Sunbeam Theatre

5722 N. Figueroa St. Highland Park (Los Angeles), CA 90042 | map |

Opened: 1914. Usually it was dishes. Or a car. But in this undated view from the Los Angeles Public Library collection the theatre was giving away a cow to some lucky ticket holder. At the time of the theatre's opening the street was called Pasadena Ave. 

Architect: Arthur Lawrence Valk. Joe Vogel discusses Valk:

"Architect Arthur Lawrence Valk began practicing in New York City around 1885, as junior partner in has father’s firm, L. B. Valk & Son. His father, Lawrence B. Valk, was best known for his church designs, some of which were built as far afield as Louisiana, Ohio, and Michigan. By 1904, the Valks had moved to Los Angeles. There the firm continued to specialize in churches, but by 1913 Arthur Valk had become well enough known for his work on movie theaters to have been called a 'motion picture specialist' by trade journal Southwest Contractor & Manufacturer. 

 

"Among his...movie houses were the Argus Theatre (later the Strand) in Santa Barbara, and the Sunbeam Theatre in the Highland Park district of Los Angeles. As he also designed the Globe Theatre # 2 (later the Florence Mills Theatre), it’s possible that he designed other projects for the Globe Amusement Company, perhaps including the Globe # 1 at Fifth and Los Angeles Streets and the Globe # 3 (Holly Theatre) in Echo Park..."

Thanks, Joe! 

 

A 1933 remodel was announced that was to be designed by Clifford A. Balch and Floyd E. Stanbery of the firm Balch & Stanbery. See the listings for Balch and Stanbery in the Pacific Coast Architecture Database.

Seating: 1,296 originally. 900 was the announced number it would be after the 1933 renovations and the building's return to use as a theatre. 

It's listed in the 1916 through 1923 city directories as being at 5722 N. Pasadena Ave., the former name for this section of N. Figueroa St.. The building is on the east side of the street between 57th Ave. and 58th Ave.

A 1918 ad located by Ken McIntyre. 

By 1920 the Sunbeam was owned and operated by Mike Gore who, with several other theatre operators, rolled his holdings into what became West Coast Theatres that year. See some data about the firm that was to become Fox West Coast in 1929. Gore and his colleague Adolph Ramish exited the firm that year. 

The closing: Gore retained ownership of the building but leased it to the new West Coast circuit in 1920. In 1925 that circuit opened the nearby Highland Theatre and closed the Sunbeam so it wouldn't be competition. The building was sub-leased by West Coast to various tenants including a donut shop and the Highland Park Furniture Co. The lease to West Coast expired in 1933.   

 

A 1933 remodel and a proposed reopening: Joe Vogel notes that a remodel of the building by Clifford Balch was announced in the July 28, 1933 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor. 

 

 

 

Some of the theatre's vaudeville history revolving around the Duncan Sisters was revealed in this August 3, 1933 article located by Lisa Kouza Braddock in the Highland Park News-Herald. They misspelled  the last name of architect Clifford Balch's partner. He was Floyd Stanbery, not Stanbury. Gore was looking at a September 15, 1933 reopening.  

 

The reopening: There wasn't one. Big plans but they weren't pursued. 

 

There's nothing for the building's addresses listed in the 1933 city directory. In 1934 and 1936 it was the J.S. DeLong used furniture store at 5720, nothing listed for 5722, a restaurant at 5724. In 1937 the restaurant was still there but the furniture store was gone.   

 

Tom Denyer got the building in 1936 and it was then called the Denyer Building. Thanks to Losa Kouza Braddock for locating this story in the March 24, 1950 issue of the Highland Park News-Herald.  

The building later served as offices for the Highland Park News Herald. In the 1980s the space was used by a repertory company and called the Outback Theatre. Cinema Treasures contributor MRY886 reports that the rep troupe collapsed in the early 1990s. U.S. Office Machines was a long-time tenant in the corner retail space fronting on Figueroa. 

Status: The building survives and is now used for retail. Sunbeam Vintage is in the former auditorium with an entrance at 106 S. Avenue 58. Google offers a 360 degree interior walk through. Thanks to David Zierraton for finding it.

1916 - A sliver of the Sunbeam can be seen at the far left of the card. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality for locating the card on eBay. It's featured on Noirish post #53666.

c.1920 - An amazing array of facade styles is featured in this photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. That's the Sunbeam on the far left.  The Greek temple was for the Bank of Highland Park.

2008 - A photo from Ken McIntyre.

2012 - On the right we're looking south on Figueroa. Photo: Google Maps

2017 - Nothing new to report. Photo: Google Maps

2025 - A brighter look to the building with a new paint job by Sunbeam Vintage. Photo: Bill Counter

 

 

2025 - The Sunbeam side of the building along Avenue 58. Photo: Bill Counter  

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Sunbeam for a bit more history. KCET has a 2011 page on the Highland Park business district featuring one of the LAPL photos as well as an article.

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