Empress Theatre

118 Ashland Ave. Ocean Park (Santa Monica), CA 90405  | map |

Opening: It was running in 1912 as the Willota Theatre. It was on the south side of the street between Speedway and Trolleyway, a bit more than half a block east of Ocean Front Promenade.

Isn't that cute? The two proprietors, William G. and Lotta R. Johnson, put their first names together. They're listed in the Los Angeles City Directory Company's 1912 Santa Monica city directory. The address shown was 118 1/2 Ashland. 

This directory was compiled before the September 1912 fire that destroyed the Fraser Pier and much of the business district. Evidently the theatre survived or there was a quick rebuild at the same location for it reopened as the Herald Theatre. It's listed in the 1913 Santa Monica city directory as "The Herald." 

 

A 1913 ad. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this one for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.   

It's the Empress Theatre in the 1915-16 directory.

Closing: Evidently 1916 or early 1917 was the end of it. It's not in the 1917 city directory. 

 

The Empress got turned into the Ashland Garage sometime before 1918. It's a detail from image 28 from the 1918 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map that's in the Library of Congress collection.

Status: It's been demolished. The block no longer exists and the street's numbering has been changed with the area's redevelopment. 118 is now is used for an address east of Neilson way, the street formerly known as Trolleyway. South of Marine St., at the city limits, it turns into Pacific Ave. Speedway is now called Barnard Way within the Santa Monica city limits. 

 

1928 - The theatre would have once been behind us and off to the left in this Dick Whittington photo looking across Speedway toward the Ocean Front Promenade. It's in the USC Digital Library collection with several other views along Speedway north and south of Ashland.

1928 -  Ashland's on the left in this view by Dick Whittington Studio. It's in the USC Digital Library collection. The storefronts on Ocean Front Promenade are 2901 and 2903. The theatre had been up the street beyond that apartment building with the turret. 

 

1950s - The theatre location had been on the far left in this view toward the ocean from the collection of Karen Rickards Hardie. She posted it as a comment on the private Facebook group Venice, Ocean Park & Santa Monica in the 20th Century.

2020 - A look inland from the South Beach Park Playground toward where the 100 block of Ashland Ave. had been before redevelopment. It's a photo by Peter Utrecht appearing on Google Maps.

More Information: There isn't any yet. The site Cinema Treasures has a page started but there's no data other than the dates. 

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