Los Angeles Theatres: Baldwin Theatre

3741 S. La Brea Ave. Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles) 90016 | map |

Opened: August 10, 1949 with a Paramount sneak preview plus "Sorrowful Jones" with Lucille Ball and Bob Hope. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were among the stars at the opening. It was on the west side of the street at Coliseum St. The opening night photo by Morris & Munroe is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

The Baldwin was operated on a lease by the brother and sister team of Fanchon Simon and Marco Wolff. Their Southside Theatres circuit ran a string of theatres in south Los Angeles. You can look under the Fs on the main alphabetical list for a lineup of the other theatres in the circuit. They also managed the two Paramounts: Downtown (the former Metropolitan) and the Hollywood Paramount, now back to its original El Capitan name.

Fanchon & Marco were once famed for their touring prologues, which they termed "Ideas," such as "The Sunkist Beauty Idea." For more information see the family's Fanchon and Marco website curated by Steve Simon.

Seating: 1,800 seats originally, 970 much later as a triplex.

Architect: Lewis Eugene Wilson designed the innovative structure supported by laminated wood arches. F.N. Ropp was the structural engineer and Baruch Corp. was the contractor. Cost of the project, including equipment, was $345,000. The Baldwin Hills Co. Inc. owned the building.

The project was announced in the April 16, 1949 issue of Boxoffice. This item appeared under the headline "Cost of 1,800 seater in Baldwin Hill Section of Los Angeles Cut to $150 a Seat."

A rendering that appeared in a trade magazine. Thanks to Dallas Movie Theaters for locating it for a post on Cinema Treasures. It also appeared in the August 7, 1949 issue of the L.A, Times, where it had this caption:

"Theater Opening - Opening is scheduled Wednesday night for the new Baldwin Theater at Coliseum St. and LaBrea Ave. in the Baldwin Hills section. Fanchon & Marco, Inc. will operate the $345,000 property."

An article from the August 7, 1949 issue of the L.A. Times. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the coverage in the Times for a post about the theatre on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.

The August 10, 1949 opening day ad in the Times.

An opening night newspaper image located by Ken McIntyre. The caption:

"At Grand Opening -- Burt Jones (left), manager of the new Baldwin Theater in Baldwin Hills beams happily at Fanchon (Mrs. William Simon) and Marco Wolff, owners, on opening night of unique film palace. New theater seats 1800 persons, is of revolutionary design and is considered one of most beautiful of its kind in the Southland."

"...a twin, they say, to Radio City Music Hall." An article about the manager of the new house. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.

"If I Were To Rebuild the Baldwin..." was a story in the June 3, 1950 issue of Boxoffice where the architect speculated about various cost savings that might have been possible using steel construction instead of wood laminated beams:

A 1951 ad for the theatre located by Ken McIntyre.

The Fanchon & Marco locations were sold off in 1959 to the ElectroVision Corp., aka EVC. A July 1959 L.A. Times article titled "ElectroVision in Aquisition" noted that the company (headed by Edwin F. Zabel) had purchased theatres in the area operated by Robert Lippert. At the bottom it was mentioned that they had earlier picked up the F&M holdings as well.

A 1959 Times ad located by Ken McIntyre showing the Baldwin as being operated by EVC. By the mid-1960s they were gone and the Baldwin, as well as a number of these other locations, were then operated by Statewide Theatres, headed by Fred Stein.

Statewide handed it off to Loew's in 1967 and General Cinema took over the Loew's California locations in 1972. Beginning in 1973 the Baldwin was operated by Century Cinema Circuit, no relation to Ray Syufy's Century Theatres. It's unknown whether or not they were actually running it again (or just booking the house) but the Cinema Tour page about the Baldwin notes that General Cinema was advertising for the theatre again beginning in December 1976.

The theatre was twinned in 1981 with a reopening on November 27. It was triplexed in 1986 and at the time operated by Ernest E. Simms and Nelson Bennett. In 1988 they were in trouble and trying to sell their interest, citing an unfavorable percentage lease and difficulty competing for product. The complex was later operated by Inner City Cinemas, a local African-American owned chain that had AMC as a partner. They soon ran into financial difficulties and the partnership was dissolved.

Closing: It closed in 1994. A year later the Magic Johnson multiplex opened nearby in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.

Status: The auditorium remains, converted to office space. The front has been demolished and was replaced by a bank and then other tenants.

Interior views:

The main entrance doors are on the right in this lobby shot from Bill Gabel's collection. It was a post on Cinema Treasures. "The foyer is finished in sand-blasted spruce stained a deep mulberry hue, contrasted by woodwork painted egg-shell white and deep peach. Carpeting throughout is in various shades of green." - L.A. Times

Looking down the length of the lobby toward the entrance. Through the louvered divider we get a look at the snackbar. It's one of seven Julius Shulman photos of the theatre included in Steve Keylon's Baldwin Hills album Julius Shulman Photos, 1950s and 1977 on Flickr. See the SRK1941 index page for many of Steve's other architecture and design photo sets. Thank you, Steve!

An auditorium view with the curtain closed. It's a Julius Shulman photo appearing in Steve Keylon's Baldwin Hills album Julius Shulman Photos, 1950s and 1977 on Flickr. "The auditorium, dominated by the novel arched ceiling completely insulated and fireproofed with asbestos material, is decorated in various shades of green. Rust colored mohair seats are spaced 36 inches back to back." - L.A. Times

The contour curtain in action. It's a Julius Shulman photo in the collection of the Getty Research Institute. Thanks to architectural photographer Hunter Kerhart for finding the Baldwin set in the Getty collection.

The Getty has four 1949 Shulman photos of the theatre in their collection, indexed as his Job #548. Head to the GRI home page for information about their collections. They have thousands of photos in their Julius Shulman Photography Archive. Also see the Shulman Resources page on the site.

More exterior views:

1949 - "The Showplace of the Southland." It's an opening night view taken by Morris & Munroe that's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. "Flesh-white and canary-yellow neons concealed in twin spanning arches provide dramatic lighting for the theater facade" reported the L.A. Times.

1949 - The crowd opening night. The photo by Morris & Munroe is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

1949 - A look along the side of the lobby toward the street. It's a Julius Shulman photo in the collection of the Getty Research Institute. Commenting on this area outside, the L.A. Times reported: "The outer lobby has been decorated in a South Sea Island motif planted with palms and appropriate shrubs and flowers."

1949 - The theatre running "The Girl From Jones Beach," a July release with Ronald Reagan and Virginia Mayo. "Africa Screams" was a May release with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. It's a Julius Shulman photo appearing in Steve Keylon's Baldwin Hills album Julius Shulman Photos, 1950s and 1977 on Flickr.

1949 - A closer look while the theatre was running "The Girl From Jones Beach." It's one of the four Julius Shulman photos in the collection of the Getty Research Institute.

1949 - The south side of the building during the run of "The Girl From Jones Beach." It's a Julius Shulman photo appearing in Steve Keylon's Baldwin Hills album Julius Shulman Photos, 1950s and 1977 on Flickr.

1949 - The theatre playing "You're My Everything" with Dan Dailey and Anne Baxter. "Mr. Soft Touch" was an August crime drama with Glenn Ford and Evelyn Keyes. It's a Julius Shulman photo in the collection of the Getty Research Institute. Bruce Kimmel notes that the theatre played this program in September.

1949 - Another take of the "You're My Everything" shot without the customers. It's a Julius Shulman photo appearing in Steve Keylon's Baldwin Hills album Julius Shulman Photos, 1950s and 1977 on Flickr.

1949 - Display cases along the south side of the building. We're looking toward the street. It's a Julius Shulman photo appearing in Steve Keylon's Baldwin Hills album Julius Shulman Photos, 1950s and 1977 album on Flickr.

1949 - The very strange rear of the building. On the right it's Coliseum St. It's a Julius Shulman photo appearing in Steve Keylon's Baldwin Hills album Julius Shulman Photos, 1950s and 1977 album on Flickr.

1986 - Another closing another reopening. This time around it was for the triplexing. Two of the names on the marquee were the operators at the time, Ernest Simms and Nelson Bennett. Thanks to Bill Gabel for posting the photo on Cinema Treasures.

2003 - The lobby area getting demolished. Most of the auditorium had already been converted to office space by the time this phase of the project happened. Thanks to Ron Pierce for the photo, one of twelve 2003 views of his appearing on the Cinema Tour page about the Baldwin.

2003 - Looking in toward the auditorium. Note the drywall where the rest of the space had already been partitioned off. Photo: Ron Pierce - Cinema Tour

2003 - The house right end of the lobby. Photo: Ron Pierce - Cinema Tour. Thanks, Ron!

2009 - A photo by theatre sleuth Ken McIntyre looking toward the space where the lobby of the theatre had once been.

2009 - A view along the side wall. Photo: Ken McIntyre

2009 - The rear end of the building. Photo: Ken McIntyre. More 2009 views from Ken on Photobucket: another sidewall view | toward the rear | sidewall detail |