Empire Theatre

124 W. 5th St. San Pedro (Los Angeles), CA 90731 | map - approximate |

Opened: Possibly 1916. It was on the north side of the street between Beacon and Palos Verdes. To the east at the corner of 5th and Beacon was the Star Theatre. To the west at 5th and Palos Verdes was the New Theatre.  

 

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.  

The "Empire Motion Picture Theatre" got an organ in 1917 according to an item located by Joe Vogel. He noted it on the Cinema Treasures page about the Globe Theatre.

The Empire first ran vaudeville then motion pictures according to data from local historian John M. Houston in his article "Assembly Halls to Picture Palaces" that appeared in the November 20 and 21, 1984 issues of the News Pilot. The articles, from the San Pedro Bay Historical Society clipping file, are reproduced at the bottom of the page for the Victoria Theatre. Houston gives a c.1918 date for the theatre's opening.

A June 14, 1919 ad for the Empire from the clipping file of the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for the image of it. You can browse over 40 of her shots of clippings from the SPBHS in an album on Google Photos.

"Everybody's Going!" The Empire was included in this ad for Paramount Week in 1920 that appeared in the September 6 issue of the Long Beach Daily Telegram. It's from the Ronald W. Mahan Collection. Many thanks to Ron for scanning the ad. 

The address for the Empire in the city directories varies. In the 1919, 1921 and 1923 San Pedro directories it's listed as being at 124 W. 5th. The address was 120 W. 5th in the 1921, 1926 and 1928 editions. In the 1923 L.A. city directory under "theatres" it's at 124 W. 5th. and at 122 W. 5th under "motion picture theatres."

Closing: Presumably sometime around 1928.

Status: Whatever building the Empire was in is long gone. The whole area was bulldozed in the 1970s for the ill-conceived Beacon St. redevelopment project.

This block of 5th St. between Beacon and Palos Verdes no longer exists. 5th, which used to go straight east to meet Harbor Blvd., acquired a wiggle to the north during the 1970s Beacon St. redevelopment project. The 400 and 500 blocks of Beacon have been turned into an unnamed alley. 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 from the map.

A 20s look west on 5th from Harbor Blvd. That first intersection in was 5th and Beacon. The Empire would have been a bit beyond the corner on the right, the north side of the street. The card is from the San Pedro page on the site Penny Postcards from California.

More information: Sorry, there isn't any yet. 

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