Opened: February 22, 1929 at Diamond and Pacific, next to the beach. The opening attraction was "The Ghost Talks," a talkie with Helen Twelvetrees, who appeared at the opening. On the great stage were five vaudeville acts accompanied by a ten piece pit orchestra led by Lynn Cowan.
In the photo they're running two September 1938 releases: "Hold That Co-Ed" with John Barrymore, George Murphy and Marjorie Weaver along with "Youth Takes a Fling" starring Joel McCrea and Andrea Leeds. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo, one he added as a comment to his post of an aerial view on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
The site for the Fox Redondo was previously occupied by the Art Theatre, a 600 seat house which had opened in 1912.
Architect: John Paxton Perrine. He also did the Lincoln Theatre on S. Central Ave. in Los Angeles as well as many others including the Roosevelt Theatre in Hawthorne, the California and Ritz theatres in San Bernardino, the Capital in Calexico, the Fox in El Centro, the Orange Theatre in Orange and the California Theatre in San Diego.
S. Charles Lee surveyed the house in 1937 for a proposed facade and signage renovation. This rendering by Lee is for a re-styling of the theatre -- and perhaps a new name. The drawing is on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection. They also have another version without the color and the name. The work that Fox West Coast eventually did obviously looked nothing like this. It's unknown if they used Lee or went with someone else.
Seating: 1,324
A 1930 ad for the theatre and Pacific Electric. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.
A 1932 ad for the theatre located by Ken McIntyre.
A 1933 ad for "King Kong" from the Geoff Hagins collection. Thanks to Sharrye Hagins for sharing it in her Old South Bay photos Facebook album.
A 1933 ad. It was another find by Ken McIntyre. "The Picture Snatcher" was an April release.
Closing: The Redondo Redevelopment Agency purchased the theatre in 1972 for $201,000. The theatre closed on December 5, 1972 with its last film being "Woodstock." National General, the successor firm to Fox West Coast, was the operator. Sam Gnerre comments: "Operating the curtain that night was J.E. (Jim) McGinnis, the same man who operated the projection booth on the theater’s opening night in 1929 when it showed 'The Ghost Talks.'"
Status: It was demolished beginning February 26, 1973 with the land earmarked for a new hotel. The hotel never materialized. The theatre's address no longer exists as that section of Diamond St. is now a park area.
Interior views:
A 1965 lobby view from the South Bay Daily Breeze. It appears with Sam Gnerre's 2012 article "Redondo's Fox Theatre" The caption:
"Fox Theater manager Hugo L. Holbach and Redondo Beach Mayor William Czuleger, center, pose inside the theater with rock ‘n’ roller Bobby Fuller, leader of the Bobby Fuller Four, before the band’s August 1965 concert at the Fox Theater in Redondo Beach. Fuller and Czuleger hold a copy of the band’s then-hit 45, 'Let Her Dance.'"
A main floor look toward the proscenium. Note the bit of the asbestos in view. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection, one of 17 Fox Redondo photos taken in 1942 that they have. The assumption is that these were taken after a redecorating job and some of the painted detail had been covered during that project.
A view from the balcony. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library - 1942
A balcony view toward house right. It appears there used to be an exit under the organ grille. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library - 1942
A closer look at the house right mural. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library - 1942
A view along the house left wall. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library - 1942
The house left mural. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library - 1942
The rear of the auditorium. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library - 1942
More exterior views:
1929 - The Fox running "The Singing Fool" with Al Jolson. This talkie was a September 1928 release from Warner Bros. Thanks to Dallas Movie Theaters for finding this trade magazine shot for a post on Cinema Treasures.
1939 - A fine look at the facade before it was simplified and the signage revamped. S. Charles Lee's survey of the house for a potential facade remodel resulted in this photo being in the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection. At the time they were running "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" with Mickey Rooney, a February release. The photographer is unknown. The photo is on Calisphere.
1939 - Looking east toward the entrance. The photo is on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection.
1939 - The Pacific Ave. side of the building. The photo is on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee
Papers Collection.
Calisphere also has a survey page for the online items of the Lee collection. They can also be seen on the UCLA website. There's also a finding aid to the collection
on the Online Archive of California site.
1947 - A photo from the Redondo Beach Historical Society collection that appeared in a slideshow with the 2014 Easy Reader article "Waterfront Development in Redondo Beach: a timeline."
1956 - A look at the simplified facade. "The Eddie Duchin Story" was a June release. The photo is from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1957 - A look north along Pacific toward the Fox Redondo, straight ahead. Over on the left is the Redondo Pavilion, dating from 1907. At this point its second floor ballroom was called the Redondo Barn. Thanks to Ron Felsing for posting the photo on Flickr.
1959 - "Inn of the Sixth Happiness" was a December 1958 release. "Alaska Passage" was out in February 1959. It's a photo from the collection of Ron Felsing on Flickr. A version of the photo also appears on the website of the City of Redondo Beach with the link on their photo page identified as "Old Fox Theatre."
1959 - A "Pillow Talk" shot from Deborah Frederick. Thanks to David Zornig for spotting it for a post on Cinema Treasures.
c.1959 - A view of the rear of the stagehouse as we look south. It appears that the Redondo Pavilion hasn't been demolished yet but a crane is in place. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo, added as a comment to a post for the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
1961 - On top of the theatre looking south to the area where the Bathhouse, Capitol Theatre and Pavilion had once been. It's a South Bay Daily Breeze
photo that appeared with Sam Gnerre's 2011 article "The Redondo Barn."
1960s - A photo from the Geoff Hagins collection with the Fox in the lower right. Thanks to Sharrye Hagins for sharing this in her Old South Bay photos Facebook album.
1960s - A detail from the previous image.
1960s - Another image from the Geoff Hagins collection. It's another that Sharrye Hagins included in her Old South Bay photos Facebook album.
1970 - Thanks to Bill Greene for this photo he took. He's shared it on Flickr.
1972 - A heartbreaking view of the theatre after closing. It's part of Sam Gnerre's nice 2009 South Bay Daily Breeze survey "South Bay Movie Theaters of the Past." Also see Sam's 2012 article "Redondo's Fox Theatre."
1973 - A photo of the closed theatre taken by Michael Edward Prince Gray. It was included in a post with seven other views of the theatre on the page for the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
1973 - A sad demolition view in March. It's a South Bay Daily Breeze file photo appearing with Sam Gnerre's 2012 article "Redondo's Fox Theatre." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting it for a post for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
1973 - The house right wall gone. Thanks to Michael Edward Prince Gray for sharing his photo on a post for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
1973 - A sidewall detail. Photo: Michael Edward Prince Gray - Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
1973 - A closer look at the house left organ grille area. Photo: Michael Edward Prince Gray - Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
1973 - Back toward the rear of the house. Photo: Michael Edward Prince Gray - Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
1973 - A last view of the proscenium and asbestos curtain. Photo: Michael Edward Prince Gray - Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group. Thanks, Michael!
2019 - Looking north on what they call the "International Boardwalk" toward where Diamond St. and the Fox Redondo used to be. Photo: Bill Counter
2019 - A view east from the former site of the theatre toward Catalina Ave. Photo: Bill Counter
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Fox Redondo for lots of discussion. Ken Roe did the research on the opening attractions.
Don't miss Sam Gnerre's Daily Breeze article on the Redondo. The Redondo Beach Historical Society has a number of interesting vintage photos of the city. The website of the City of Redondo Beach also has a page with links to various vintage photos.
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I was running around in the Fox Redondo when the recking ball was hitting. Still have all the souvenirs I got.....
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