127 W. Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90802 | map |
Opened: June 15, 1916 as the Liberty Theatre. It was on the north side of the street between Pine Ave. and Pacific Ave. In this 1917 photo they're running "Mothers of France" with Sarah Bernhardt, a film that got a U.S. release in May 1917. It's a G. Haven Bishop photo taken for Southern California Edison Co. that's in the Huntington Library collection. Otis Hoyt was the theatre's initial proprietor. From 1919 until around 1927 he ran Hoyt's Theatre on The Pike, a house that was later renamed the Strand.
Architect: Unknown. Ron Mahan notes: "The theatre was a remodel of an existing building. The 1908 Sanborn Map shows a two story building,
listed as tenements. When they made the theatre space, they didn't
change much on the facade." Richard Loynes was the general contractor, S. Simmons of Los Angeles did the murals, Fred J. Ward designed the marquee and the theatre's lighting fixtures.
A detail from the 1908 Sanborn map. The Kennebec Hotel is in the lower left. The Liberty's tenement building (right above the word "Ocean") is between the hotel and the alley running vertically up the middle of the block. Also see a wider area from the 1908 map.
The Hotel Schuyler would later be built to the right of the Liberty's location, on the east side of the alley. In 1911 a theatre was proposed as part of a mixed use building on that site. See an article at the bottom of the page that was located by Ron Mahan.
When they turned the building into a theatre they extended it back to the alley. The expanded footprint is seen in this detail from image 27 of the 1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map that's in the Library of Congress collection. That's Ocean Blvd. at the bottom of the image.
Seating: It was 760 according to Cinema Treasures, presumably a number from a Film Daily Yearbook. The Cal State Long Beach page about the theatre puts it at 900.
An April 8, 1916 item that was located by Mike Rivest for a post on Cinema Treasures. At the time, they were shooting for a May 15 opening. They actually made it on June 15.
An ad appearing in the Long Beach Press on June 14, the day before
opening. Thanks to the Ronald W. Mahan Collection for sharing this ad as well as the other the
newspaper items appearing here.
June 14 Press articles about the new theatre.
Congratulatory ads appearing in the Long Beach Press on June 14.
We were promised a "bevy of Long Beach girls" at the reception after the pipe organ dedication. It's another article that appeared in the Press on June 14.
An ad appearing in the Press on opening day, June 15.
A June 15, 1916 Press article.
The theatre's ad in the Press on June 19, 1916.
In 1920 the house was operated by J.E. Johnson. In April of that year he also took over the operation of the Iris Theatre in Hollywood.
"Everybody's Going!" The Liberty was featured in a September 6, 1920 Daily Telegram ad for Paramount Week. The theatre was also listed in a September 5, 1921 Daily Telegram ad for Paramount Week that year where it was announced "Long Beach joins in the national demonstration of the better motion pictures." The Liberty participated in "First Annual Go To Theatre Week." See the February 11, 1922 Daily Telegram ad announcing that event that encouraged patrons to "Go At Least Three Times!"
Frank L. Browne was managing the house in 1922. In this February 18 Daily Telegram ad he's giving us a sworn statement that this film is one of the greatest screen dramas of the year.
A February 26, 1922 ad in the Long Beach Daily Telegram.
A second ad that appeared in the February 26, 1922 issue of the Daily Telegram. Free tickets but you had to answer a lot of questions.
By 1924 West Coast Theatres had taken over the house. Note their name in this April 27, 1924 ad from the Daily Telegram. Thanks to the Ronald W. Mahan Collection for sharing these ads. Nope, no ideas about what Plastigrams were. The theatre was listed as the Liberty in the 1916-17 through 1926 city directories.
It was renamed the Stanley Theatre in 1930. Thanks to Mike Rivest for finding this August 16 grand reopening ad for a post on Cinema Treasures. It's listed as the Stanley in the 1932, 1933 and 1935 city directories.
The house was renamed the Roxy Theatre in 1939. Thanks to Mike Rivest for finding this October 13 ad, evidently the first using the new name. They usually ran triple bills and were open all night starting in 1942.
An April 1945 ad. Thanks to Scott Pitzer for sharing it.
"In Long Beach after midnight the brightest lights blaze from the Palace Theater at 30 Pine Ave and the Roxy at 127 W. Ocean. They are open all night. Who are the people on the streets after midnight? What sort of people go to all-night theaters? The range of opinion on this subject is as wide as the difference between Mickey Mouse and Mamie Van Doren. A plainclothes officer expressed a one sided and extreme view about the character of the night strollers. 'It’s been my experience that 90 per cent of the people regularly on the streets after midnight have police records of one kind or another, if only for minor violations.' He added, 'The managements of the theaters co-operate with authorities 100 per cent, but I can’t say as much for all of their late customers.'
"The policeman’s view was quoted to Jack Feder, owner-manager of the Roxy. 'He’s completely wrong!' Feder stated emphatically. 'We know who our late customers are, and most of them are swing shift workers and service men. Then, too, we have restaurant and bar workers who want to relax a little before they go home. All-night theaters are under an aura of suspicion because they are open all-night. That isn’t a very good reason. Our standards are high here. We constantly turn away customers. We don’t allow drunks or rowdies and neither do we allow the Roxy to be used as a flop house. Offhand I can’t think of anything happening in an all-night theater that can’t happen in a first-run house.'
"Feder has been a resident of Long Beach for 26 years. Part of this time he traveled with George Jessel and more recently he produced network television shows in addition to operating the Roxy. 'The Roxy was the first all night theater in Long Beach and it became one because we felt the service men needed such a theater. We started keeping open all night in 1942 when there was a big storm and thousands of sailors were stranded because they couldn’t get back to their ships.'"
By the 70s the theatre was running porno.
Closing: The Roxie was running as late as 1983. The closing date is unknown.
Status: The building was demolished in the 1980s. The block has been redeveloped.
Interior views:
An view of the auditorium, presumably when it was the Liberty. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
A look to the rear of the house in 1916 during a kiddie matinee. Thanks to Dallas Movie Theaters for locating the photo for a post on Cinema Treasures.
More exterior views:
c.1908 - A panorama of Long Beach by Haines Photo Co. that's in the Library of Congress collection. Thanks to Ron Mahan for locating it.
c. 1908 - A detail from the panorama. The squat two story building just to the right of the white Kennebec Hotel building in the center of the image is what would later be turned into the Liberty Theatre. The dark-roofed building in the center of the image is the train station. There's part of the Theatorium on the far left.
c.1908 - It's the Kennebec Hotel on the left and just beyond is the building that would later become the Liberty. This view looking east is on the site Card Cow where their copy has a June 1909 postmark.
1916
- The building that was soon to become the Liberty Theatre is seen as the second building from the
left in the group of five buildings between Pacific Ave. on the left and
Pine Ave. on the right. To the left of the theatre it's the Kennebec
Hotel at 141 W. Ocean Blvd. To the right it's the Schuyler Hotel at 117
Ocean. When the building became a theatre the height of the roof was raised on the back half of the building.
At the bottom of the image, framing is going up for the Markwell Building that would house the State Theatre. Work would be halted due to wartime materials shortages. Thanks to the Ronald W. Mahan Collection for the photo
1916 - A detail from the Mahan Collection photo above.
c.1916 - The theatre, before it got the roof sign, is in the lower left of this postcard of the Hotel Schuyler. It's in the San Diego State University collection from the John and Jane Adams Postcard Collection.
1917 - A story from the November 17, 1917 issue of the trade magazine Motography featured this shot of Manager Otis O. Hoyt with Fatty Arbuckle. Thanks to Cezar Del Valle for locating the article for a post on his Theatre Talks blog. Cezar provides the text of the article:
"Mr. Hoyt had been playing the Arbuckle-Paramount comedies and upon receiving the news that Arbuckle was on his way west, booked a return of 'Oh Doctor!' and arranged for the appearance of the star in person. With the stage braced for the occasion, Hoyt played to the largest house in the history of the theater. After addressing the audience for a few minutes the comedian introduced his jumping-jack relative Al St. John, and the village pest Buster Keaton. Arbuckle's canine pal and actor, 'Luke,' also horned in on the reception.
"Manager Hoyt sprung the surprise of the evening by presenting Arbuckle with a rattan chair of generous proportions which was built expressly for the star and announced to the audience that the chair would be placed in a box which would be reserved exclusively for the Arbuckle party during their stay. As box seats in the Liberty are thirty cents it will cost Hoyt eighteen cents every time the Arbuckle party attends his theater." Thanks, Cezar! Motography magazine is available
online via the Internet Archive.
Mr. Arbuckle had earlier played stock in Long Beach and later returned to live and make movies. The Cal State Long Beach page "Early Long Beach Theatres and Cinemas: Burgeoning 'Hollywood,' The Pike and Theatre by the Sea," largely about early the film producer Balboa Studio, has the story of his courtship and marriage. The marriage was a ticketed event held on the stage of the Byde-A-Wyle Theatre.
online via the Internet Archive.
Mr. Arbuckle had earlier played stock in Long Beach and later returned to live and make movies. The Cal State Long Beach page "Early Long Beach Theatres and Cinemas: Burgeoning 'Hollywood,' The Pike and Theatre by the Sea," largely about early the film producer Balboa Studio, has the story of his courtship and marriage. The marriage was a ticketed event held on the stage of the Byde-A-Wyle Theatre.
c.1920 - A crowd with theatre fever in front of the Liberty. It's a photo from the Ronald W. Mahan Collection that appears on the The Cal State Long Beach page about the theatre.
1922 - A photo appearing in the October 14 issue of Exhibitors Herald. It's on Internet Archive. The Herald's caption: "The Metro comedy 'A Ladies Man,' featuring Bull Montana, was given equal prominence with the feature picture by Frank L. Browne, Liberty theatre, Long Beach, Cal.... Bull Montana made a personal appearance." The opposite page in the issue has a letter from Mr. Browne. The Constance Talmadge feature at the theatre was "The Primitive Lover."
1922 - The ballyhoo manager Frank L. Browne put together for "Nanook of the North." Thanks to Dallas Movie Theaters for locating the photo for a post on Cinema Treasures.
1922 - The Armistice Day parade on Ocean Blvd. To the right of center we're looking north up Pine St. It's a photo in the Verner Collection of Panoramic Negatives of the Huntington Library.
1922 - A detail from the Huntington's photo.
1922 - A crowd to see the Douglas Fairbanks film "Robin Hood." Thanks to Dallas Movie Theaters for locating the photo for a post on Cinema Treasures.
1923 - A display created by manager Frank L. Browne for "A Stranger's Banquet." Thanks to Dallas Movie Theaters for posting the photo on Cinema Treasures.
c.1926 - A fine postcard view east with the Liberty in the lower left. Note the new West Coast Theatre, with its water tower, in the distance. Both it and the Heartwell Building were 1925 projects. In the upper left it's the Security Bank Building, begun in 1923 and completed in 1925. Thanks to Moviejs1944 for locating the card for a post on Cinema Treasures.
c.1927 - A look at the Liberty from the Ronald W. Mahan Collection. Note the new signage. The photo appears on the Cal State long Beach page "Early Long Beach Theatres and Cinemas: Burgeoning 'Hollywood,' The Pike and Theatre by the Sea." Also of interest on the site is "Early Long Beach Theatres: A Beach Resort and Entertainment Mecca." Thanks to Cezar Del Valle of Theatre Talks fame for spotting the Cal State pages.
c.1927 - Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for sharing this fine card from her collection. The Breakers Hotel down a block on the right opened in September 1926.
c.1927 - A great view looking east with the Liberty on the left and the State Theatre across the street. Thanks to Jeff Gritchen for posting this shot on "Long Beach Seen" in the days when that blog was hosted by the Long Beach Press Telegram, where he was a staff photographer. His work can now be viewed on the new blog "SoCalSeen." He credited the photo to the Security First National Bank collection.
1931 - A fine view of the theatre when it was the Stanley, the "house of superior sound." Many thanks to Ron Heberlee for sharing the photo from his collection. "Daddy Long Legs" was a June release.
1931 - A view to the east. It's another photo from the Ron Heberlee collection. Thanks, Ron!
1933 - The Stanley is on the left in this Frasher Foto Card in the collection of the Pomona Public Library. Their Frasher Foto Postcard Collection has hundreds of photos from all over Southern California. In a Tumblr post, Casual Observer
made out Victor McLaglan's name on the Stanley marquee plus the word
"Pepper" and speculated that they were running the January 1933 film
"Hot Pepper."
The vertical for the United Artists can be seen down the street. Banners are up for a May 26 performance of a musical called "Sailors Three" at the Municipal Auditorium and vaudeville at the State Theatre, seen over on the right. The flags are out for Memorial Day, May 30 that year. The earthquake had been March 10.
1933 - A detail from the Frasher card. Note the UA vertical.
c.1938 - A view east with the Stanley on the left, hiding behind the Cafeteria signage. It's a photo from the William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection
of the California State Archives. William and his wife Grace traveled
widely between about 1905 and 1938 and documented their adventures with
the over 3,000 photos in the collection.
1939 - A wonderful view of the theatre as the Stanley running "Brother Rat," an October 1938 release with Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman, along with "These Three," a March 1936 release with Miriam Hopkins and Merle Oberon. The photo is from the Jack Finn collection of the Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society. Visit the PERyHS home page to learn about the organization. Note the "Of Mice and Men" ad on the streetcar. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Those Who Squirm for locating the photo for Noirish post #20434.
1954 - A great Miss Universe parade postcard in the collection of Alberta Mayo / Manitoba Museum of Finds Art on Flickr. The card was published by Western Publishing & Novelty Co., Los Angeles. It's a photo by Frank J. Thomas. The Roxy was running "Knights of the Round Table" with Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner along with two from Boris Karloff: "Black Castle" and "Sabaka." There's also a version of this card on the site Card Cow.
1950s - A shot that was spotted on eBay by Steven Miller, who put it on Flickr. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting it on Ken's Movie Page on Facebook.
1960 - Features the theatre was running at the time of this photo were the 1957 release "Time Limit" with Richard Widmark along with Joel McCrea in "Black Horse Canyon" from 1954. The one on the bottom line of the marquee was the newsest. Scott Pitzer notes that it was Keith Anders in "Surrender -- Hell!," a 1959 release. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing the August 27 photo from his collection.
c.1960 - Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing this photo from his collection.
1961 - The last day of Red Car service on Ocean Blvd. It's a detail from an April 8 Gary G. Allen photo that appeared in the March 1977 issue of the magazine "Rail Classics." Thanks to Scott Pitzer for the image.
c.1970 - "Adults Only." Thanks to Moviejs1944 for sharing this card on Cinema Treasures. That's a bit of the Jergins Trust / State Theatre building on the right edge of the image.
c.1975 - A photo that appears with "Long Beach Lost: From cinema to porn, the lost theaters and art of filmmaking in DTLB," Brian Addison's 2018 article for Long Beach Post. Brian credits the photo to Gary Parks but he comments that it's not his.
1983 - A view during the porno era from the now-vanished American Classic Images website.
1983 - A lovely night shot from American Classic Images. Thanks!
2019 - A view west on Ocean from Pine Ave. toward the redeveloped block. The Roxy had been down there in the middle of the block. Photo: Google Maps
The Roxy in the Movies:
The
theatre's signage is very briefly seen in the final chase scene in
"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (United
Artists, 1963). It's on the far right in this shot looking west just
before Spencer Tracy and the the two cabs following him head out onto
the Rainbow Pier.
A
detail from the right side of the shot. There are also views of the
State Theatre, the back of the West Coast, and the Rivoli Theatre on
Long Beach Blvd. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for those shots.
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page for some nice research by Ken McIntyre, Joe Vogel and other contributors.
A theatre was planned in 1911 just east of the where the Liberty opened in 1916. Thanks to Ron Mahan for this article that appeared in the May 12 issue of the Long Beach Daily Telegram:
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