Bill Robinson Theatre

4219 / 4319 S. Central Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90011  | map |

Opening: It opened as the Tivoli Theatre in late 1921 or early 1922. It was on the west side of the street a block and a half north of Vernon Ave., between what at the time were called 42nd St. and 43rd St. 

We're looking north in this late 1966 or early 1967 photo by Harry Adams, an African-American photographer known as "One Shot Harry." They were playing "Penelope," a November release with Natalie Wood along with "Son of a Gunfighter," a 1965 film with Russ Tamblyn that got a May 1966 U.S. release. Note the bottom line of the marquee: "Rudy Ray Moore Live." There's a copy of the photo on the website of the Cal State Northridge Oviatt Library where they gave it a March 1966 date. The Yale Library also has a Harry Adams collection.

The Tivoli is in the 1923 through 1928 L.A. city directories with a 4217 S. Central address. Starting with the 1929 edition it appeared with a 4219 address. It was a block north of the Casino Theatre, 4313 S. Central. Later there was renumbering and street renaming. In the city directories beginning in 1939 the Tivoli's address became 4317 S. Central. They got caught up by the 1940 directory and listed the venue as the Bill Robinson Theatre, a name change that had occurred in 1938.

Architect: Lewis A. Smith. An item from the August 26, 1921 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor announced two of his theatre projects:

The top one at 60th and Moneta became the Circle Theatre, later called the Century. Moneta was renamed S. Broadway around 1927. The bottom announcement for the theatre at 42nd St. and Central Ave. is the building that became the Tivoli. Note both of these were projects of the same company, Lilly-Fletcher.

Seating: 450 was the capacity listed in the 1926 Film Daily Yearbook, according to Ken Roe. Perhaps that was a typo. Ken notes that it was listed as 873 in 1931, 850 in 1941 and 790 in 1950 and 1952. 

 

 

 

Manuel Tucker and Marc Downing assert that this is a photo taken at the Bill Robinson. It should be noted that we have no other photos of the theatre to compare it to and that the style of the wall decoration we see here was fairly common in theatre remodels of the 1940s. This is a c.1950 photo from the Los Angeles Public Library that came from the collection of noted Black lawyer Walter Lear Gordon, Jr. 

 

When Manuel shared the image on the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation Facebook page he commented:  

 

"I lived in that community. I've actually been inside the theatre when it was open, and I was present at its demolition. I was paid 5 cents for each brick that I chipped the mortar off and stacked. This is my history." 

 

Marc Downing added: 

 

"That is the Bill Robinson Theatre as I recognize the murals on the wall which I was fascinated by as a child… My heart started pounding when I saw this photo and saw those murals… The Movies I Saw There!!!"

 

 

An October 9, 1923 article from the Long Beach Telegram that was located by Scott Collette. He curates the Forgotten Los Angeles Facebook page and also shares his research on Instagram.  

 

A May 1930 ad. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a comment on a thread about southend theatres for the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. The ad appeared in the California Eagle, a newspaper covering the African-American community in Los Angeles. 

 

An ad appearing in the advertising section in the front of the 1930-31 edition of the "Los Angeles Negro Directory and Who's Who." It's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

 

 

The theatre was getting praise for going to a "wholly colored staff." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for including this January 1931 letter as part of a thread about the theatre on the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group. 

 

 

 

A March 1931 ad that appeared in the California Eagle. This one as well as the ad below were finds by Ken McIntyre for a post on Photos of Los Angeles. 

 

A 1931 ad for "Huckleberry Finn" from the California Eagle.  

 

 

A closure was noted in this May 1932 column of news items from the California Eagle. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting it for the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. 

A fine July 13, 1934 ad for "Viva Villa" that was located by Ken McIntyre.

 

A July 1935 ad in the California Eagle. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.

There's been both a renumbering on Central Ave. as well as a renaming of streets, evidently happening in 1937 or 1938. The theatre was still using a 4219 address in early 1936.

 

The Dunbar Hotel for example, originally at 4025 S. Central, is now numbered 4225. The Club Alabam just north of the hotel had been 4015. Later it was 4215.

40th St. became 42nd St.
41st St. became 42nd Pl.
42nd St. became 43rd St.
43rd St. became 43rd Pl.
Vernon Ave. was unchanged

Thus the site of the Tivoli, originally with a 4219 address (between 42nd and 43rd) can now be found about mid-block between 43rd St. and 43rd Pl. Beginning with the 1939 city directory the theatre was shown with a 4317 or 4319 address.

 

 

An April 21, 1938 ad. Note the new address due to street renumbering. Thanks to Texas2step for finding this for a post on Cinema Treasures.

A September 8, 1938 ad located by Comfortably Cool for a post on Cinema Treasures.

 

"The Showplace of the Avenue." The theatre was renamed the Bill Robinson Theatre in September 1938. Thanks to Comfortably Cool for finding this September 15, 1938 ad for a post on Cinema Treasures.  Note that it mentions Robinson doing a personal appearance at a September 20 Midnight Show.  

A legit drama by Eugene Henry Huffman, "The Lost Chord," was on the Bill Robinson stage in May 1941. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this April story.

A July 1948 ad located by Ken McIntyre for a post for the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. The ad appeared in the California Eagle. Here they were using "Central at 43rd Place" as the address.

 

A 1950 ad noting the location as Central at 43rd. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the ad for a post for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group. 

 

A 1951 ad in the California Eagle. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for adding it as a comment to a post about the Lincoln Theatre for the Photos of Los Angeles group.

There was a closure in 1965 due to the Watts riots that occurred between August 11 and 16.  

 

 

It was listed in the Times on September 15 but they probably were still closed and not answering the phone. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for the ad, part of a thread about the theatre on the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group. 

 

Closing: The theatre was running at least until late 1966. See the photo at the top of the page. 

 

After the theatre had closed Michael Tucker has noted that busineses in the building included a candle store called Bombay as well as a linoleum store. 

Status: The building sustained damage from the February 9, 1971 Sylmar earthquake and was demolished later that year. Most of the block is now taken up by the local councilperson's Constituent Services Center.

Looking north on the west side of the block toward 43rd St. (the former 42nd St.) during a farmers market day. The theatre was once there mid-block near that telephone pole in the middle of the image. Photo Google Maps - 2019

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page about the Bill Robinson.

 

A confusing clipping from the July 7, 1938 issue of the California Eagle. It's evidently a reprint from a New York paper about a theatre in that city called the Bill Robinson that opened in September 1937. The premiere of Allan Dwan's "One Mile From Heaven" was evidently held there, although IMDb notes that the premiere was in August. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org

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