Ocean Park (Santa Monica), CA 90405 | map - approximate |
Opened: The monumental Ocean Park Auditorium Building was constructed in 1906 by
Alexander Fraser. The building had multiple spaces including a theatre space with a stage that doubled as a 6,000 capacity dance hall, a movie/vaudeville theatre, restaurants, and various other stores and concessionaires. This fine view of the new building's south entrance is a postcard from the collection of the late Chrys Atwood.
The Casino Building is to the north of Pier Ave. and the Auditorium, here called the Ocean Park Dancing Pavilion, to the south. It's a detail from plate 35 of the April 1909 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
in the collection of the Library of Congress. In the main theatre space note that the back of the auditorium was on the ocean side. We have "stage and scenery" indicated as being on the second floor toward the Ocean Front Promenade side of the building on the right. The La Petite Theatre is at numbers 7 and 8 in the lower right.
It was also known as the Horseshoe Pier Auditorium, and sometimes referred to just as the Horseshoe Pier Building, after the initial name of the pier at the building's location. The space between this building and the earlier Casino Building, had been the original pier entrance. Later a second entrance was added lined up with Marine St., giving the pier its somewhat "horseshoe" shape.
Fraser went for a big expansion, referred to as the "Million Dollar Fraser Pier" which opened partially on May 30, 1911 and officially on June 17. The construction cost of that expansion was reported to be in excess of $100,000, exclusive of the attractions on it. Halfway out on the pier was the Starland Theatre, operated initially by Billy Clune. See that page for views of the pier. The Auditorium Building's dance hall became a roller rink when a new larger dance pavilion was added out at the end of the Fraser Pier.
The Crescent Vaudeville Theatre opened in the building in 1906, presumably using the main theatre space. It's not listed in the 1907 Santa Monica city directory. In the 1911 city directory there's a listing as the Crescent at "Fraser's Pier - Ocean Park." There's no listing for it in the version of the 1912 directory compiled by the Los Angeles City Directory Co.
The La Petite Theatre, a film house with limited vaudeville, moved into storefront space on the south end of the building sometime in 1906. They were in the building until sometime in 1909 when they moved across the Promenade to a newly constructed theatre. That one burned in the 1912 fire that also consumed the Auditorium and the Casino. They built a new one on the same site at the northeast corner of the Promenade and Marine St. That one ran until 1923. See the separate page about the La Petite Theatre for more information on this first location in the Auditorium Building as well as the two across the Promenade.
The Auditorium Building's demise: The building was destroyed in the September 3, 1912 fire along with the pier and the entire Ocean Park amusement area. It was all rebuilt for the 1913 season. And again in 1924 after another fire. From 1958 until 1967 the area was redone as Pacific Ocean Park.
c.1904 - The bandstand we see here, and the space farther to the left, would soon be replaced by the Auditorium Building that would incorporate a bandstand into its facade. On the right is the Casino, a building opened by Alexander Fraser in 1903. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1906 - This is perhaps the only view showing the amazing difference in size between the Casino, in the center, and the new Auditorium, on the right. That white structure to the left of the Casino is Ocean Park's first roller coaster. It's a card that was a find by Chrys Atwood.
c.1906 - Another pier view, this time giving us a look at the Bathhouse and the shape of the Horseshoe Pier. It's a card on Card Cow where they note that their copy had a 1910 postmark.
c.1906 - A view north along the Ocean Front Promenade toward the new building. It's a card on the site Card Cow. The Bathhouse, on the right, opened on July 4, 1905 -- the same weekend that Abbott Kinney opened his Venice of America resort.
c.1906 - A bit farther north on the Promenade. It's a card from Card Cow. This copy had a 1909 postmark. Note that they didn't have the horseshoe sign up yet.
c.1906 - A view east on the Pier toward the Ocean Front Promenade and Pier Ave. beyond. In the foreground on the left it's the Casino Building, here seen with signage for the Casino Cafe. On the right is the Auditorium Building. The photo from the Connie Cramer Collection / Santa Monica Toastmistress Club appears on the Santa Monica Public Library website. Also see another version of the photo with less vertical cropping.
c.1906 - A postcard based on the uncropped version of the photo above. The card once appeared as a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
c.1906 - Looking west on Pier Ave. toward the Promenade and the ocean beyond. On the other side of the Promenade it's the Auditorium Building on the left and the Casino on the right. It's a photo by Adelbert Bartlett, or at least was in in his collection of papers. Thanks to James J. Chun for locating it for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. The image also appears in the collection of the Santa Monica Public Library where they credit it to M. Reider and give it a 1905 date, not quite possible. Reider was a publisher of postcards.
c.1906 - A companion view looking across the Promenade and east on Pier Ave. It's on Shorpy where you can see a lovely high resolution version. In the foreground on the left it's an awning at the Casino. The stairs on the right go into the side of the Auditorium Building.
c.1907 - A photo by H.F. Rile in the Santa Monica Public Library collection. They date it as 1900, a few years too early.
c.1907 - A look at the bandstand. And if you wanted to buy postcards, that's the Home of the Post Card on the left. Under the bandstand there's a shop with "Candy, Soda and Ice Cream" and beyond it's a store selling books and stationery. It's a card in the author's collection.
c.1907 - A view south from Card Cow. There's a protruding yellow sign down there on one of the Auditorium's storefronts for the La Petite Theatre. The site has another copy of the same card with an August 1907 postmark.
c.1907 - A view south with the La Petite 10¢ Theatre in several of the storefronts. That's the Venice Auditorium in the distance, out on the end of the Abbott Kinney Pier. It's a card in the USC Digital Library collection.
c.1908 - A fine evening view. That black blob in the water on the left should have been the brightly lit Abbott Kinney Pier in Venice but the card retoucher blacked it out. It's a card in the author's collection, this copy with a March 1910 postmark.
c.1908 - Another view south from the site Card Cow. Note that the Examiner has taken over the storefront to the right of the bandstand.
c.1908 - This is a portion of the photo that was used for the postcard above. It appeared as a post on the Santa Monica Conservancy Facebook page where they credit it to both Martin Turnbull and the Water and Power Associates Museum pages.
c.1908 - Looking north from Venice along Ocean Front Walk. The photo appeared as a post on the Venice Historical Society Facebook page.
c.1908 - Looking north toward the Auditorium. It's a card in the USC Digital Library collection. Also see a 1905 photo in the USC collection taken looking north as construction was finishing up on the bathhouse and the Auditorium hadn't yet been started.
1909 - A bandstand detail from the Santa Monica Public Library collection. It looks like we have a penny arcade in the storefront at the left. They identify the candy store as Frank McGarry's. To the right of the candy store it's "The Cosy," a lunch room and then a shooting gallery. On the right it's an office for the Examiner with what looks like signage saying you can get it for 25 cents a month. The 1909 date is the one provided by the Library.
c.1910 - A lovely moonlight view. Note the bandstand and other new construction out on the pier. It's a card in the author's collection with a July 3, 1912 postmark. Everything we see here would burn two months after the card was mailed.
c.1910 - "Main Entrance to New Pier." Every season there were new attractions. It's a card the late Chrys Atwood found on eBay for a post on the Venice, Ocean Park & Santa Monica Facebook page. There's also a version of it on the site Card Cow.
The entrance for the Crescent Vaudeville Theatre advertised on the banner was presumably around on the west side of the Auditorium Building. We're looking north toward Pier Ave. with the Shell Theatre half way down the block. The very theatrical building on the right at the corner of Marine St. was the second location of the La Petite Theatre. Earlier they had been in a storefront on the south end of the Auditorium Building.
c.1910 - Another look at the banner advertising the Crescent Vaudeville Theatre. Here we can also see down the Promenade to where a carousel and the Dragon Gorge Scenic Railroad would soon be. On the far right those letters dangling vertically are advertising the La Petite. It's a card appearing on the site Card Cow.
A monochrome version appears on page 117 of the 2008 Arcadia Publishing Postcard History Series book "Early Los Angeles County Attractions" by Cory & Sarah Stargel. The page with the photo is included in the preview on Google Books.
c.1911 - Looking south on the Promenade toward Pier Ave. That's the Casino building on the right with their signage on the far end. The card appears on Card Cow where they note that it has a January 1912 postmark.
c.1911 - A view across Pier Ave. at sunset. It's a card in the author's collection.
c.1912 - Looking north across the facades of the Auditorium and Casino to the Dragon Gorge Scenic Railroad. It's a card on the site Card Cow.
c.1912 - Thanks to Rod Nelson for locating this one. It's derived from the same photo as the night view above. In the lower right we see a bit of the letters for the La Petite, at the corner of Marine St. and the Promenade. A copy of this one also appears in the Card Cow collection.
c.1912 - That's the south side of the Auditorium Building on the right edge of the image. This view of the pier from the south was from up in the Ocean Park Bathhouse. That's the Starland Theatre half way out on the pier. The card is on the site Card Cow.
The book "Early Los Angeles County Attractions" from Arcadia Publishing has a black and white reproduction of the card on page 117 along with other Ocean Park views. The page is included in the book's preview on Google Books.
1912 - The Starland Theatre is on the left and the Auditorium Building is on the right. It's a detail from a wider view taken by G. Haven Bishop for the Southern California Edison Company that's in the Huntington Library collection.
1912 - A postcard view from the south of the September 3 fire that appears on the site Card Cow. On the right that's the Ocean Park Bathhouse, which survived the fire. If you care to browse on the Card Cow site: Ocean Park cards | Venice cards | More cards can be found on the Penny Postcards from California site: Santa Monica and Ocean Park | Venice |
2019 - Looking out to where the Auditorium, Fraser Pier and the Casino once were. Behind us it's all condos. There's no more Ocean Park business district unless you go several blocks east to Pacific Ave. or Main St. Photo: Google Maps
More Information: See the listings at the bottom of the Theatres Along the Coast survey page for some Ocean Park history references. The book "Venice" in the Arcadia Publishing Postcard History Series for more photos of the Auditorium and Casino buildings.
Jeffrey Stanton has a fine article about "Fraser's Million Dollar Pier," part of his terrific Venice History Site hosted on Westland.net. He discusses the 1912 fire in detail. On his map of the Fraser "Million Dollar" Pier - 1912 the Auditorium appears as #6. Also see his article "Founding of Ocean Park."
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