Opened: 1912, at the corner of Diamond and Pacific Ave., right on the beach. An item in the January 31, 1912 issue of the L.A. Times that was located by Ken McIntyre:
"Redondo Beach – The new Art Theater will be opened tomorrow night with a benefit performance given by the local order of the Fraternal Brotherhood of Eagles. Special arrangements have been made for the members of the Eagles from Los Angeles and Santa Monica to reach Redondo and it is supposed that two special cars will arrive from each place. Two shows will be given, the first performance beginning at 7 and the second at 9."
Architects: The Los Angeles firm of Hunt and Burns (Sumner P. Hunt and Silas Reese Burns) designed the theatre. The team also did College Theatre and the Alhambra Theatre, both on Hill St. in downtown Los Angeles. Later they did the Wilshire Ebell Theatre.
The Art had a 20' deep stage with a 40' wide proscenium. Thanks to Ken Roe for the research.
Seating: 600
The Art running the feature "Heliotrope" along with the one reel Burton Holmes travelogue "Nature's Contrasts," both late 1920 Paramount releases. The signage below the boxoffice window notes: "Art Theatre - Opens 6:45 - Night Shows continuous from 7:00 - Matinees as Announced." It's a photo from the California Historical Society that appears on the USC Digital Library website.
This combination film and vaudeville house was acquired by West Coast Theatres in 1920. By 1929 that firm became Fox West Coast.
Status: The Art was demolished in 1928 for the construction of the Fox Redondo.
Other early Redondo beach theatres: The Pavilion Theatre, located on the ground floor of the Redondo Pavilion, opened around 1907. The Capitol Theatre, in a building just south of the pavilion that had been constructed in 1907 as the Casino, opened in 1912.
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. A later theatre was the Strand, a house on Catalina Ave. that ended up as the Marina 1-2-3.
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Art Theatre.
| back to top | Theatres Along the Coast | Along the Coast - list by address | Downtown theatres | Westside theatres | Hollywood | Westwood and Brentwood | [more] Los Angeles movie palaces | Los Angeles theatres - the main alphabetical list | Los Angeles theatres - list by address | theatre history resources | film and theatre tech resources | contact info | welcome and site navigation guide |
No comments:
Post a Comment