Opened: May 12, 1924 as a combination film and vaudeville house. The Aranbe Hotel was also in the same building. The image of the Moorish-inspired exterior is from a 20s collage from Herald Publishing Co. titled "Some of the Business Buildings of Compton" that's in the collection of Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The September 9, 1923 construction announcement in the L.A. Times listed the address as N. Tamarind & E. Magnolia St. That intersection no longer exists -- it's now in the middle of a shopping center parking lot. Magnolia is just a block north of Compton Blvd. Tamarind is a block east of Willowbrook. The Symphony location was a block or so from the Fox Compton.
A November 1923 Times item noted that the theatre, to be operated by Ramsey & Bemus, was expected to open in four months. There had been delays of delivery of stone from Bedford, Indiana. Thanks to Ron Pierce for locating the Times items.
Architects: Richard D. King and Frank M. Goodwin. They were noted as the architects in the September 1923 Times article.
Closing: The 1933 Long Beach earthquake hit Compton hard. It was the end for the Symphony Theatre.
Status: The stretch of Tamarind that the theatre was on is now called Douglas Dollarhide Dr. and is just a driveway into a shopping mall. The theatre site is part of the parking lot.
More exterior views:
1926 - A rather wet year. This view is looking east on Magnolia St. from Willowbrook toward the theatre. It's a photo in the Cal State Dominguez Collection. They note there was 6 inches of water in the street.
1926 - Looking north on Tamarind St. from Compton Blvd. That's the theatre building over on the right. It's a photo in the Cal State Dominguez Hills collection.
1926 - The Symphony is in the background in this view from the collection of Cal State Dominguez Hills. They identify it as a flooded street near Compton Blvd.
1933 - Looking across to the ruined building (and that surviving roof sign) after the Long Beach earthquake. It's a photo from Bob Compere's "Long Beach Earthquake" album of nine photos appearing on Flickr.
1933 - A view south toward the building from the California Historical Society. The photo appears on the USC Digital Library website.
1933 - A sign detail from the California Historical Society photo.
1933 - A closer look at the front of the building after the earthquake. The theatre entrance was below that peaked section of the roof. It's a photo from the Long Beach Fireman's Historical Museum Photographs Collection appearing on the website of Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The CSDH website has additional post-earthquake views: front view #2 | front view #3 | front view #4 | front corner detail |
1933 - The back of the building. That's the theatre's auditorium over on the right. It's a photo by Stephen T. Yocom in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The Library also has another photo closer to the auditorium.
1933 - A closer look at the stage end of the building after the quake. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing the photo from his collection.
2019 - Looking north on what had been Tamarind St. from Compton Blvd. The Symphony was once over on the right. Photo: Google Maps.
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Symphony Theatre. Thanks to Ron Pierce for the fine research. Also see some comments about the Symphony on the Cinema Treasures Fox Compton page.
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