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Largo Theatre

1827 E. 103rd St. Watts (Los Angeles), CA 90002 | map |


Opened: 1924. It was on the north side of the street about a block and a half east of the Pacific Electric (now Metro) tracks, just west of Wilmington Ave. The location is about 6 blocks north of the Watts Towers. The original address was 339 E. Main St. Main in Watts was renamed E. 103rd St. in the early 1920s.

In the December 1960 photo by noted African-American photographer Harry H. Adams, we're looking west. The Los Angeles Public Library has a copy acquired from the collection of Miriam Matthews.

Architect: Carl Boller

Seats: 1,200 was the announced capacity, perhaps a bit exaggerated. It was later 904. Thanks to Ken Roe for that number, coming from the 1950 Film Daily Yearbook.

An item in the May 9, 1924 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor identified Paul Farron as the manager at the time of the Yeager Theatre in Watts, later renamed the Linda. He was planning on building a new theatre: 

"Watts -- Paul Ferron, manager of the Yeager Theater, is taking preliminary bids for construction of a two-story fireproof theater, 145 x 65 feet, on East Main St. It will be of Spanish style and and will have especially designed fly loft. Mr. Ferron was formerly connected with the Lasky Studio."

The theatre ended up being called the Largo. An item in the June 6, 1924 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor: "Theater and store building -- Schilling & Brown, 534 San Fernando Building, have the contract to erect a theater and store building at Watts for P.L. Ferron; Carl Boller...architect. It will have 2-stores and the theater will seat 1200 people...$35,000."

In the 1925 Watts directory it's listed with an address of 339 E. Main and P.L. Ferron as manager. In the 1927 Watts directory the address has become 1825-27 E. 103rd St. Paul L. Ferron was listed as lessee and manager. The theatre's slogan in the directory was "Let's Go To The Largo. First with the best in motion pictures."


A 1926 ad in the Times. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
 
 

"The Brightest Spot In Watts." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this October 1933 ad for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. The ad appeared in the California Eagle, a newspaper covering the African-American community in Los Angeles.
  
 

A March 1935 ad in the California Eagle. It was another find by Ken McIntyre for a Photos of Los Angeles post. 

Later the theatre was operated by Fox West Coast. Bill Gabel notes that by 1957 Aladdin Enterprises was the operator.

Closing: The Largo closed in the early 1960s.  
 

An April 1964 article that Ken McIntyre located in the California Eagle. 

Status: It's been demolished. There's now a community center on the site.



A detail from the Harry Adams photo at the top of the page. 



Lining up for a show in 1960, the same day as the other photo. It's another by Harry Adams from the collection of Miriam Matthews. It's now in the collection of the Los Angeles Public Library.  A cropped version of the photo appeared in the December 22, 1960 issue of the California Eagle with this caption: 

"The Line Was Long -- Some of the 3500 youngsters who jammed the Largo theater, on 103rd street, as the sixth annual Christmas party given by Dr. Christopher L. Taylor Saturday afternoon, are shown waiting their turn. The line stretched to the end of the block, curved and continued around the corner. (Adams)." 



The abandoned theatre in 1963. It's a detail from a photo by Harry Adams in the collection of the Cal State Northridge Oviatt Library. It's from the university's Tom & Ethel Bradley Center.



Looking west from Wilmington Ave. at the parking lot and community center now on the site. Photo: Google Maps - 2017

More information: Well, there's not much more out there. Cinema Treasures has a page on the theatre with a few comments.

See the page here on this site for the Linda Theatre, also on 103rd. It began as the Lyceum and was then renamed the Yeager before ending up as the Linda. There was also another Watts theatre called the Palace, later becoming the Sonora Theatre.



A nice map of Watts from the 1919 Watts city directory that's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Head to the one on the Library's site for an expandable version. The darker lines are the Pacific Electric routes. Main St. is running horizontally across the center of the map. The Largo was about a block and a half east of the tracks.

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