Imperial Theatre

319 E. Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90802 | map |

 

Opened: December 19, 1925. In the city directory for 1926 they gave it an address of 315 E. Ocean Blvd. In this 1954 view looking east the Imperial is running "Riders to the Stars" and "Glory At Sea." Its neighbor the West Coast has the early CinemaScope feature "Beyond the 12 Mile Reef." Thanks to Edward M. Fiore for spotting the photo on the Facebook page Americar The Beautiful. 

The West Coast had opened earlier in 1925. Both theatres were operated by West Coast Theatres, the firm that became Fox West Coast in 1929. The stages of both the West Coast and the Imperial backed up against the side of the Mission / Fox Long Beach around the corner to the west on American Ave., later renamed Long Beach Blvd. Before the name change the Imperial's address in ads was frequently listed as "Ocean near American."

Architects: Lewis A. Smith was the architect for the theatre. Thanks to Joe Vogel for the research. He notes that he found a reference to an item in the October 2, 1925 issue of Southwest Builder and Contractor announcing that Smith was preparing plans for the theatre and that it was a remodel of an existing building. The theatre was decorated by Robert E. Power Studios. It's not known if Smith was also the architect for the new hotel in front of the theatre, called the Grand Pacific. 

Seating: 820 was an early number.  

 

A December 19, 1925 opening day ad. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org

It was noted in the Exhibitors Herald & Moving Picture World issue of November 24, 1928 that the theatre had been wired for sound.  

 

 

The building didn't fare well in the 1933 earthquake. In addition to damage to the building, the Imperial's assistant manager was killed when the marquee collapsed. Thanks to Scott Pitzer for locating this item that appeared in the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

 

Clifford A. Balch was the architect for the repair work on the theatre. What had been the hotel was radically redone. The hotel vanished and the building got a story shorter. It's not known if Balch was involved in that project. At least part of the upstairs was used as lodge rooms in the 40s and 50s. 

 

The theatre ran a few Italian language films in the 40s. This ad for "Open City" appeared in the December 6, 1946 issue of the paper L'Italo Americano di Los Angeles. Thanks to Gerald DeLuca for locating this ad and the one below for posts on Cinema Treasures. 

 

 

This ad for "Furia" appeared in L'Italo Americano di Los Angeles on April 16, 1948.

The theatre got a Skouras-style re-do in the late 40s and lost most of the original interior decor. It got another remodel in 1955. Joe Vogel did the research: 

"The January 8, 1955, issue of Boxoffice said that the Imperial Theatre had been reopened after being completely remodeled and refurnished. A new 19x40-foot screen had been installed, along with a stereophonic sound system and acoustical plaster. The house was reseated with American Seating Company’s Bodiform chairs. The new seating capacity was given as 804."

Jennifer Looney-Doner notes that in the 70s and early 80s the second floor housed a Ukranian dance hall, the third floor a Gloria Marshall dance studio. Some of the space became artist's lofts/studios. She also notes that artists took some of the space upstairs in the West Coast Theatre building next door creating an interesting community for about 10 years.

Mann Theatres, the successor company to Fox West Coast and National General, ceased operating the theatre in August 1977 after which time the Imperial ran as an independent.

Closing: About 1985.

Status: It was demolished in 1987, along with the West Coast and everything else on the block. The Westin Long Beach now occupies the site.

Interior views:

 

 

A lobby photo that appeared with a story about the theatre's decorator, Robert E. Power Studios, in the  February 18, 1928 issue of Motion Picture News. It's on Internet Archive. The two page spread includes photos of seven other theatres decorated by the firm. 

 

 

 

This auditorium view appeared on a page in the December 28, 1929 issue of Motion Picture News that also included other Fox West Coast Theatres that had been decorated by Robert E. Power Studios. It's on Internet Archive. The page was part of a sumptuous "Theatre Building and Equipment Buyers Guide" that was the issue's second section.  

 A 1985 auditorium view by Wallace D. MacGregor from the Long Beach Public Library collection.

 

 

 

A house left auditorium wall detail. Thanks to Matt Spero for sharing his 1979 photo. He notes that both wall sconces and the plaster piece are now in his home theatre. 

More exterior views:

 

1925 - The West Coast is under construction but there isn't much to see yet of the building containing the Imperial Theatre and Grand Pacific Hotel that would soon rise this side of the theatre. The image is a detail from a photo from the California Historical Society that appears on the USC Digital Library website. On the left note the roof sign for the Mission Theatre, the house that was later called the Fox Long Beach.

 

 

1925 - A view from farther north with work happening on the Imperial. This side of the West Coast's stagehouse note the sign on the roof of the Mission / Fox Long Beach. It's on American Ave., a street later renamed Long Beach Blvd. It's a photo from the Ronald W. Mahan Collection. The Los Angeles Public Library also has a version of it.   

 

1925 - A detail from the Mahan Collection photo with the earlier building circled that would become the Imperial's auditorium. Note the scaffolding still up on the front of the West Coast and no signage yet painted on the water tank. Thanks, Ron!

 

 

1926 - The Imperial, over on the left, has "The Sea Beast," a January release with John Barrymore and Delores Costello. The West Coast was running "Beverly of Graustark," an April release with Marion Davies. It's a California Historical Society photo appearing on the USC Digital Library website. They also have a second version of the photo on the site. The Los Angeles Public Library also has a copy. 

 

 

 

1926 - The Imperial was running "The Vanishing American," a February release with Richard Dix. The West Coast had "Skinner's Dress Suit," an April release with Reginald Denny and Laura La Plante. The stage portion of the program was the Fanchon & Marco "Dresden Idea." It's an Inman photo in the Long Beach Public Library collection.   

 

 

c.1927 - A grand view of the Mission Theatre (on the far left), the Imperial (in the Grand Pacific Hotel building), and the West Coast Theatre. Thanks to the Ronald W. Mahan Collection for sharing the photo. Ron included this shot, along with many other great ones from his collection, in "Why I Love Long Beach," a video that he posted on Facebook to help the "Long Beach Gives" fundraising campaign for the Historical Society of Long Beach.    

 

 

 

1928 - A glimpse of the theatre's signage. It's a photo in the Long Beach Public Library collection. They note that in the sailor outfits it's members of Holder's Brownie Band. There's also a copy of the photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

 

 

1932 - A great view with the United Artists in the distance. The Imperial was playing "The False Madonna," a December 1931 release with Kay Francis and Conway Tearle. The West Coast had "Stepping Sisters," a January 1932 release with Louise Dresser and Minna Gombel. The provenance of the photo is unknown. It appeared in a now-vanished Flickr account.  

 

 

 

1932 - A detail from the previous photo.

 

 

1933 - A Winstead postcard of the building's damage. Thanks to Casey Winstead for including this in a post of 34 post-earthquake Winstead images for the Lost Angeles Facebook group. There's a smaller version of this one on the Long Beach Public Library website. 

 

Casey comments: "My great uncle George went out the day after the Long Beach Earthquake of March 10, 1933 to record the event with his Graflex 3A press/postcard camera. My great uncle, and my grandpa, Thomas Edison Winstead, owned Winstead Bros. Photography, headquartered on Pine Street in Long Beach. They sold Kodak cameras and film. They had three or four other stores in southern California, as well as a photo development lab, photo publishing service bureau, and a real photo postcard publishing business."

 

 

1933 - Another view of the damage from the Long Beach Public Library. 

 

 

 

1933 - A better view of the marquee. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for sharing this one from her collection. See more of the collection in her "Theatres - California" album on Flickr. The Long Beach Public Library also has a copy of this card. Michelle notes that a book about Long Beach cemeteries mentions that the theatre manager was killed when the marquee collapsed.

 

 

 

1933 - Another post-quake postcard. By this time they had taken down the theatre's vertical sign and neatly laid it out on the sidewalk. Thanks to eBay shopper and Long Beach historian Michelle Gerdes for finding the card. It could have been yours for $5.50.

 

 

1933 - Repairs are underway on the Grand Pacific Hotel and Imperial Theatre. Meanwhile, the West Coast, which survived unscathed, is running "Bombshell," an October release with Jean Harlow and Lee Tracy. Note that they even have the names of the stars and a big arrow on the hotel's scaffolding. It's a photo in the Long Beach Public Library collection.

 

 

 

1945 - Thanks to Marc Wanamaker for this one. It makes an appearance on the site Hollywood Historic Photos along with a dozen other Long Beach views from his collection. At this time the upstairs was used as lodge rooms. Note the signage for the "Moose Planetarium." Later it was dance studios and other tenants upstairs.

 

 

1953 - Manager Forest Justus in front with his staff of clowns to promote "The Greatest Show on Earth." Thanks to Dallas Movie Theaters for locating the trade magazine photo for a post on Cinema Treasures.  

 

 

1954 - The reopening after a Skouras-style upgrade. It's a photo in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tom B'hend - Preston Kaufmann Collection. The photo is by Western Photo Company.  Bruce Kimmel researched the event and notes that the "Gala Reopening" was December 24.

 

c.1955 - Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this photo.

 

 

 

c.1960 - A look east on Ocean Blvd. toward the Imperial and West Coast. Thanks to L.A. transit historian Sean Ault for sharing the photo from his collection. George Andy Harmon comments: "Likely 1960 as the Ford billboard shows a '61." Bob Davis adds: "The ex-Pacific Electric car has the number assigned by LAMTA when they took over the few remaining rail lines in 1958. Last Red Car ran on this route in April 1961."

 

 

 

1968 - We get partial views of the signage of The Movie, the West Coast and the Imperial in this Jeffrey Nisbet photo looking west on Ocean Blvd. It's a photo from the Long Beach Public Library collection. 

 

 

 

1968 - The Imperial as an action house and a week of softcore at the West Coast. It's a photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 

 

1983 - Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this photo looking west across the facades of The Movie and the West Coast. 

 

 

 

1983 - A look east toward from the American Classic Images collection.   

 

 

 

1983 - A closer look at the entrance. It's another photo from American Classic Images.  

 

 

1985 - A ticket lobby view taken in June by Wallace D. MacGregor. It's from the Long Beach Public Library collection. 

 

 

 

1985 - Time for the "Farewell to the Fox" in November. Thanks to Matt Spero for sharing his photo. 

 

 

 

1987 - The clearing of the block meant the demolition of the Imperial, the West Coast, and everything else on the block. That's Ocean Blvd. over on the right. Thanks to Augie Castagnola for finding this demolition view for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 

 

 

 

2018 - The Westin hotel now on the site. On the left edge of the image it's Long Beach Blvd. Photo: Google Maps 

 

The Imperial in the Movies:

 

We get a partial view of the closed Imperial and West Coast theatres in "Cobra" (Cannon, 1986) when Sylvester Stallone and Brigitte Neilsen turn off Ocean Blvd. in an attempt to evade some killers. George P. Cosmatos directed this film about an L.A. policeman who has his own violent ways of dealing with criminal types. Also featured are Reni Santoni, Andrew Robinson, Lee Garlington, Brian Thompson and John Herzfeld. The cinematography was by Ric Waite. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a fuzzy view of the Jergins Trust/State Theatre building later in the chase plus shots at the Art Theatre in downtown L.A.

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page about the Imperial for lots of research by Joe Vogel, Ken McIntyre and other contributors.

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