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Castle Theatre

8518 S. San Pedro St. Los Angeles, CA 90003  | map |


Opened: This Florence-Graham area house opened in 1924, on the east side of the street one lot north of Manchester. Thanks to Brad Smith for this 1926 photo of the Castle taken by George Mann of the comedy dance team Barto and Mann. It's on Flickr. Presumably that's Mr. Barto in front. For a real treat, browse through the extraordinary Theatre Marquees album of 136 photos taken by Mr. Mann.

Joe Vogel located an item about the project from the March 21, 1924 issue of Southwest Builder and Contractor. It was noted that the theatre was built by a Mr. U.G. Hubbs and initially operated by him as well.

Seats: 575, according to Cinema Treasures. Presumably the number is from a Film Daily Yearbook. 

Architect: Unknown

A July 4, 1936 ad for the Castle and some of its South Central neighbors. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this ad and the others below for his thread about the theatre on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 
 

 An October 31, 1946 ad. 
 
 

A November 1949 ad for a reissue run of "Gone With the Wind."
 
Closing: The Castle Theatre closed in 1950. Ken McIntyre notes that the ads stop that year. By 1954 it had become a church.  See a Facebook thread from Ken about the theatre on Ken's Movie Page.
 

Auditions for an amateur program. But no movies. It's a 1954 ad.

Status: The building survives, still used as a church.
 
 

The building in 2007. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing his photo on a thread about the theatre on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 
 
 

The building in 2015. On the right is a view east on Manchester. Photo: Google Maps



On Manchester looking at the south side of the building. On the left we're looking north on San Pedro St. Photo: Google Maps - 2018

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Castle.

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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 4, 2022 at 7:57 PM

    As a kid of 7 in 1950 we went to this show. We collected soda bottles to get cash. Cost $.09 cents. Next door was a very small snack bar. If you left the show to get a snack you needed to keep your ticket stub or not get back in.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 19, 2022 at 6:35 PM

    Watched many movies there in the late 40’s. Seems as though it closed down about 1948. I attended South Park elementary school one block to the east.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill CounterJuly 23, 2022 at 1:38 PM

      Thanks for your comments! Well, it was running at least into 1949. See the ad here on the page.

      Delete

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