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 on the Images and Memories of Los Angeles Facebook page.
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. Huston gives it a 211 6th St. address at that time. It's in the 1908 San Pedro city directory as the San Pedro Opera House with 205 6th St. as the address.
Sometime around 1909 it became known as the Electric Theatre and started running films along with vaudeville, illustrated songs and other attractions. Later the Globe Theatre opened across the street and the Victoria Theatre opened in the block to the east.
An ad for the Electric from the theatre file at the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for the image. "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 research of the Grand Vision Foundation (the Friends of the Warner Grand organization) suggests a 1906 opening for it as the San Pedro Opera House with an address of 211 6th St. They identify the Electric as being in operation in 1907 at the 205 6th address.
Later it was known as the Union Theatre. John M. Huston gives a 1908 date for that name. He 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 By the time of this photo it had either been replaced by the Mansard-roofed building on the left beside that third telephone pole -- or it was located just beyond it.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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