Opened: October 3, 1946 as a Fox West Coast project. The uncredited 1972 photo of the theatre running "The Candidate" is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Thanks to Kurk Wahlner for the color correction.
"3 Little Girls in Blue" with June Haver and Robert Montgomery was the opening feature. Stars attending the opening included Vivian Blaine, Richard Conte, Jeanne Crain, Victor Mature, Cornel Wilde and many others.
The building is on the east side of the street just south of Manchester Ave. In 1949 the La Tijera Theatre opened nearby and in 1950 the Paradise Theatre opened a third of a mile south on Sepulveda.
Architect: Clarence J. Smale designed the Skouras-style
building. Carl G. Moeller was the designer of the interior. Moeller
was chief designer at the time for Fox West Coast and worked on various
projects for the circuit with a number of different architects.
A drawing, presumably from Smale's office, that's in the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library.
Seating: 1,248 in a stadium-syle layout. Thanks to Ken Roe for the number, coming from a 1952 Film Daily Yearbook.
Sam Gnerre's fine 2014 South Bay Daily Breeze article "Westchester's Loyola Theatre" included this 1946 opening ad.
Fox West Coast gave the theatre an upgrade in 1959. This photo spread appeared in the April 6, 1959 issue of Boxoffice on page 36 of the Modern Theatre section. Other Fox remodels, including the Fox Van Nuys, the Fox Pomona, the Fox Arlington and the Chinese were pictured in the beginning of the article. Thanks to Mike Hume of the site Historic Theatre Photography for locating the article.
The Loyola was later operated by Fox's successor companies National General Corporation and Mann Theatres. The theatre occasionally saw concerts and other live events although it lacked a real stage. By 1979 the Loyola was no longer running movies and was operated by Guru Maharaj Ji who used it for meetings and programs by his group.
In 1981 Mickey Cottrell, Richie Azzarone and Mike Hanlon reopened the theatre as a revival house. All went well, including some restoration work, until the building was purchased by Ted Sparks and partners, developers with other ideas, in March 1982.
Closing: The Loyola closed May 15, 1982 with its final chapter as a revival house. The final programming was a science fiction festival.
"The Loyola Theatre, an ornate Westchester landmark, appears to be doomed by developers plans." It's a photo by Al Markado for the L.A. Times that appeared in their July 24, 1983 issue.
Status: The interior was gutted in 1983, despite some preservation attempts, to serve as a medical office building. The developer was forced to retain the facade by the city after the building was declared a Cultural-Historic Landmark. Before that decision was reached co-owner Ted Sparks was quoted as saying that keeping the facade for an office building would be "somewhat bizarre."
Interior views:
An auditorium view of the Loyola from the Terry Helgesen collection at the Theatre Historical Society. The photo appeared in "Skouras-ized for Showmanship: Skouras' West Coast Theatres" by Preston J. Kaufmann. This 1987 THS annual (#14) is packed with photos of theatres that Fox West Coast gave the moderne "Skouras look" in the 40s and 50s. It's available on Amazon.
A sidewall view from the Terry Helgesen collection appearing in "Skouras-ized for Showmanship."
A light fixture detail from the Terry Helgesen collection in "Skouras-ized for Showmanship."
A c.1946 booth view. Those are are Peerless Hy-Candescent condenser arc lamps behind Simplex E-7 projectors. And we get a partial view of a Brenograph effects projector on the far right. Thanks to John Eickhof for the photo. It was in a big album in a now-closed account on the site ImageEvent.
This lovely 1982 view toward the screen appears with Sam Gnerre's 2014 Daily Breeze article "Westchester's Loyola Theatre." Thanks to Deanna Bayless for spotting the article. The photo is by South Bay Daily Breeze photographer Jack Lardomita. Note that the Cinemascope screen got placed in front of the original narrow proscenium.
More exterior views:
1946 - This photo with the opening bill on the marquee from Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives appears on the site Hollywood Historic Photos. Ken McIntyre also has it as a comment on a Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page thread that includes many other views as well. It also can be seen in the 1987 Theatre Historical Society publication "Skouras-ized for Showmanship."
A slightly cropped version appears on page 100 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.
1947 - "Moss Rose," a May release, is playing. Thanks to Deanna Bayless for finding the photo. It makes an appearance in the Theatre Historical Society publication "Skouras-ized for Showmanship."
1947 - The Loyola running the boxoffice hit "Forever Amber," an October release. Thanks to theatre historian Kurt Wahlner for sharing the photo from his collection. Kurt is best known for his website elaborately documenting the history of Grauman's Chinese.
c.1947 - An early aerial view of the theatre posted on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page by Janna Kahnweiler Silva. She notes that the side parking lot soon disappeared and another building was added.
1949 - A Spence Air Photos view of Westchester from the California Historical Society appearing on the USC Digital Library website. The Loyola is up near the upper right. A perhaps 1947 Spence aerial view showing nothing adjacent to the theatre is on Calisphere from Loyola Marymount University.
1952 - "Viva Zapata" at the Loyola. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection
1952 - Another "Zapata" view in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1959 - The Loyola is on the left in this view south on Sepulveda as we see part of the LAPD squad escorting Nikita Khrushchev from the airport during his visit to Los Angeles. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing the photo from his collection.
1961 - Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting this trade magazine photo on Cinema Treasures for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. It was a contribution of Dallas Movie Theaters on the Cinema Treasures page about the Loyola.
1970 - "The Secret of Santa Vittoria." It's a photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1970 - Another "Santa Vittoria" view from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1976 - A photo taken by Gary Leonard during the run of "Treasure of Matacumbe." It's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1976 - Thanks to Stacey Kay for finding this one for a post on Flickr.
1976 - A neon detail drawn from the "Murder By Death" image. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
1976 - Thanks to Ken McIntyre for this entrance detail. He included it as a comment on a thread about the theatre on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles.
1976 - A photo by John Margolies, one of about ten he took of the Loyola that are in the Library of Congress collection. Their collection has 147 California theatre photos taken by Mr. Margolies.
1976 - Coming Soon: "The Song Remains The Same." It's a John Margolies photo in the Library of Congress collection.
1977 - The theatre running the Disney production "Candleshoe." It's a photo by John Margolies in the Library of Congress collection. Thanks to Richard Wojcik for locating the photo for a post on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page.
1977 - A detail from the John Margolies photo seen above.
c.1977 - A tower detail. It's a John Margolies photo in the Library of Congress collection.
Christmas - A fanciful version of the Loyola marquee with the message Photoshopped in by Joseph Hood. It's an image that once appeared on the page for the now-dead Westchester California Memories Facebook group.
1980 - Meetings to promote Guru Maharaj Ji. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this view for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
1980 - A marquee and soffit detail that Ken McIntyre found for his post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. Thanks!
1982 - Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this photo.
1982 - A photo of the theatre Ken McIntyre spotted for a 2011 post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. The photo, by South Bay Daily Breeze photographer Jack Lardomita, also appears with the 2014 Sam Gnerre Daily Breeze article about the theatre. Ken notes that these two features are German films. The venue ran as an art/revival house in the early 80s before being closed and gutted.
1982 - A view by Daily Breeze photographer Jack Lardomita that appears with the 2014 Sam Gnerre Daily Breeze article about the theatre. By the boxoffice is Mickey Cottrell, who ran the theatre as revival house until it was purchased by an unsympathetic developer. Thanks to Deanna Bayless for finding the article.
c.1983 - An August photo from the American Classic Images collection.
c.1984 - A John Margolies photo in the Library of Congress collection.
2008 - Thanks to Tortuga 1 for this shot appearing on Flickr.
2008 - A boxoffice view from Tortuga 1 on Flickr. These two photos are part of Tortuga's 17 image Loyola Theatre album.
2009 - Looking north along Sepulveda. Photo: Michelle Gerdes
2009 - A sidewalk detail looking north. Photo: Michelle Gerdes
2009 - Part of the design near the entrance doors. Photo: Michelle Gerdes
2009 - Terrazzo near the boxoffice. Photo: Michelle Gerdes
2009 - A look at the boxoffice. Photo: Michelle Gerdes. These photos of Michelle's are part of her Theatres - California set on Flickr. Thanks, Michelle!
2010 - A view of the theatre long after it had lost its sparkle. Photo: Bill Counter
More information: See Sam Gnerre's 2014 South Bay Daily Breeze article "Westchester's Loyola Theatre" for a good history of the building.
Cinema Treasures has a page on the Loyola. The Cinema Tour page on the Loyola has nine 2003 exterior photos by Ron Pierce.
The site Silver Screens has an image of the digitally altered version of the Loyola facade (as the "Rialto") as it appears in episode 201 of Dawson's Creek.
The Loyola's neighbor, the Paradise Theatre, opened in 1950 a third of a mile farther south on Sepulveda. It has also been remodeled for other uses.
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