205 W. 6th St. San Pedro (Los Angeles), CA 90731 | map |
Well, it's a guess, but the "Theatre" shown in the lower left might be the Opera House. The image is from the 1903 San Pedro Board of Trade publication "San Pedro, The Harbor City." The 20 page pamphlet from the Library of Congress collection is on the HathiTrust website. Thanks to David Kimbrough for sharing this image and others from the booklet as a post for the Images and Memories of Los Angeles Facebook group.
Evidently Mr. Wetherby didn't stick around to operate his Opera House very long and by 1906 the building was known as the San Pedro Opera House. The research of the Grand Vision Foundation (the Friends of the Warner Grand organization) also suggests the 1906 date for it being called the San Pedro Opera House. John M. Huston notes that it was using a 211 6th St. address at the time.
A story about the Electric that appeared in the March 20, 1907 issue of the San Pedro Daily Times. 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.
It was called the Union Theatre for a period beginning in late 1907. Joe Vogel notes that there was an ad for the "Union Theatre (formerly Electric Theatre)" in the December 17, 1907 issue of the San Pedro Daily News.
It was still listed as the San Pedro Opera House in the 1908 San Pedro city directory. They listed the address as 205 6th St. The theatre later went back to using the Electric name.
The Hoansler Bros. were listed as the proprietors in this perhaps 1909 ad for the Electric. "My Mother-In-Law's Visit" was a 1907 release, "Herring Fishing" was a 1909 film from Denmark. It's unknown what "Billiard Fever" was. The ad is from the theatre file at the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for the image.
John M. Huston has noted that it was also once called the Olympic Theatre but had no dates.
Closing: Nothing is known about the closing date. Or even the name of the theatre at its closing.
Status: It's been demolished. And a later building that was on the site has also been demolished. This area has all been redeveloped. The Crowne Plaza hotel is now in the site.
early 1920s - A view west on 6th from Beacon St. with the dome of the Globe Theatre visible a block away on the right at Palos Verdes St. The Opera House had been across the street from the Globe. By the time of this photo it had either been replaced by the Mansard-roofed building on the left beside that third telephone pole -- or it was located just beyond it. The building on the right in the foreground with the clock was the Bank of San Pedro.
It's a card from page one of the postcard gallery of the site SanPedro.com. There's also a page 2 to the gallery of cards. A version of the card is also on the San Pedro page of the site Penny Postcards from California.
mid 1920s - Another view west but by this time a new generation of buildings had been constructed on the former Opera House site. The location had been where we see the very white structure down there on the left behind the telephone pole. The card is one that appears on a Water and Power Associates Museum page of early San Pedro and Wilmington views. They credit the image to the Los Angeles Public Library.
mid 1920s - A closer look toward the southwest corner of 6th and Palos Verdes. The Opera House had once been on the left in this end of the block beyond the intersection. The card appears on the site Card Cow. In addition to this one, they have over 200 more San Pedro postcards to browse.
2019 - The redeveloped corner. On the left we're looking south on Palos Verdes St. On the right we're going west on 6th St. The Warner Grand is a couple of blocks up the street. Photo: Google Maps
More Information: There isn't any yet.
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The San Pedro Daily News of December 17, 1907 has an ad for the "Union Theatre (formerly Electric Theatre.)" -Joe Vogel (I hope that link works. I've never tried this before.)
ReplyDeleteHi, Joe -- Thanks for the comment. Well, I see no link. Maybe just paste in whatever URL it is?
Delete