Opened: The Sunbeam Theatre was running by 1919, but the opening date is unknown. It was on the northwest corner of Compton Ave. and E. 66th St. The location is in the Florence neighborhood, west of Huntington Park.
The 1925 directory has the theatre at 6857 Compton Ave. A 1923 Times article and a 1925 Film Daily item both refer to the location being at 69th St.
There was a renumbering of the side streets in this area in the mid 1920s, something that also occurred along stretches of S. Central Ave. In 1927 it's listed with a new address as 6557. The 1928 and 1929 city directories use an address of 6521 for the theatre.
Seats: 1,200 perhaps originally. The 1925 rebuilt version had 1,400.
Architects: Unknown
They were in trouble in 1920. This page one item from the January 31, 1920, edition of the Cleveland Advocate describes racial segregation at a Sunbeam Theatre in Los Angeles:
"Discrimination Costs Movie Theater $200 - Los Angeles, Calif., Jan. 26. -- It has cost a movie picture theater
proprietor here just $200 for discriminating against a Colored patron.
John H. Bates, plaintiff, and treasurer of the Second Baptist church
here, sought to attend the Sunbeam movie theater here, conducted by a
white former overseas officer, but was refused admission, and then,
later, on tendering his money was overcharged.
"He placed the case with
Attorney Clarence Jones, who immediately filed suit, and after a trial,
Judge Shank presiding, judgment was rendered against the movie picture
theater proprietor for $100 on each of two counts. Attorney Jones is an
Ohio State University graduate, who came here from Columbus, Ohio, after
completing his college course, and began the practice of law, in which
he is making good. He has filed no less than fifteen of these suits for
discrimination, and has won all of them."
The article appears on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre. The page doesn't state how it's known that the item doesn't refer to one of the two other theatres using the same name at the time. We had a Sunbeam on Pico Blvd. and one in Highland Park. The Second Baptist church was at 740 Maple, closer to the Pico theatre than this one on Compton Ave.
In 1923 there was a booth fire during a show at the Sunbeam that caused serious damage. This article appeared in the August 11 issue of the L.A. Times:
The theatre was rebuilt. Thanks to Joe Vogel for finding this item in the March 4, 1925 issue of The Film Daily:
"Sunbeam, New L. A. House - (Special to The Film Daily) Los Angeles — The Sunbeam built jointly by C. W. Grubbs and West Coast Theaters, Inc., at Compton Ave. and 69th St. has opened. It seats 1,400. The owners recently opened another, but smaller house, known as the Kinema, at Manchester and Compton Aves."
A November 1928 listing for the Sunbeam that was spotted by Ken McIntyre.
A 1930 ad for the Sunbeam that Ken McIntyre located.
Closing: The boxoffice area and lobby were destroyed by a dynamite blast in December 1931.
A story appearing with a banner headline on page one of the South Gate Tribune's December 2, 1931 issue. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this as well as several other items for a 2025 post about the theatre for the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
A December 2, 1931 account from the L.A. Times. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a 2021 thread about the theatre (and the later one built on the site) on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
A photo Ken located in the December 3 issue of the Los Angeles Illustrated News. Their caption:
"SCENE OF MYSTERY BLAST - Sunbeam theater, 6525 Compton avenue, shown here, was target of explosion early yesterday. A bomb placed there by an unknown person who drove away hurriedly about midnight damaged ticket booth and shattered windows. Blast was felt throughout the neighborhood."
An article in the December 3, 1931 issue of the Times. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it. And by "men not in sympathy with the policy" Mr. Grubbs meant, of course, that the new owners hadn't signed a contract with the projectionists union.
A photo that also appeared in the Times issue of December 3. The caption:
"Investigation is under way in the mysterious bombing of the ticket booth and lobby of the Sunbeam Theater, 6525 Compton avenue, early today. Here Miss Elsie Erland, who sells tickets in the daytimes, is examining the damage to her booth. The explosion would probably have killed her had she been inside."
The theatre didn't reopen.
Status: The Gentry Theatre was erected on the site in 1937. It's still there but not being used for a business that's open to the public.
The site of the Sunbeam, now with the unused Gentry Theatre on it. Straight ahead we're looking north on Compton Ave. Gage Ave. is three blocks ahead. On the left that's E. 66th St. Photo: Google Maps - 2019
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Sunbeam. The site Cinema Tour has a page but the main item on it is the 1920 article about the discrimination lawsuit.
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