Granada Theatre

115 N. Market St. Inglewood, CA 90301 | map |

Opened: Late 1924. This November 1925 photo looking north along the tracks toward the theatre is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

Seating: 1,000

Architect: Leonard L. Jones. Thanks to Joe Vogel for the research. His report on Cinema Treasures:

"The Inglewood News of January 18, 1924 announced the clearance of the site where the Granada Theatre would be built. Southwest Builder & Contractor had announced in its issue of January 11 that architect Leonard L. Jones was preparing the plans. The owner was Arthur Bennett. The construction contract was awarded to General Construction Company, of Glendale, according to SwB&C’s issue of May 9 that year..."

When it was later operated by Fox West Coast, the theatre was also known as the Fox Granada.

A lovely late 20s or early 30s view of the Granada booth showing off their equipment. They have both soundheads for sound-on-film as well as separate turntables for Vitaphone disc reproduction. Note the long row of dimmer handles high up on the front wall. Thanks to Western Electric expert John Conning and his site Moviemice for the photo. And thanks to theatre historian Kurt Wahlner for spotting the photo on the site. 

The demise: The Granada burned in December 1945. Ken McIntyre found a mention in the December 19 issue of the L.A. Times: "Flames of undetermined origin destroyed the Granada Theater, 115 N. Market St., Inglewood early today, and also a cafe, candy store and gift shop in the same building." The Times also noted that the owner of the building at the time was Phoebe Bennett. The replacement was the Fox Inglewood, opening in 1949.

More exterior views: 

 

c.1930 - A look at the entrance of the Granada before the new marquee and the stucco job on the facade. "East is West" was released in October 1930. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

 

c.1932 - "Look how wide all of the streets are here." We're looking north on Market with the Granada's vertical visible in the center of the image. Across the street to the right is the taller vertical of the United Artists Theatre, opened in 1931. It's a card that appeared on eBay and sold for $154.00.

1942 - A view from Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives appearing on page 37 of the terrific 2008 Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres in Los Angeles" by Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, Amy Ronnebeck Hall and Mr. Wanamaker. There's a preview of the book on Google Books. The book is available from Amazon or your local bookseller. Note: The book identifies the photo as being the Granada Theatre on Temple St. north of downtown L.A.

1945 - "Penthouse Rhythm" was a June Universal release. Thanks to Bill Gabel for locating the photo for a post on Cinema Treasures.

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Granada for a few stories about the building. 

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