Strand Theatre

4232 Whittier Blvd. East Los Angeles, CA 90022 | map |

Opened: 1928. It was also known as Swickard's Strand Theatre, after the owner, J. Paul Swickard. A bit earlier in the 20s Swickard had the Cameo in El Sereno. For decades, the venue was popular for both vaudeville and films. The 1936 photo is on Internet Archive in the Foto East LA collection of the Los Angeles County Library, a contribution of Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin.

Architect: Unknown

Seating: 990

The auditorium was parallel to Whittier Blvd. but one lot back from the street with the lobby facing Sunol Dr. The marquee was out on Whittier with a canopy leading into the house left end of the lobby. The Strand was very active in community affairs with the promotion of parades and local talent shows. The Buck Jones Rangers Band made its home at the theatre through 1935.

The Strand was the place for stars to make personal appearances in East Los Angeles. Mr. Swickard had all the visitors leave handprints and inscriptions in sections of concrete. The visits by the stars were keyed to an ongoing safety program and they were asked to inscribe a safety-related slogan in the concrete. Many of the blocks were then installed in locations near the theatre.

 

Some of the stars appearing at the theatre include Natalie Wood, Peter Lorre, George O'Brien, Jean Hersholt, Boris Karloff, Kaye Kaiser, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hugh Herbert, Eddie Albert, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell and many more. 

 

Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this 1941 article for a thread about the theatre on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. 

 

More problems in 1947. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the April 16 article.

Closing: The Strand closed in 1952.

The last ad in the Times: June 25. Thanks to Ken for locating it.

The sign on the boxoffice then said: "CLOSED. We're home watching television, too."  

 

A sign on the theatre got a mention in one of the local papers via this July 1952 item that was spotted by Ken McIntyre.

J. Paul Swickard died in 1959. His son Donald currently lives in Palm Desert. Our thanks to him for allowing the use of his photographs.

Status: The building was later used for clothing manufacturing. Now it's a warehouse.

The Strand on Video: See the wonderful 9 1/2 minute "Swickard's Strand Theatre" video on YouTube for lots of interior views. It's a project of Donald Swickard.

 

Interior views:

A lobby view with the exit doors on the right. Photo: Donald Swickard collection.

A look across toward the house right side of the lobby. The auditorium is off to the left. Photo: Donald Swickard collection

The auditorium during a re-seating project. Note that here the ceiling has not yet been draped. Photo: Donald Swickard collection

The rear of the auditorium house left. We're back in the well padded loge section. Photo: Donald Swickard collection

The house left front of the auditorium. Photo: Donald Swickard collection

 

The rear of the auditorium house right. Photo: Donald Swickard collection

Another look toward the booth. Photo: Donald Swickard collection

On the stage: 

Donald Swickard as MC for a Strand talent show. Photo: Donald Swickard collection

Members of the Buck Jones Ranger Band onstage c.1934. Jones is in the back row, the second from the right. The photo is on Internet Archive in the Foto East LA collection of the Los Angeles County Library, a contribution of Donald Swickard.  

"Stop and Beware" is the safety advice from Boris Karloff as he inscribes a concrete panel. That's J. Paul Swickard in the upper left. The photo is on Internet Archive in the Foto East LA collection of the Los Angeles County Library, a contribution of Donald Swickard. 

Duncan Reynaldo, Bonita Granville and Alan Hale, Sr. onstage at the Strand in the 1930s. The photo is on Internet Archive in the Foto East LA collection of the Los Angeles County Library, a contribution of Donald Swickard.  

"Stop - Look - Listen." Henry Hunter was making an appearance in 1936 to promote his film "Parole." The photo is on Internet Archive in the Foto East LA collection of the Los Angeles County Library, a contribution of Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin. 

Actress Bonita Granville on stage c.1938. "Watch and Wait Before You Cross" was her advice. The photo by Bud Fraker is on Internet Archive in the Foto East LA collection of the Los Angeles County Library, a contribution of Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin.  

John Carroll and Joan Blondell make an appearance in the late 1930s. That's J. Paul Swickard in the center. The photo is on Internet Archive in the Foto East LA collection of the Los Angeles County Library, a contribution of Donald Swickard.   

More exterior views:

1933 - A Whittier Blvd. parade view. Note the canopy at the left leading back to the lobby. Part of the program that week was Richard Dix in "The Great Jasper." Photo: Donald Swickard collection

1930s - A marquee view with several gentlemen who were part of the Buck Jones Rangers color guard. The photo appeared as a post on the Western Corral Facebook page. It's on Internet Archive from the Donald Swickard collection.

1930s - "Our Gang" cast members outside the theatre after inscribing a safety message on a concrete panel. The photo is on Internet Archive in the Foto East LA collection of the Los Angeles County Library, a contribution of Donald Swickard.   

c.1945 - Actor George Montgomery at the Strand. Thanks to Jason Vanderhill for locating the photo from the Donald Swickard collection on Internet Archive. It's in the Foto East LA collection of the Los Angeles County Library.

1947 - A boxoffice view from the Donald Swickard collection.

1947 - A view from the Sean Ault collection showing track repairs happening. Look over on the far right for our only look at this version of the marquee. Thanks, Sean! 

early 1950s - A look east on Whittier Blvd. in the early 50s with the "Strand Theatre" sign appearing on the theatre's stagehouse. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing this photo from his collection.

c.1980 - A photo by Cary Moore from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

c.1990 - A view by an unknown photographer that's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

 

c.2005 - A view looking east from Martin that appeared on his now-vanished site You-Are-Here. He commented: "Once with footprints of Trigger and Roy Rogers in front of the theater."

 

2007 - A look at the fading sign on the back wall that was taken by Ken McIntyre. He included this shot and the one below in a thread about the theatre on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. 

 

2007 - Another angle on the back of the stagehouse. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing his photo.

2012 - The Strand as viewed from Whittier Blvd. The front wall of the stagehouse still said "Warner Bros. Vitaphone." On the sidewall it was: "STRAND - all seats Adults 30 cents Children 10 cents." Photo: Bill Counter

2012 - The lobby end of the building. Just behind the chain link fence, one can see the arched opening that used to be the main entrance. There was a canopy that stretched out to Whittier Blvd. Photo: Bill Counter

2012 - A look at the south side of the building. Photo: Bill Counter

 

2019 - There's more foliage in the lot along Whittier but the theatre building hasn't changed in decades. The street barricades are due to construction of a new apartment complex. Photo: Bill Counter 

 

2022 - The back of the stagehouse. Thanks to Mike Hume for sharing his photo.

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Strand Theatre for lots of information. The page also has links to a nice set of exterior views by Ken McIntyre from 2007. The Cinema Tour page on the Strand has 8 exterior photos by Bob Meza dating from 2003.

| back to top | North of Downtown and East L.A. | Downtown theatres | Westside | Hollywood | Westwood and Brentwood | South, South Central and Southeast theatres | Along the Coast | [more] Los Angeles Movie Palaces | Los Angeles theatres - the main alphabetical list | Los Angeles theatres - list by address | theatre history resources | film and theatre tech resources | theatres in movies | LA Theatres on facebook | contact info | welcome and site navigation guide |