Alhambra Theatre

515 S. Beacon St. San Pedro (Los Angeles), CA 90731  | map - approximate |

Opening: It was running by 1912. This look at the theatre, perhaps just before the opening, is a photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

It was on the west side of the street, a bit south of 5th. The address no longer exists as the 400 and 500 blocks of Beacon were bulldozed and this portion of the street turned into an unnamed alley in the 1970s during the Beacon St. redevelopment project. 5th St., which used to go straight east to meet Harbor Blvd., acquired a wiggle to the north. 

 

The Alhambra, later built at 515, is seen as an empty lot in this image showing the west side of the 500 block of Beacon. It's a detail from image 8 of the 1908 Sanborn Real Estate Map for San Pedro that's in the Library of Congress collection. See image 4 for the east side of the street. That's 5th St. near the top and 6th at the bottom. Presumably that's the Star Theatre at 501 and the Lyric Theatre at 535. 

 

 

An ad for the theatre from the files of the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for the photo of it. One of the films they're advertising is "The Last Rites of the Maine and Burial of Its Dead," an April 1912 release. 

In June 1912 the Alhambra was advertising titles including "Captain King's Rescue" from Lubin, "The Old Silver Watch" from Vitagraph, "Two Knights in a Barroom" from Edison, and D.W. Griffith's "The Female of the Species" from Biograph. The data comes from local historian John M. Houston. He notes that while they were also advertising "songs and good music," his suspicion is that they didn't have much of a stage as other live acts weren't advertised.

Houston's comments appear in "Assembly Halls to Picture Palaces," his article that appeared in the November 20 and 21, 1984 issues of the San Pedro News Pilot. The clippings, from the files of the San Pedro Bay Historical Society, are reproduced at the bottom of the page for the Victoria Theatre. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for taking photos of them. You can browse over 40 of her shots of clippings from the SPBHS in an album on Google Photos. 

 

An ad for the Alhambra appearing in the San Pedro Daily Pilot in 1914. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.

Joe Vogel notes that the Alhambra is listed in the 1913-14 Cahn Theatrical Guide, the only theatre shown for San Pedro. There aren't any details given in that publication. It's listed in the 1914 and 1915 L.A. city directories.   

 

 

A September 1916 ad in a San Pedro paper. Thanks to Donald Brown for sharing this as a comment to his post about other San Pedro businesses on the San Pedro Memories private Facebook group. 

Closing: Perhaps in the early 20s. The theatre doesn't seem to be in the building anymore in a postcard view from the Joe McKinzie collection that he dates as 1924. The card is shown below.

Status: The building survived into the early 1970s but was then demolished. The entire area has been redeveloped.

Also on Beacon: The Star Theatre was at 5th and Beacon, perhaps opening in 1907. The Lyric Theatre was at 535, opening perhaps in 1908. The Majestic Theatre was at 407 S. Beacon. Fisher's Theatre was up at Beacon and 4th. 

c.1908 - A pre-Alhambra view looking north into the 500 block of Beacon St. from 6th. It's a card that was postmarked in 1908. The Alhambra would later be up two-thirds of the block on the left. The building with the clock was the Bank of San Pedro. The tower didn't do well in the 1933 earthquake. It's a card from the site Card Cow. In addition to this one, they have over 200 more San Pedro postcards to browse.

1924 - A postcard view after the theatre had closed. We're looking south from 5th with the Alhambra building the second in from the right. Here it has acquired an awning and has perhaps been converted to restaurant use. There's a sign in front saying "Lunch." It's a postcard from the collection of Joe McKinzie and appears in his 2007 Arcadia Publishing book "San Pedro." There's a preview of the book on Google Books.

1970 - The arch of what had been the Alhambra's entrance is right behind the car. This is the west side of the street as we look south toward 6th St. The building down there at the end of the block was once the Bank of San Pedro, seen here without its clock tower. It's a photo by William Reagh in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

1971 - A look north up the block from 6th St. The arched entrance of the former Alhambra is most of the way down the block, just beyond the van. It's a William Reagh photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

2018 - The view of the 500 block from 6th after bulldozing and redevelopment. We're looking north with the site of the Alhambra most of the block up the street and on the left. Photo: Google Maps

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page about the Alhambra. 

The David Rumsay Map Collection has a fine 1938 Thomas Brothers San Pedro and Wilmington map online if you'd care to look at the original layout. Also see a detail of the downtown area.
 

A mystery photo:

Someone had written "Alhambra on Beacon" across the top of this photo but a look at the detailing on the arch reveals that we are not at the Alhambra. Also note that there's no boxoffice in the middle of the entrance. But perhaps it's a view of some other San Pedro theatre.

They have posters up for "Her Mother's Love," a 1911 release also known by the more interesting title "Her Mother's Sins" as well as "The Hero," presumably the 1911 film by that title. The title was also used for films in 1914 and 1917. The photo is from the collection of the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for taking the photo of it.

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