Los Angeles Theatres: Vogue Theatre

712 W. Whittier Blvd. Montebello, CA 90640 | map |

Opened: December 14, 1937 as the New Vogue Theatre. Thanks to Joe Vogel for research on the opening date. It was noted in an item he spotted in the December 18, 1937 issue of Boxoffice. The building is on the north side of the street just east of Montebello Blvd.

Thanks to Andy Gray for sharing the October 1948 photo in a post on the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation Facebook page. He comments: "My grandfather, Albert S. 'Al' Johnson, built over sixty theaters and drive-ins in Michigan between the 1930s and 1950s. Among his Kodachrome slide collection are of two that he took of Los Angeles area theaters during trips to California with his wife to visit family." The other is a 1950 view of the Fairfax Theatre.

Architect: S. Charles Lee did the conversion of a building that had been an auto dealership. Joe Vogel notes that the building dates from 1929. He also notes that the Boxoffice item he found mentioned that the Robert Powers Studio was the decorator.

Seating: 543

At some point the "New" was dropped in advertising and it was just the Vogue. It's also been known as the Vogue Fine Arts. The theatre was owned by Alfred Olander, who also had the Garmar Theatre. The Vogue operated as a second-run budget house.

Closing: The Vogue ran at least through 1966.

Status: From the early 70s and into the 80s the location was a travel agency. It's now a hair salon.

Recent interior views:

Thanks to Chris Nichols for mounting a reconaissance operation in June 2023 to see if anything theatrical was left inside the building. Perhaps the ceiling grilles are leftovers from S. Charles Lee's design. Chris is an editor at Los Angeles magazine and is also the author of the Taschen book "Walt Disney's Disneyland."

A look toward the doors and the former booth area. Photo: Chris Nichols - June 2023. Thanks!

More exterior views:

1937 - A postcard view of the building before the S. Charles Lee remodel. The poster on the car on the left is advertising a free show the Hudson dealer was sponsoring on July 2 -- with talking pictures. The card once appeared on HudsonJet.net, a now-vanished site that was dedicated to Hudson dealerships. Thanks to Terrence Butcher for locating this version of it for a post on the Facebook group Images and Memories of Los Angeles.

1955 - Thanks to James Crystal Castro for this image taken from a safety film produced by Southern California Edison.

1955 - Another shot taken from a safety film produced by Southern California Edison. Thanks to James Crystal Castro for the image.

1959 - The Vogue was running "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys." Perhaps the young lady was the queen of the FUN(D) Festival. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this shot as well as a second take for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.

1959 - A third take that was located by Ken McIntyre.

1960 - Thanks to Al Desmadre for including this shot of the Vogue in "Memories of a Lost Boulevard: The Garmar Theatre," his 2008 post on the site LA Eastside - Life Beyond the River.