Los Angeles Theatres: Arrowhead / Joyland Theatre

339 on the Pike Long Beach, CA 90802 | map |

Opened: May 20, 1911 as the Arrowhead Theatre. Thanks to Ron Mahan for researching the opening. The Cal State Long Beach page about the theatre notes that it was built by the California Motion Picture Manufacturing Co. as a promotional venue for their films.

The location was on the north side of the Pike in the middle of the block between Cedar Walk and Chestnut Pl. The block had eight theatres on it at various times.

The Arrowhead was ordered closed on August 31, 1911. Ron notes that it wasn't built to code.

In 1912 William J. Fahey took over the location, rebuilt it, and gave it the name Joyland Theatre. The Cal State researchers comment:

"Along with the increased film production in Long Beach, there was also an increase in the number of movie theatres. Comfort and luxury became serious concerns in erecting these movie houses. For example, in June 1912, the Long Beach Press reported that workmen were busy remodeling and redecorating the old Arrowhead Theatre, to be renamed 'Joyland,' the 'Homeland of the Silent Actors.' At this renovated theatre there would be loges at the rear of the audience, equipped with movable and individual chairs, with a total seating capacity of 100 persons. In addition, there would be a special box for private parties in one corner, and the newspaper emphasized that the moving picture machine would be operated from a fire-proof cabinet."

Fahey added an orchestra, started running Paramount product, and raised the price to ten cents. The data comes from Maymie Krythe's "Long Beach’s Nickel Movie Days," an August 2, 1964 article in the Long Beach Independent Press Telegram that's discussed on the Cal State page.

Ads from August 30, 1913 for the Joyland and several of its competitors on the Pike. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a thread for the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group.

William Fahey had been in partnership with William Raymond at the Theatorium but evidently they had dissolved that arrangement. After his Joyland tenure Fahey opened the Palace Theatre in 1916 and took over operation of the State Theatre around 1923.

Seating: 100 as the Joyland. It's unknown what the capacity of the site had been as the Arrowhead.

The Joyland is indicated as "Moving Pictures" a bit left of center on the north side of the block in this detail from image 28 of a 1914 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map in the Library of Congress collection. To the east toward Cedar Walk were the Bijou Theatre at 333 (here seen as 329-331-335), the Bentley at 319, the earlier Tarrytown / Palace of Pictures at 313 (not shown as theatres on the map), and the Pastime at 311. On the beach side the carousel is in the lower right, the Art Theatre is at 314, the Wonderland / Gaiety at 330-332, and the Boston at 348-360. Earlier that one had been called the Byde-A-Wyle with an entrance at 336.

The Joyland is listed at 341 The Pike in the 1913-14 Long Beach city directory. In the 1914 Los Angeles phone book the address is shown as "On Pike." The 1915 L.A. phone directory lists W.J. Fahey as proprietor. The address is given as 337 in the 1914-15 and 1915-16 Long Beach city directories and at 335 The Pike in 1916-17.

Closing: Perhaps 1917 or 1918 was it. In the 1918 city directory the Bijou is still running at 333 but the Joyland seems to be gone. No photos of the Joyland have yet surfaced.

Status: Sometime before 1933 the building the theatre was in got replaced with a two story building with a dance hall upstairs and various amusement tenants on the ground floor. The area has now been redeveloped and has turned into a jungle of condos.

The Pike's 300 block in 1918:

[even numbers are on the beach side]

The Pike's 300 block in 1932:

The Pike's 300 block in 1937:

The 300 block in 1950 as seen in a detail from image 28 of the that year's Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from the Library of Congress collection. The building that was erected on the Joyland site, plus a few lots to the west, is seen as 339-351.

A few views of the 300 block 1910 to 1980:

1910 - We're a year too early for the Arrowhead Theatre. It's still a vacant lot. To the right of it are the Bijou Theatre at 333, the Bentley Theatre at 319, the spires of the Tarrytown / Palace of Pictures at 313, the very white facade of the Majestic Rink, and the Columbia Theatre at 237, just before the striped awnings. It was later the site of the Hoyt's / Strand. It's a detail from a card Michelle Gerdes located in the collection of Loyola Marymount University.

1910 - The card the detail was taken from. We're looking west with the Virginia Hotel in the distance. The Theatorium, on Board Walk, here colored brick red, is on the far right. Card Cow has several versions of this: #103537 | #238226 | #106352 - postmarked 1913. A version of the card is in the Long Beach Public Library collection. The Library also has the black and white photo used to create the card. On the image the photographer, "J.A.," has dated it 1910.

1933 - A post-quake view looking west along the 300 block toward Chestnut Pl. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the photo.

The large building with the peaked roof a bit left of center is the one that was built on the site of the Joyland. It perhaps dated from the mid-20s. Just this side of it with the curved Mission-style facade is the former Bijou Theatre at 333. The building with the signage for "Wing's" is the repurposed Bentley building at 317-319-323. Wing's was actually at 315 in the single-story building this side of the Bentley. The Pastime Theatre at 311 had once been on the right where that second building is, behind the scale.

1935 - The vacant lot in the foreground had been part of the grounds of the Virginia Hotel, demolished after the 1933 earthquake. On the other side of Chestnut Pl. is the 300 block of The Pike with the building on the Joyland site the second one in on lots 339-351. Half way up on the right edge of the image are the Majestic Rink and the Strand Theatre, with "Strand" visible on the stagehouse. It's a photo by Teledyne Geotronics that's in the Long Beach Public Library collection.

c.1965 - We're looking west again toward the newer building on the Joyland site. Wing's, this side of the Bentley Building, has turned into "Sport Shooting." On the left note the "Looff's Amusements" sign on their old carousel building. Thanks to Sarah in Vegas for sharing her photo. The building on the far right is where the Pastime had been at 311.

1970s - A view east from from Chestnut toward the Ocean Center Bldg. with the Jergins Trust / State Theatre building beyond. On the left with the Coke signage that's the building on the Joyland site (plus a few lots to the west). Thanks to Howard Gribble for sharing his photo on Flickr.

On the right the Byde-A-Wyle - Unique - Boston had once been sited near the end of the block where we now see the tattoo establishment. That "Arcade" building beyond has signage on the side saying "Jewel Box" that dates from the early 50s when the jewelry store was at 334. Beyond that, the building with the curvy Mission-style parapet had once been the home of the Gaiety Theatre, their space in the multi-tenant building using a 330 address. We also see a bit of the roof of the Looff carousel building down at the end of the 300 block.

1970s - A fine view west that appeared on Synthetrix - Photos of the Forgotten. It was on their Architecture of Southern California page where it can still be glimpsed briefly before the page rolls over to an auction ads site. Here we get "Ring-A- Coke" and cotton candy in the building on the Joyland site. Upstairs had once been a dancehall. In the 1955 city directory 337 1/2 had been listed as the Four Leaf Clover Get Acquainted Club.

c.1978 - We're again looking east along The Pike from Chestnut Pl. Thanks to Rick Warren for this view on Flickr. Also see the 26 photos in Rick's "Pike Amusement Park" album and the 144 great views in his "Old Long Beach Buildings" album.

c.1980 - Another view of the 300 block with a few more buildings demolished. On the left we're looking at the building that replaced the Joyland at 339+. Thanks to Howard Gribble for sharing the photo on Flickr. Also in his collection: a 1/2 block farther east - Strand site | early 80s - Dodge-Em | looking through the Ocean Center arcade |

More information: See the page about the Tarrytown for more views of some of the buildings on the east end of the 300 block. The Pike closed in 1979 and all the remaining buildings were demolished in the early 1980s.

Los Angeles Theatres

Arrowhead / Joyland Theatre

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