Los Angeles Theatres: Atlantic Theatre

5870 Atlantic Ave. Long Beach, CA 90805 | map |

Opened: May 21, 1942. It was on the east side of the street just south of 59th St. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for this sad view of the doomed theatre taken on a rainy day in 2009. It's one of eleven views of the Atlantic in her Theatres-California set on Flickr.

Architect: Carl Boller designed the theatre for owner Ivan C. Hanson, whose family retained ownership into the 60s. Hanson ran the adjacent furniture store. Stivers Bros. of Long Beach was the contractor for the $100,000 building. The auditorium featured murals of underwater ocean scenes including some picturing Neptune. They glowed under blacklight during the show.

Seating: 900 originally. A report after a 1956 remodeling by Associated Theatres listed the capacity at 620.

An article that appeared in the Long Beach Independent on May 19, 1942. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a thread about the theatre on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. And thanks to Ron Mahan for researching the page and providing a cleaned up version of the items from the issue.

Additional congratulatory ads on the page were from general contractor Howard S. Hoyt, cement contractor D.J. Peterson, F.H. Crager Ornamental Iron Works, plastering contractor J.W. Bowman, Luminart Neon Co. and building materials supplier Leebrick & Fisher.

A May 19 ad in the Independent. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.

Another article in the May 19 issue of the Independent. Thanks to Ron Mahan for researching it.

A drawing of the new theatre that appeared in the May 19, 1942 issue of the Independent. Thanks to Ron Mahan for this nicely cleaned up version of it.

A renovation in 1956 by then-owner Associated Theatres. The article was another find by Ken McIntyre.

The Atlantic was still running Hollywood product as late as December 1972. After a dark spell the theatre reopened with burlesque revues and porno.

A 1975 ad for the Atlantic. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. Evidently the porno era at the theatre ended sometime in 1976.

An October 31, 1979 ad for the theatre as the Teatro Zacatecas. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating the ad. He says this was the reopening. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org

An October 12, 1980 ad for the theatre still running Spanish language product but renamed the Cinema Variedades. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating the ad.

The theatre ran a few concerts in 1981 well as running Chinese and Kung Fu films around in 1982 and 1983. It was known as the Long Beach Big Screen around 1989 and 1990, running as a $1.50 discount theatre.

Closing: Sometime around 1990. The building then had a run as a church until around 2006. There was also a long-running porno theatre in a storefront south of the Atlantic's parking lot called the Front Door Theatre.

Status: It was demolished in 2014 after a long preservation fight. The L.A. Times had a 2010 article about the preservation battle. The Press-Telegram wrote a December 2013 story about the project. The Grunion ran a January 2014 story titled "Atlantic Theater's Demise Marks Uptown's Renaissance" about the festival organized to celebrate the theatre's end, including a "demolition ceremony."

The top of the 75' tower was salvaged and has been reinstalled on top of a new community center and library building called the Michelle Obama Library.

Interior views:

Part of the main lobby. It's a c.2009 photo from a report about the possibilities for reusing the building that was prepared by the firm Building Analytics for the city's redevelopment agency. It's available as a PDF. There seem to be no surviving interior photos from the era when the building was running as a theatre.

Looking out toward the entrance from the inner lobby. Photo: Building Analytics - c.2009

Somebody really liked pink. Photo: Building Analytics - c.2009

A look toward the back of the house by Harry Saltzgaver that appeared with "RDA To Review Atlantic Theater Reuse Option," a March 2009 article in The Grunion.

More exterior views:

1983 - The theatre running Chinese films and Kung Fu epics. It's a photo from the now-vanished American Classic Images website.

2006 - A view showing the part of the complex stretching north. The auditorium was parallel to the street and some of its arched roof can be seen beyond the furniture store part of the building. It's a photo by Gary Parks, one of eight he posted on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre.

2006 - A ticket lobby photo by Gary Parks, a post on Cinema Tour. Thanks, Gary!

2009 - A terrazzo shot. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for this photo, one of eleven of the theatre appearing in her Theatres-California set on Flickr.

c.2009 - A lovely spire shot from a 2010 report about possibilities for reusing the building prepared by the firm Building Analytics. It's available as a PDF. The photo appeared with an April 2010 post about the project on the site Long Beach Report.

2011 - Looking along the house right side of the auditorium. The screen was down there just before the paint job turned to red. Photo: Google Maps

2011 - A photo by Don Solosan that he posted on Facebook where it received many comments about the new library project. The inner lobby and booth were along the south wall we see here.

2014 - Thanks to Mark Goodrich for this photo taken January 25 as a "demolition festival" was giving the building a sendoff. It's one of eleven photos Mark has posted on Cinema Treasures.

2014 - A few days before demolition. Thanks to Stephen Russo for his photo on Facebook. He commented: "I took this photo a few days before demolition began. I am aware that the city feels they need a new library and they chose this spot. Just to let you know, I took this photo from across the street while standing in a much larger empty lot that has been there for years..."

2014 - Not much left. Thanks to Mark Goodrich for posting his photo on Cinema Treasures.

2019 - The theatre's spire atop the library building now on the site. Photo: Google Maps

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Atlantic Theatre for more demolition photos as well as links to many earlier exterior photos by Ken McIntyre. Cinema Tour has 8 photos from 2006. The theatre is included in the Arcadia Publishing book "Long Beach Art Deco." There's a preview on Google Books but the page with the Atlantic's photo isn't included.

Los Angeles Theatres

Atlantic Theatre

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