Princess Theatre

6107 S. Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90003 | map |

Opened: 1924 or 1925. It got in the 1926 city directory. It was on the east side of the street a block and a half north of Gage Ave. The area is due west of Huntington Park. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality for finding this photo on eBay for his Noirish post #30777. He calls our attention to the Princess Sweet & Malt Shop on the right. Both films the theatre is playing were 1944 releases.

Seats: 800 was the announced capacity, 700 is a number on Cinema Treasures, presumably from a Film Daily Yearbook.

Architect: Laurence McConville.

Thanks to Joe Vogel for the research. He found a mention of it from the May 23, 1924 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor: 

"Lawrence McConville… has completed plans and has the contract to construct a store and theater building at the corner of 61st and Main streets for J.A. Piuma; it will have seating for 800 people and there will be 2 stores… cost $35,000."

It was closed for a few years in the 1930s and after reopening was advertised as the New Princess.

 

 

A September 22, 1936 ad.  Ken McIntyre located this as well as many other items on this page for a Facebook thread about the theatre on Ken's Movie Page. 

 

 

A 1938 ad for the Century and Princess appearing in The Southwest Wave, a paper serving the African-American community. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this as well as many of the other items here for a post for the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.   

 

 

"Stage Door Canteen" moving over from the Century. It's a September 30, 1943 ad.  

 

Another September 30, 1943 item. 

 

 

A December 23, 1943 ad.

 

 

An October 1947 ad with the news that Leon Glasser was now managing the theatre. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this ad as well as the some of the items below for a thread about the theatre for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.  

 

 

 

Sad news about Leon Glassner, the new theatre operator, in December 1947.  

 

 

An item appearing in the Southwest Wave about the December 1947 funeral for Mr. Glassner.  It's unknown who took over the operation of the theatre.

 

 

"Now Only L.A. Showing." Meaning it had played through every other L.A. theatre that wanted it and it was now the time for the fifth-run Princess to get this reissue of "Gone With the Wind" in March 1949. 

 

 

A March 10, 1949 item about the theatre's run of "Gone With The Wind." 

 

 

A reopening in August 1949 with another new operator, Tom Greene. 

 

 

"All New Policy." It's an August 1949 reopening ad. 

 

 

 

Success! Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this September 8, 1949 story about the reopening. He comments: 

 

"Tom Greene did such a great job that we never read about the theater again."

Closing: The final closing date is unknown. Obviously it was running well into 1949. There's no listing for 6107 in the 1956 criss-cross telephone directory.

Status: The theatre has been demolished -- the site is now a parking lot.

Looking south on Main toward 62nd St. Sadly, the site of the Princess is now a parking lot. The end storefront of that building to the left of the lot uses a 6111 address. It's the building we see on the left in the 1944 photo at the top of the page. Photo: Google Maps - 2020

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page for the Princess Theatre for some fine research by Joe Vogel.

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