115 W. 6th St. San Pedro (Los Angeles), CA 90731 | map |
Opening: The Victoria Theatre opened in 1918 as a film and vaudeville house. It was on the south side of the street between Beacon St. and Palos Verdes St. Cinema Treasures contributor Dallas Movie Theaters comments:
"Pierson and Adler launched the Victoria Theatre on May 28, 1918 on a ten year lease. The opening program was Wm. S. Hart in 'Wolves of the Rail,' Fatty Arbuckle in 'The Bell Boy,' and the Christie comedy 'Somebody’s Baby.'"
"The December 7, 1917, issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor had an
item that was probably about the Victoria Theatre. It said that a
four-story theater and hotel building, 57x160 feet, would be erected on
Palos Verdes Street with the theater entrance through an existing
building on Sixth Street. The theater would be leased to Ray Pierson and
F. O. Adler, who owned the Sixth Street building. Another item
in the same issue of the magazine said that the architect for the
project was L. A. Smith. The theater was to be 57x125 feet, and the
building leading to Sixth Street was 25x75."
San Pedro historian John M. Houston commented that for several years the Victoria was considered to be the town's finest film house. His article "Assembly Halls to Picture Palaces" is reproduced at the bottom of the page. In part one, appearing in November 20, 1984 issue of the San Pedro News Pilot, he notes:
"The time of the picture palace had almost arrived. The Victoria was proud of its more elaborate decorations and probably San Pedro's first theater organ, which was tucked under the stage apron...Candy and drink stands were not yet a part of theater lobbies but the Victoria Sweet hop was in the same building and San Pedro youth took advantage of it before and after the show."
A July 1920 ad from the theatre file at the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for the image.
"Everybody's Going!" The Victoria 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.
A 1926 ad from the connection of the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for the image.
Closing: It closed May 20, 1927, according to several items posted on Cinema Treasures. It does not appear in the 1928 city directory or later editions. The building was later used as the San Pedro Athletic Club with boxing matches on the stage. Later it became the Club Del Rio and then was used for retail.
Status: The block was demolished in the 1970s as part of the Beacon St. redevelopment project. It's all new construction on this stretch of 6th.
early 1920s - A view west on 6th from Beacon St. The entrance to the Victoria was in one of those squat buildings in the middle of the block on the left. The building on the right in the foreground with the clock was the Bank of San Pedro. The clock tower was dismantled following the 1933 earthquake. In the next block on the right the dome of the Globe Theatre is visible at Palos Verdes St.
The San Pedro Opera House had been across the street from the Globe. At the time of this photo it had either been replaced by the Mansard-roofed building on the left (beside that third telephone pole) -- or was just beyond it. The image is a card from page one of the postcard gallery on the site SanPedro.com. There's also a page 2 to their 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 toward the block with the Victoria. It's a postcard 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.
2018 - Looking west on 6th from Beacon. The Victoria was once somewhere down the block on the left. Photo: Google Maps
2018 - A view in the other direction. On the left we're looking east along 6th toward Beacon St. The theatre entrance would have been part way down the block. The auditorium would have been on back on Palos Verdes St., over on the right. Photo: Google Maps
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page about the Victoria.
Other early San Pedro Theatres:
Bob Beck had a nice rundown of dates and addresses in his article that appeared in the May 30, 1984 issue of the San Pedro News Pilot:
John M. Houston's article "Assembly Halls to Picture Palaces" appeared in the San Pedro News Pilot on November 20 and 21, 1984:
The clippings are in the collection of the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for the images. You can browse over 40 of her shots of clippings from the SPBHS in an album on Google Photos.
The California Index of the Los Angeles Public Library has this excerpt from an item in the January 9, 1920 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor:
Evidently Mr. F.O. Adler decided to do something else with his property as the theatre was never built.
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