: The Airdome and the Elite Theatre were also in the amusement area along the beach. Both were listed as being at The Midway in the 1912/13 city directory. Their locations and history are unknown.

The film theatre on the main floor of the Pavilion was known as the Pavilion Theatre. The Art Theatre on Diamond St. was demolished c.1928 for construction of the Fox Redondo on its site. A later theatre was the Strand, a house that ended up as the Marina 1-2-3. 

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