Opened: 1929 as the Bellflower Theatre. Thanks to Gary Parks for sharing the postcard from his collection. In this 1938 view the theatre is seen with a updated triangular marquee running "The Last Gangster," a 1937 release with Edward G. Robinson, along with "Love and Hisses," a 1937 release with Walter Winchell.
The building is on the west side of the street just north of Flower St. An earlier address before renumbering was 455 Bellflower. It's listed that way in the 1940 and 1946 directories. The street had once been called Somerset St.
Seating: 960 originally, 1,150 after the 1949 remodel that involved adding a small balcony.
Architect: Possibly Gable & Wyant. It was a project done for Frank E. Woodruff. The theatre was constructed with a full stage, orchestra pit, and dressing rooms but no organ chambers.
Joe Vogel comments: "I can’t find any references to an architect named F.E. Woodruff in the [Los Angeles Public Library] California Index. Frank Woodruff certainly had this theatre built, but I’ve found no evidence that he designed it. One of the very few references to Woodruff in the Index cites an article in Architect & Engineer of May, 1927, which says that architects Gable & Wyant were designing a house for him..." Thanks, Joe. It's not known who did the 1949 remodel.
In the 40s the theatre was still being operated by its original operator, Lester Funk, according to a brief biography of him Joe Vogel located in the April 14, 1945 issue of Boxoffice. The item said he had opened his first theater in Bellflower in 1926, then opened the Bellflower Theatre in 1929. Also noted was that Funk opened the Circle Theatre nearby on Flower St. in 1941.
In October 1947 both the Bellflower and Circle theatres were sold to Albert Hanson and his son Wayne of South-Lyn Theatres. Joe Vogel located a May 8, 1948 item in Boxoffice that said South-Lyn was going to spend $150,000 for "extensive modernization and enlarging of its Bellflower Theatre, which will be renamed the Nubel." Joe adds that Boxoffice noted "that the seating capacity was to be increased by the addition of a balcony, the width of the entrance was to be doubled, and a new marquee and 60-foot sign tower would be installed."
The theatre closed June 5, 1949 and reopened as the Nubel Theatre on October 14. It was noted as a recent reopening in an item in the October 22, 1949 issue of Boxoffice that was located by Joe Vogel. The new seating capacity was listed as 1,150.
A drawing of the new facade appearing in the November 12, 1949 issue of Boxoffice. Thanks to Michael Kilgore for locating this for a post on Cinema Treasures. He comments: "It amuses me that despite two sets of huge letters in the photo, whoever wrote the caption still managed to misspell Nubel." The caption was:
"TELEVISION TOWER - The remodeled 1,150 seat Nubell recently reopened by South-Lyn Theatres, Inc. at Bellflower, Calif., has a modernistic front featuring a 60-foot tower which provides for installation of an antenna for use when theatre television becomes part of its operations. Al Hanson, head of the company, also operates another theatre in Bellflower, two in South Gate and two in Lynnwood [sic]."
In 1966 it got new operators and was reopened by Statewide Theatres as the Holiday Theatre. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this July 21, 1966 ad.
Around 1973 Gordon Bachlund reopened the then-closed theatre and continued to run it as a single screen operation. The team was also running the Arden in Lynwood. Earlier they had tried running the Imperial on Imperial Highway without much success.
Closing: The theatre closed for good in 1977 due an inability to compete with multiplex operations.
Status: Since 1984 it's been a church.
A peek in the lobby:
Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for her 2009 photo, one from her Bellflower album on Flickr. The former snack bar area is at the left. She reports that they let her look inside but there wasn't much worth photographing.
In the booth:
The booth equipment in 1973 included Magnarc lamps, Ampex (?) mag heads, Simplex E-7 projectors and RCA 9030 optical soundheads. It's a photo by Gordon Bachlund who, with a partner, was operating the theatre at the time. It's one appearing on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre.
Another 1973 booth view by Gordon Bachlund. Thanks, Gordon!
More exterior views:
1955 - A postcard view looking north through beautiful downtown Bellflower. Thanks to Nile Hight for locating this for a post on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. Ken McIntyre also did a post of it on the Photos of Los Angeles page where he noted that the theatre was running "This Island Earth," a June 1955 release.
1973 - The newly reopened theatre. Statewide Theatres had renamed it the Holiday in 1966 but it had only a short run under their management. Thanks to Gordon Bachlund for his photo, one appearing on the the Cinema Tour page about the theatre.
1980 - The theatre after closing as the Holiday. Thanks to Meredith Jacobson Marciano for sharing her photo in a post on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page.
1980 - An entrance detail. It's another photo by Meredith Jacobson Marciano. Thanks, Meredith!
1984 - A photo by Rick Corrales that appeared in the August 19 issue of the L.A. Times. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. The caption: "The Rev. Garry Ansdell in front of the vacant Holiday Theater in Bellflower, which has been purchased by Ansdell's church."
c.2008 - The south side of the tower of the repurposed building. Thanks to Debra Jane Seltzer for her photo, one of hundreds of views from around the state in the huge California Movie Theatres section of her site Roadside Architecture.
2009 - Yes, that ziggurat on the left is the stagehouse. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for this photo and others she took that appear here.
2009 - A look up the tower. Photo: Michelle Gerdes
2009 - An entrance detail, the boxoffice now gone. Photo: Michelle Gerdes
2009 - The terrazzo by the entrance doors. Photo: Michelle Gerdes
2009 - A detail of several of the storefronts with the stagehouse lurking above. Photo: Michelle Gerdes. She has seven facade and entrance area shots in her Theatres-California album on Flickr. Start at her first Nubel photo and you can page through them.
2015 - Check out that stagehouse! This look north on Bellflower is from Google Maps.
2018 - A look north along the alley side of the building. They gave it a paint job! Photo: Google Maps
2019 - On the left we're looking west on Flower St. On the right it's north on Bellflower. Photo: Google Maps
More information: See the page about the theatre on Cinema Treasures, where they have it listed as the Holiday Theatre. In addition to the 1973 photos appearing here, the Cinema Tour page has 10 2004 exterior shots and some interesting comments by Gordon Bachlund.
See the page here on this site about the first Bellflower Theatre.
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Saw Peter Pan, Snow White, Fantasia, War of the Worlds, Seventh Voyage of Sinbad December 1959. Ceiling was blue with small sprinkled white lights that looked like stars. The lodge was in the back with upper-scale red seats. Floor never sticky there. Lobby had long stainless steel handrails to assist with steps. Red carpeting throughout. Snack-bar expensive and well-lit. Bon-bons! Balcony seldom open with a red rope across it. Left turn into main theater. The interior was amazing area as it was so big. Didn't appear that large from the street. Saturday mate-nay packed with kids and we could win prizes with ticket stubs. Remember the middle-aged, white-haired manager well. He kept a sharp-eye on us, with reason.
ReplyDeleteMy first indoor theater was here. Jungle Book (animated version) in 1966
ReplyDeleteGood job to the city of Bell Gardens for keeping the historic charm alive. Their main drag looks great with a splash of modern architecture while also salvaging the history. Love seeing it, truly what all surrounding cities should have done!
ReplyDeleteBell Gardens is a different city, just north west of this city Bellflower, California.
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