Los Angeles Theatres: Franklin Theatre

5502 N. Figueroa St. Highland Park (Los Angeles), CA 90042 | map |

Opened: 1936 as the Hughes Theatre. The location is the northeast corner of Figueroa and Avenue 55.

The 1940 photo is one from the Laemmle collection that appeared with a 2021 Indie Focus article about Greg Laemmle on Boxoffice Pro. It's also been seen on the All Movie Theatres Facebook page. "Club de Femmes" was an August 1937 release with Danielle Darrieux and 200 French beauties. Not that she wasn't one herself. "Peter Ibbetson" was a November 1935 release with Gary Cooper and Ann Harding.

Architect: Lyle Nelson Barcume and Harold P. King of the firm of Barcume & King did the theatre conversion of a 1922 vintage building that originally was the garage for an auto dealership. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor MRY886 for the research.

Seating: 895

After the car dealer left, a new owner, E.H. Rose, converted the building into a market in 1934 and then, in 1936, to a theatre. As a theatre it once had a fancy parapet and tower, which it lost in the early 90s. It's not listed in the 1936 or 1937 city directory.

It's unknown when it became called the Franklin -- possibly as early as 1937. It's in the 1938 city directory under that name. While the use of the names Hughes and Franklin suggests the involvement of the Hughes-Franklin circuit, that short lived combine of Howard Hughes and Harold B. Franklin, formerly of Fox West Coast, had been dissolved by 1932. A possible inspiration for the Franklin name is Franklin High School, just six blocks north up Ave. 54.

By 1938 Kurt Laemmle, a co-founder of the Laemmle circuit, was running the theatre. It was the first L.A. theatre for the family. Kurt and his brother Max later added the nearby Dale Theatre and the Park Theatre. Later expansions included the Ritz in Inglewood and the Los Feliz Theatre.

Closing: As the Franklin, it ran until 1952.

Status: In 1954 the building was the home of De Witt Moving and Storage. The building is now used for various retail and industrial purposes including a carpet company. Escott O. Norton comments: "The carpet company that owns it is very wary of people coming in to take pictures. They know the value and might not be using it as a theatre, but last time I was there they expressed that they have no interest in damaging what's left."

Interior views:

Thanks to C. Stefanic for posting this 2017 photo on Cinema Treasures with this comment: "Though the flooring has been concreted, the screen space and stage remain intact, complete with the luscious murals on the wall."

Another 2017 view by C. Stefanic posted with this comment: "Not sure what construction has occurred in this area in the last 30 some odd years, but one can still make out the original EXIT door and side panels, which are still painted from the theatre’s thriving heyday."

More exterior views:

c.1940 - One of the gentlemen in front is Kurt Laemmle. They were running "Coast Guard," an August 1939 release with Randolph Scott and Frances Dee, along with "Only Angels Have Wings," a May 1939 release with Cary Grant and Jean Arthur. The photo is one displayed on the wall of the lobby at Laemmle's Royal Theatre.