Electric Theatre

 On the Midway Plaisance Venice (Los Angeles), CA 90291 | map - approximate |

 

Opening: Presumably the Electric was ready to go when the Midway Plaisance opened in January 1906. It was along the south side of the lagoon. The theatre is seen on the right advertising "Moving Pictures & Illustrated Songs" in this view looking east. Thanks to Martin Turnbull for locating this c.1906 photo for a post on his Hollywood's Garden of Allah Novels Facebook page. It can also be seen on the Getty Images site.

The grand opening for Venice of America had been July 4, 1905 but many elements weren't ready and new attractions were added each season.

 

 

 

A wider view of the Midway from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The Electric Theatre is on the right, hiding behind the corner of the grandstand.  

 

 

A card with a sliver of the Electric's building on the far right. It's one that was offered on eBay. 

 

 

A colorful postcard view looking east but just missing the Electric, out of the frame to the right. But we do get a look at the Electric's neighbors Darkness & Dawn and the Temple of Mirth. That's the boathouse at the end of the lagoon. A bridge that formed the entrance to the Grand Canal is just out of the frame to the left. It's a card that was on eBay. A different card from the same angle is on the website of Loyola Marymount University.  

 

A 1905 map of the development, with the lagoon indicated as the "bathing lake" and a "chariot track" shown where the Midway would soon be. This appeared with "Remembering the Founding Father of Venice...," Grace Bruno's article on the site The Argonaut. That's the man himself, Abbott Kinney, in the lower left. Another version of the map appears on the Library of Congress website. 

 

 

In case you were wondering about those minarets at the east end of the Midway, they were part of the Streets of Cairo attraction. You could take a camel ride down Windward Ave. The Huntington has this nice photo from their collection appearing with their 2018 article titled "Venice: Real and Imagined."

 

 

A seldom seen view south across the lagoon. The Midway is out of the frame beyond the left end of the grandstand. At the center of the image we're looking toward Windward Ave. It's a card that was on eBay.  

 

 

Looking west along the Midway. A sliver of the Electric is seen left of center at the end of the row of amusement buildings, here with a red roof. It's another card that was on eBay. 

 

 

A wider view to the west. It's a card that was on eBay. 

 

 

"I am going bathing this afternoon." It's a view to the northwest with the Coral Canal on the left and the Lion Canal on the right. The building in the center is the Antler Hotel. This is one of many interesting postcards reproduced with Paul Gamble's article about Abbott Kinney on the site Surf City Tours.

 

Closing: The closing date of the Electric Theatre is unknown. The building exhibited other attractions before the Midway closed in 1910. Many of the attractions moved out to Venice Pier and Ocean Front Walk. A roller coaster was built on the Midway's site. 

 

 

The movie theatre building when it was housing a famous 30" tall lady billed as "Chiquita - The Living Doll." This photo is on the USC Digital Library website from the California Historical Society. They give it a 1910 date.  

 

An undated photo by Warren Dickerson that's in the L.A. County Natural History Museum Seaver Center Collection. The theatre building appears to have the same "Chiquita" signage painted on the facade as seen in the USC shot. 

 

 

This layout of the Midway with "Most of Bld'gs Vacant" is included on plate 35 of the 1909 Santa Monica Sanborn Fire Insurance Map that's in the Library of Congress collection. The 1909 date is suspect -- it was probably a later update.

 

 

Part of the Midway in April 1911, prior to demolition. The theatre building's roof can be glimpsed between the timbers of the grandstand. It's a Los Angeles Times photo appearing on a fine Water & Power Associates Museum page about early L.A. amusement parks. Scroll down near the bottom for many additional Venice photos. 

 

 

"The Race Thru The Clouds" coaster on the site of the Midway. In the upper left we get a view along the lagoon and the bridge across the Grand Canal. Thanks to Paul Gamble for locating the card. We were close to the beach but it's more of a lagoon scene than a "Beach Scene."  The coaster opened in July 1911.

 

 

A wonderful c.1913 panoramic view from the top of the coaster. Thanks to Larry Ziff for sharing it in a post for the private Facebook group Venice, Ocean Park and Santa Monica. Click on it and download for a larger image. Larry's post has an even bigger version, 4700 pixels wide. 

 

 

Looking toward the Pier and Windward Ave. It's a detail from the panorama. Thanks, Larry! 

 

The lagoon in 1918 with the Midway gone but the roller coaster very much in evidence. The boathouse and a bridge across the grand canal can be seen at the far end of the lagoon. It's a photo from the California Historical Society that appears on the USC Digital Library website. 

Status: The Midway is long gone and the lagoon is now the Windward Ave. traffic circle. The Grand Canal has been filled in and is now Grand Blvd.

More information: See Jeffrey Stanton's many articles about Venice and Ocean Park on the Venice History Articles page of the Venice History Site.

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