Opening: August 2, 1924 as the Barton Theatre with the First National film "Love Master" starring Stongheart the Dog along with a program of vaudeville. The theatre was on the west side of the street between Santa Cruz St. and Sepulveda St.
The photo is one that appeared in a March 19, 1998 San Pedro News Pilot article by Sam Domancich about his visits to the theatre as a kid. The article is from the clipping file at the at the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for the image. The text from the article is reproduced at the bottom of the page.
Seating: 412 according to the 1950 Film Daily Yearbook. Thanks to Ken Roe for the data.
Architect: Possibly Robert Francis Foss. Cinema Treasures researcher Joe Vogel did the detective work. He located this item about the theatre in the April 11, 1924 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor:
"San Pedro— Foss Designing & Building Company 1007 Pacific Ave, San Pedro, has the contract and has started work on a two-story theater and office building 45x100 feet at northeast corner of Santa Cruz and Pacific; estimated cost, $35,000. The building is being erected by Goebel Bros., who own the market building adjoining and will be under the management of P.H. Poirier. The theater will seat 500. The building will be Mission style throughout."
Joe discusses the Foss firm:
"The Foss Designing & Building Company was a Pasadena firm established by builder Robert Francis Foss in 1911. The San Pedro branch office was opened in 1923. Operating both as a general contractor for projects designed by other architects and as one of the region’s leading design-build firms, Foss Designing & Building Company was active at least into the 1980s as The Foss Company.
"The firm’s architectural and business records are held at the Huntington Library in San Marino. It’s possible that the plans for the Barton Theatre are among them, though it is also possible that this was only a contracting project. I've found a reference to the Foss company being the builders of the Strand Theatre in San Pedro as well, so it also might have been a Foss design."
Thanks, Joe!
An article about the opening that appeared in the San Pedro Daily Pilot. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for including it in a 2022 post with several other 1924 San Pedro theatre news items for the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
The theatre is in the 1924, 26 and 28 San Pedro directories as the Barton. From 1930 through the 1946 directories it's the Barton Hill Theatre. In 1949 and 1952 it's back to the Barton Theatre.
A December 1927 ad included by Ken McIntyre in a 2023 thread about the theatre for the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
"Xmas Greetings." It's a December 24, 1927 ad. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a 2021 post for the Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
"With SOUND." It's a February 1929 ad that Ken McIntyre located for a 2023 thread about the theatre on the Facebook group Ken's Movie Page.
A 1931 news story asserts that the Italians had no film industry before this. Well, perhaps it was the first Italian film to play San Pedro. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this and other items on the page for a 2020 post for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
New RCA High Fidelity sound equipment in February 1934. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this ad for a 2023 post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. A story appearing at the same time:
"New Sound Equipment Installed At Barton - Last night marked the debut of the new RCA Victor High Fidelity sound system at the Barton theatre. The new equipment is similar to the type recently installed in the new Radio City theatres, in Rockefeller Contre [sic], New York. According to Mr. Shute, manager of the Barton, the new system is actually capable of reproducing a wider range of sound than many of the motion pictures now made can provide."
A May 8, 1934 News Pilot ad from the clipping collection at the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for the image.
Stirring pictures playing in 1937. The article was another find of Ken McIntyre.
An August 31, 1940 ad from the News Pilot in the clipping collection at the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for taking a photo of it. Herbert A. Shute, who put his name in the ad, owned the building and operated the theatre from 1930 until its 1951 closing as a film house.
A 1945 News Pilot ad for the Barton. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.
"How Green Was My Valley" playing in June 1949. Ken McIntyre located the ad.
'
Looted in 1951. It's a May 9 item located by Ken.
A first closing: It closed as a film house on June 28, 1951 with Randolph Scott in "The Cariboo Trail" along with Steve Cochran in "Highway 301." Thanks to Ken McIntyre and Cinema Treasures contributor Dallas Movie
Theaters for the data. Starting in 1954 the building was was used for
religious rentals.
A closing week ad. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.
Herbert A. Shute, the longtime owner and operator of the theatre, dies after a vacation in Hawaii. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this October 16, 1951 article.
An April 1954 ad that Ken located.
Revival time in 1961. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the ad.
The rebirth: It reopened as a porn venue called the Mermaid Theatre in 1975.
A February 1975 grand opening ad in the News Pilot. It was a find by Ken McIntyre.
Films were one thing but the addition of live shows caused an uproar. This article from the April 5, 1975 issue of the News Pilot was saved in the clipping file at the at the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for the image.
Another 1975 ad located by Ken McIntyre.
There were picket lines. This ad appeared in June 1975. It's one that Ken McIntyre located for a 2023 thread about the theatre on the Facebook group Ken's Movie Page. He comments: "The Mermaid was caught in a gill net in June 1975. No more ads after June 30th."
In 1977 the theatre had a fling as a legit operation called the Showcase Theatre.
A June 29, 1978 item from the News Pilot about the failed Showcase venture. It's from the clipping file at the at the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for the image.
A 1978 News Pilot article about the demise of the Showcase Theatre operation:
The clipping is in the collection of the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for getting the image of it. The Showcase operation fizzled.
"In beautiful rundown San Pedro." A flyer for a February 1979 punk show with the Alley Cats, Plugz, Black Flag and the Descendents. It can also be seen, with a second flyer, on Concerts Wiki. Ken McIntyre also includes it in his Ken's Movie Page Facebook thread about the theatre.
Well, the show didn't happen. A commentator to this page notes:
"This is all explained in Stevie Chick's book 'Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag.' According
to Keith Morris (Black Flag's then lead singer), the theater balked
when the bands wanted to remove the first row of seats in front of the
stage to create 'a space where people could jump around and get
excited.' Ultimately, the show was moved to the Teen Post in San
Pedro (at 240 N Mesa; original building is still there, to the left of
the church). The Reactionaries (early name of the Minutemen) opened the
show.
"Chuck
Dukowski (bass player for Wurm and Black Flag) has said that he lived
in the theater, so I'm guessing that he was responsible for the original
plan. 'Wurm had house parties at the former porn theater that we
lived in. It was called The Mermaid Theater. We had it decorated with
discarded Christmas trees and we played on the stage. We sold food and
drinks to our friends to pay our rent. The darkness of the theater let
us almost reverse night and day.' Source: pleasekillme.com/black-flag-wurm."
Looking for instructors for a new venture at the Barton to be called the Theatre of Performing Arts. It's a December 29, 1980 ad located by Ken McIntyre. A January 1981 legal notice published in the San Pedro New-Pilot revealed that it was to be a sole proprietorship operated by Jimmy Mack with the full business name "Jimmy Mack's Theatre of Performing Arts."
This 1980 photo with Theatre of Performing Arts on the marquee was taken by Chris Shaw. Thanks to his
son Robert Shaw for sharing the shot as part of a 144 photo San Pedro set posted for the South Bay/Los Angeles Days of Old California Facebook group.
A February 12, 1981 letter to the News-Pilot talking about the cleaner neighborhood and improvements to the theatre as a result of interest in the Theatre of Performing Arts operation. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this.
By mid-1981 Jimmy had re-branded the house as the Star Theatre. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding this August 5, 1981 News-Pilot photo as well as the story, below, that accompanied it.
"Jazz Dancers - Live on Stage, Classes." They were calling it the Star Performing Arts Theatre in this September 1981 ad that was located by Ken McIntyre. Later the theatre began showing faith-based films. By 1983 it was a church again.
Status: The building was demolished in 1988 rather than having the owner do a seismic upgrade.
A March 19, 1998 San Pedro News Pilot article by Sam Domancich about his visits to the theatre:
The article is in the clipping file of the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for locating it. You can browse over 40 of her shots of clippings from the SPBHS in an album on Google Photos.
The site of the Barton in the center. What looks like a place to get your car fixed was, at the time of the photo, an urgent care center to get your body fixed. That's a bit of Santa Cruz St. on the left. Off to the right you'd be heading north on Pacific. Photo: Google Maps - 2019
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Barton Theatre.
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On February 17, 1979, this theater was supposed to be the venue for a punk show featuring the Alley Cats, The Plugz, Black Flag, and the Descendents. You can see two different flyers for the show, here:
ReplyDeletehttps://concerts.fandom.com/wiki/February_17,_1979_211_N._Pacific_Ave,_San_Pedro,_CA
According to Keith Morris (Black Flag's then lead singer), the theater balked when the bands wanted to remove the first row of seats in front of the stage to create "a space where people could jump around and get excited."
Ultimately, the show was moved to the Teen Post in San Pedro (at 240 N Mesa; original building is still there, to the left of the church). The Reactionaries (early name of the Minutemen) opened the show.
This is all explained in Stevie Chick's book, "Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag."
Chuck Dukowski (bass player for Wurm and Black Flag) has said that he lived in the theater, so I'm guessing that he was responsible for the original plan.
"Wurm had house parties at the former porn theater that we lived in. It was called The Mermaid Theater. We had it decorated with discarded Christmas trees and we played on the stage. We sold food and drinks to our friends to pay our rent. The darkness of the theater let us almost reverse night and day."
Source: https://pleasekillme.com/black-flag-wurm/
Thanks for all the data! Much appreciated.
DeleteFascinating! Thanks for the recap, summary, and history!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it!
Delete