Opening: 1911, initially a tent operation. It's not yet known what the theatre was actually called. It was a project of John and Augusta Feldmiller. The location was about five blocks east of the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse.
Closing: Around 1930, never converting to sound.
Status: It's been demolished. There are apartments now on the site.
The information below comes from a newsletter of unknown date from the San Gabriel Historical Association. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding a pdf of it in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
San Gabriel's First Movie Theater
"In 1911, John and Augusta Feldmiller and their children Wayne and Dorothy, came to San Gabriel. Feldmiller bought the triangle of land at the corner of Angeleno and Mission Dr. There, he set up a tent, folding chairs, a hand-cranked Edison movie projector, and a distillate fueled direct-current generator to operate the projector's arc lamp. This little theatre quickly became a popular diversion in old San Gabriel. It offered films featuring Elmo Lincoln, Dustin Farnum, Eddy Polo, Harry Carey, Theodore Roberts and Clara Young, all in living black and white...and silent.
"In 1912, Feldmiller, and his brother-in-law, Arthur Wilcox, replaced the tent with a wood and stucco 200 seat theater. The front of the theater was designed to look like the Mission, and candy and soft drinks were sold from the tile-roofed booth in front of the theater. Inside, the seats were fastened to movable boards on the sloping floor. This arrangement permitted the temporary clearing of the floor and the use of the theater for dancing. The movies were accompanied by music, supplied by a pianola player piano and phonograph records of organ music and sound effects.
"The first projector required a couple of minutes to change reels. Later, a Powers electric twin-projector permitted a continuous show. Best of all, the admission price for those 8 and older was only 10 cents. For those under 8, cost only 5 cents. The theater was open Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The theater closed in the early 1930s when the new 'Talkies' were introduced at the Mission Playhouse."
Looking east toward Feldmiller's triangle of land. That's Angeleno Ave. on the left and Mission Rd. on the right. Photo: Google Maps - 2019
More information: Sorry, there isn't any yet.
| back to top | San Gabriel Valley, Pomona, Whittier theatres | theatres by address: San Gabriel Valley, Pomona, Whittier | South, South Central and Southeast theatres | Pasadena theatres | Downtown theatres | Westside theatres | Hollywood | Westwood and Brentwood | Along the Coast | [more] Los Angeles movie palaces | Los Angeles theatres - the main alphabetical list | theatre history resources | film and theatre tech resources | contact info | welcome and site navigation guide |
No comments:
Post a Comment