Dale Theatre

 2933 E. Anaheim St. Long Beach, CA 90804 | map | 

Opened: June 11, 1922. It was on the north side of the street a bit west of Orizaba Ave. 

Many thanks to Jeff Rayner for sharing this May 1927 photo from his collection. Kewpie Ross, on the right, was the star of the short "Heavy Fullbacks,"out in October 1926. "The Marriage Clause," advertised on the left, was a September 1926 release with Billie Dove and Francis X. Bushman. It's a photo taken by the Wentz studio in Long Beach. Their stamp is in the lower right. 

Seating: 550 is the number appearing on Cinema Treasures, presumably from a Film Daily Yearbook.

They were shooting for a June 1 opening according to an item located by William Miller in the May 22, 1922 issue of the Long Beach Daily Telegram: 

"Dale Theatre, first in East Long Beach, is to open June 1."

They didn't make it. This page of congratulatory ads appeared in the June 11, 1922 issue of the Long Beach Sunday Press: 

 Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating the page. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org

In the 1922 through 1926 city directories it's listed as the New Dale Theatre at 2931 E. Anaheim. F.F. Latta was the initial operator. The theatre got a new pipe organ installation in 1924. In the 1935 city directory it's just the Dale Theatre, not the "New Dale," with the address as at 2933 E. Anaheim. In 1945 they listed the address as 2931-33. 

 

"Improve your Spanish..." Thanks to Scott Pitzer for locating this August 1945 ad.

 

In its ads the theatre still used the New Dale name as late as 1949. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding this December ad in the Long Beach Independent.

Closing: It was running as late as 1951 and closed by 1952, according to research by Bill Gabel. It's not in the 1951-52 Long Beach city directory.

Status: It's been demolished. There's now an Auto Zone parking lot where the Dale once was. 

A 1932 photo by Anton Wagner that appears on the website of the California Historical Society. On the front of the marquee it was "The Heart of New York," a March release, and "The Forty Niners," out in October. The end panel touts "The Last of the Mohicans" and a cartoon.

 

1932 - A detail from the Anton Wagner photo. He took hundreds of photos of the L.A. area in 1932 and 1933 for a thesis topic having to do with the way the area's topology influenced the character of its inhabitants. Over 400 photos are on the CHS website as "Anton Wagner photographs of Los Angeles 1932-33."

 

 

 

1947 - The Dale running "Nora Prentiss" with Ann Sheridan and "Stallion Road" with Ronald Reagan. And a Spanish film Wednesday. It's a photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 

 

2019 - A view west from Orizaba. The Dale's site is now the Auto Zone parking lot. Photo: Google Maps

 More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Dale.

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