California / Mark Strand / Fox Strand / Pacific Strand

1035 S. Pacific Ave. San Pedro (Los Angeles), CA 90731 | map |

Opened: April 30, 1921 as the California Theatre with the Bebe Daniels feature "Ducks and Drakes" as the initial film. It was on the west side of the street between 10th and 11th. Thanks to Ann Hubbell Tompkins for locating this 1921 photo. They were running "The Notorious Miss Lisle," an August 1920 release with Katherine MacDonald and Nigel Barrie. 

Architect: Possibly it was Robert Francis Foss. See Joe Vogel's comments about Foss on the page for the Barton Theatre. 

Seating: 844 in later years.

The building was a project of Edouard Amar and not originally projected to include a theatre. From the August 1, 1920 San Pedro News Pilot, an item that was reprinted in the "Ten Years Ago" column of the paper's August 1, 1930 issue: 

"A radical change has been made in the plans for the building now in course of construction for E. Amar at Eleventh and Pacific. What was originally intended for a five store building will now be built as a first-class moving picture theatre building with a seating capacity of 800."

From the December 16, 1920 News Pilot, an item that was reprinted in the paper's December 16, 1930 issue:

 

"Work on the new Amar theatre building at Eleventh and Pacific is progressing and will probably be completed by March 1. It is likely that four more stores will be built on the Eleventh street side as the owner has had several applications for quarters."

From the January 2, 1921 News Pilot, reprinted in the paper's January 2, 1931 issue:

"E. Amar poured the last bucket of concrete into the forms of the new theatre he is having built at the northwest corner of Eleventh street and Pacific Avenue."

These three items appear in the clipping file devoted to theatres at the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for spotting them.

An April 29, 1921 ad for the new theatre. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it. The theatre is listed in the 1923 San Pedro city directory as the California with a 1037 S. Pacific Ave. address.

The theatre had a Smith pipe organ of unknown size. Andrew Barrett notes that it's mentioned on page 629 of David Junchen's Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Pipe Organ as being a 1923 installation.

Amar styled himself as a "Builder of Pacific Ave. business structures." Thanks to Debbie LaMont Scanlon for locating this ad she shared in a post for the private Facebook group San Pedro Memories. She notes that she grew up across the street from Edouard's grandson, also named Edouard "Eddie" Amar.

San Pedro historian John M. Houston's article "Assembly Halls to Picture Palaces" appeared in the November 20 and 21, 1984 issues of the San Pedro News Pilot. It's reproduced at the bottom of the page for the Victoria Theatre. One of his comments about the California:

"It was the first theater not located downtown and was expected to cater to apartment house dwellers and the newer residential areas in the southwest part of town."

From the January 30, 1923 News Pilot: 

"J.D. Harthorn today purchased Frank Walker's interest in the California theatre at Pacific avenue and Eleventh street. Messers Harthorn and Walker established the California twenty-one months ago today, and have built up a thriving business, both of these gentlemen having devoted their entire time to the management of the playhouse." 

It was reprinted under a "Ten Years Ago" heading in the paper's January 30, 1933 issue. It's another item from the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for finding it.

 

In 1924 the operation was sold to Mark Henson and it became the Mark-Strand Theatre. It's listed as such in the 1924 and 1926 city directories. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this ad that appeared on April 27, 1924.

 

This 1924 article about the theatre's pretty new lobby appeared in the San Pedro Daily Pilot. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for including it in a post with several other San Pedro theatre news items from that year on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.  

 

A February 2, 1929 ad for "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for including the article in a Facebook thread about San Pedro theatres on Ken's Movie Page.  

Later it was taken over by Fox West Coast and became the Fox Strand. An item spotted by Ken in the December 13, 1931 issue of the L.A. Times: 

"FIRE HITS STRAND THEATER - The Fox Strand Theater, 1035 South Pacific Avenue, San Pedro, suffered $5000 loss by fire yesterday morning when cleaning fluid knocked over by a stage hand ignited. The theater was empty. The stage hand suffered burns about his hands and arms. The structure under the stage was charred and the sound machinery disabled, while smoke damage was heavy."

It's just the Strand Theatre in the city directory listings from 1928 through 1940. In the 1946, 1949, 1952 and 1957 directories it's listed as the Fox Strand. In 1959 it's back to being just the Strand at 1035 S. Pacific.

 

An August 31, 1940 Fox West Coast ad from the San Pedro News-Pilot. The clipping is from the San Pedro Bay Historical Society collection. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for taking a shot of it. See the page about the Fox Cabrillo for lots of data about that one. It closed in 1957. 

 

A 1958 ad for the Strand from the News-Pilot. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.

At some point after 1966 Fox West Coast got out of the Strand and it was taken over by Pacific Theatres. In 1968 and 1969 it was occasionally running Italian films. See many ads located by Gerald DeLuca that he posted on Cinema Treasures. 

 

The theatre got a second screen in 1973 with a reopening on November 23 with "Mary Poppins" and "Perri" in Cinema 1 and "Cries and Whispers" and "Ramparts of Clay" in Cinema II. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this ad. During this chapter of its life the Strand was an independent operation run by Al Lee.

The 1976 closing: January 13 according to the San Pedro News-Pilot. There was an inability of the operator and the building owner to agree on terms of a lease. It got obituaries in the News-Pilot with the article "San Pedro left with no movie" on January 17: 

 

A News-Pilot editorial from January 19, 1976:

 

The clippings are in the collection of the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for the images of them. You can browse over 40 of her shots of clippings from the SPBHS in an album on Google Photos.  

 

A "Gigantic Sale" advertised on January 29, 1976. No mention of the 35mm equipment that was also in the booth. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the ad.

A new operator: The news of a lease signed by Pete Lo Grande, as well as an un-twinning, appeared in this story in the May 13, 1976 issue of the News-Pilot: 

 

Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this to add as a comment on a thread about the Warner on the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group. Mr. Lo Grand had been a manager at the Warner.   

 

 

 

"New Screen - New Projector - New Sound System." Re-equipped and with a new operator, the theatre opened July 3, 1976 as a single-screen house with "Lifeguard" and "Grizzly." Thanks to Ken for locating the opening day ad.

 

 

A March 28, 1976 ad. It's another find by Ken McIntyre.  

 

 

 

A "Shopper's Matinee" advertised on April 29, 1977. It's another find by Ken.

 

The closing date of this chapter isn't known. But next up was Marco Marcigan, who reopened the theatre in August 1978, running both classic films on 16mm as well as occasional live music events. The previous operator had taken the 35mm booth equipment out when he left.

 

Marco rebranded it as the Pacific Strand. He was later joined in the operation by two partners, Isai Trejo and Frank Armos. It was a full time operation but with movie business less than expected, it soon turned into a weekends-only schedule. 

 

Running "A Night at the Opera." Ken McIntyre located the October 25, 1978 ad.

 

Marco in the theatre. It's a photo from "New owners reviving S.P. movie houses," a story in the November 27, 1978 issue of the San Pedro News-Pilot that also discussed the Warner. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for including the article in a Facebook thread about San Pedro theatres on Ken's Movie Page.  

 

A February 1, 1979 News-Pilot article about live shows coming up. Thanks to Ken for locating this. 

Closing again: It's unknown how long the operation lasted under Marcigan's management. It was later used as a venue for wrestling matches.

 

The theatre rebranded as the Strand Arena for Lucha Libre wrestling in 1981. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the February 11 ad.  

In 1982 it was in use as the Norwegian Seamen's Church. It was later in use as a Spanish language Pentecostal church.

Demolition: The building was around until 1988.

 

Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this story from the January 14, 1988 issue of the San Pedro News-Pilot.  Ken also found a letter to the editor in response to this article:

Of course some of this critic's numbers were a flop as well. Like noting that the Barton only had 50 seats.

The theatre site is now a parking lot for the Chase Bank branch at 10th and Pacific.

More exterior views: 

1921 - A detail from the photo located by Ann Hubbell Tompkins that's at the top of the page. 

 

 

1929 -  A happy crowd with signs advertising the talkie serial "King of the Congo" and an Our Gang "all talking comedy." "Speedway" was a September 1929 release with William Haines and Anita Page. 

 

Thanks to Debbie LaMont Scanlon for sharing this photo from her collection in a 2021 post on the private Facebook group San Pedro Memories. She notes that the gentleman in the tux is her grandfather, the assistant manager at the time. A Mr. Green managed the house. In an April 2023 repost of the image Debbie commented: 

 

"Back in the late 1920s/early 1930s, my grandfather, Louis LaMont, was the Assistant Manager of the Strand Theater... They even gave him a car to drive. I loved going there in the 1960s to see double features. Another thing I loved at the Strand was the Crazy Races. When you'd pay to go in, you'd receive a ticket with a number on it (usually between 1 and 10). Then, they'd play a real short movie that would show race participants with numbers on their backs who would be in some kind of race. It was always something crazy like clowns racing on tricycles. If your number came in first, you'd win a prize, usually candy or movie tickets. It was so exciting."

 

c.1930 - Another photo from the collection of Debbie LaMont Scanlon that she shared in her 2021 post on the Facebook group San Pedro Memories. She comments: "The little girls in the photo are my great aunts Virginia Stanovich Tuerk, Margaret Stanovich Harvey, and Jackie Stanovich Larsen." The car is the one her grandfather drove as assistant manager.

 

 

1937 - Traffic shut down on Pacific. The theatre, by this time renamed the Strand, was running the June 1936 release "San Francisco" with Jeanette MacDonald and Clark Gable. The co-feature was "Let's Sing Again" with Bobby Breen and Henry Armetta. Thanks to Donald Brown for locating this photo for a post on the Facebook group San Pedro Memories. He notes: "Funeral procession for longshoreman Norman 'Big Bill' Greg who was shot by a policeman, causing an uproar among the longshoremen."

 

 

1938 - The Strand running "You're Only Young Once," a December 1937 release with Lewis Stone and Mickey Rooney. Note the "Fox" lettering atop the readerboard and vertical sign. Thanks to Debbie LaMont Scanlon for sharing this postcard from her collection on the Facebook group San Pedro Memories. It can also be seen on Card Cow. That site has over 200 San Pedro postcards in their collection. 

 

1938 - A detail from the card. Thanks, Debbie! 

 

1938 - The theatre running the Ritz Brothers film "Kentucky Moonshine." The image is from the Tom B'hend and Preston Kaufmann Collection. The collection is part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick Library Digital Collection.

 

 

1947 - "The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer" with Cary Grant and Shirley Temple playing at the Strand. It's a photo from the AMPAS Tom B'hend - Preston Kaufmann Collection.

1951 - A look south on Pacific toward the Strand. It's a Julius Shulman photo in the collection of the Getty Research Institute. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Hoss C for finding the photo in the collection. It's on Noirish post #30954.

This was was Shulman's Job #1046, one in a series he did photographing branch offices for Bank of America. The image is a detail from a larger photo in a set of three San Pedro images on the Getty site. It's the only look we get of the Strand. They have over 4,000 photos by Shulman that are online. See their selection from the Julius Shulman Photography Archive.

  

1980 - The theatre used as a venue for wrestling matches. It's a photo taken by Chris Shaw. Thanks to his son Robert Shaw for sharing the shot as part of a 144 photo San Pedro set on the South Bay/Los Angeles Days of Old California Facebook page. 

1983 - The theatre in use as a church. The lettering atop the vertical says "Pacific." Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for the photo from their collection.

c.1984 - A photo of the churched Strand that appeared with "Downtown movie theater faces major obstacles," an article in the February 2, 1984 issue of the San Pedro News-Pilot about the troubles keeping the Warner open. That article as well as another from the same issue are reproduced on the main page about the Warner Grand.

At the time of the story the only two theatres open in San Pedro were the Warner, then called the Juarez, and the San Pedro Drive-In. And both were running product appealing to a Hispanic clientele. In "S.P. cinema fans driven out of town," another article in the same issue, they noted that to see an English language release moviegoers had to go to Torrance, Carson or Long Beach.

2019 - Looking north on Pacific. The theatre site is now that lovely Chase parking lot. Photo: Google Maps.

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Strand. Also see the site's "Question on Strand Theatres" discussion about the origin of Strand as a name for theatres.

See our Theatres Along the Coast  page for listings of the many other theatres that were once in San Pedro. Also see three 1984 articles appearing in the San Pedro News-Pilot with data compiled by San Pedro historian John Houston for his "Assembly Halls to Picture Palaces" project. They're at the bottom of the page about the Victoria Theatre. 

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