Centro Theatre / Savoy Ballroom / Savoy Skating Palace

 7764 S. Central Ave. Los Angeles, CA 91702 | map |

Opening: 1939. The location was on the east side of the street seven blocks south of Florence Ave. "Cash Nite Tuesday $500." Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality for spotting this 1950 snapshot and its companion below on eBay. He shared them on Noirish-v2.0 post #869. Note the "C" up on the tower. 

The companion snapshot from across the street. "The Damned Don't Cry" was an April 1950 release with Joan Crawford and David Brian. "No Man of Her Own" starred Barbara Stanwyck and John Lund. It was out in February 1950. Thanks, ER!

Architect: Unknown

 Joe Vogel did some research:

"The County Assessor’s office gives an original construction date of 1927, and an effectively-built date of 1935, for this building. Judging from the Google Maps satellite and street views, it looks like this might be a case of a theatre being built behind an earlier commercial building that was remodeled, or added to at one end, to provide an entrance to the auditorium. That would make 1935 the probable opening year.

"... the theatre entrance, now blocked up, was at the southern end of the building where the moderne tower is. I'm inclined to think this was an addition rather than a remodeled section of the earlier building. The photos show the cracks that reveal the shapes of the now-sealed shop windows on the old part of the building, with those angled corners at the tops, characteristic of many 1920s commercial buildings but seldom used by the 1930s."

In 2010 Don Solosan added:

"I walked around this building today and agree with Joe. It looked like the theater entrance was by the tower. There was even a circle design molded in the sidewalk there, with faint remnants of paint."

Seating: 804. A later number was 650. The auditorium ran parallel to Central Ave. 

It was operated by Vinnicof Theatres and Harry Vinnicof's associated company Southern California Amusement Company. They advertised their theatres in this part of town as Southtown Theatres. 

 

 

 

A December 1939 Southtown Theatres ad that Ken McIntyre located in the Southwest Wave. He notes that there weren't any ads prior to 1939. It was listed as the Centro in the 1940 city directory.

 

 

 

A 1941 item about the theatre in the neighborhood paper the Southwest Wave. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it. Mark Mosher comments: 

"That’s my grandfather, Melvin Mosher (1901-1949) in the photo above. He was also a part owner of the Centro and involved in its initial design, financing and building in the mid-30s. Somewhere I have the architect’s original sketches for the building. My grandfather was associated with Harry Vinnicof and his theater chain in the 1920s and 30s."

A 1941 Southwest Wave ad for the Centro and other Vinnicof Theatres. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it. 

 

 

A 1945 listing for the Vinnicof Theatre Circuit in the film Daily Yearbook.  

 

 

A 1945 listing for the other company associated with Vinnicof. Note Jimmy Edwards working as the secretary-treasurer. He would later run some of these theatres under his own banner including the Tumbleweed and the Monterey. 

 

 

Looking for a young man in September 1946. Thanks to Ken for locating the ad.  

 

 

A July 4, 1950 ad that Ken spotted.  

 

 

 

Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this 1950 L.A. Times listing. 

 

 

 

The listings in the Times for October 20, 1951. 

 

October 1952. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for the research.  

 

Still in business on March 2,  1953.  

 

Listed as closed in the Times on March 7, 1953. But for a good reason: new seats.

 

 

They didn't make their advertised March 15 reopening date. 

This March 21 listing that Ken located says: "Temporarily Closed." 

 

It continued to be listed as "Temporarily Closed" until this final listing with that wording appeared on May 19, 1953.  

Closing as a film house: The first week of March 1953 turned out to be the end of the Centro as a movie house. It's unknown why it didn't reopen. It was turned into the Savoy Ballroom in 1954. 

 

Well, they get it almost right. This Southwest Wave news item from June 1954 says the new Savoy Ballroom was the site of the "Century theater." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this. 

 

 

 

A June 11, 1954 ad that Ken found for the new ballroom. Julius "Stuff" Crouch was managing. 

 

 B.B. King and J. Otis were advertised in this August 12, 1954 ad that Ken McIntyre spotted. 

 

Effie Smith appearing in September 1956. Thanks to Ken for the ad.  

1956 was the last year of operation for the Savoy Ballroom. In the 1961 phone book it was listed as the Savoy Skating Palace. That operation closed in 1966 and the former auditorium was then used for storage. The storefront space fronting on S. Central later became a church. 

Although long closed, the Savoy as a skating rink was fondly remembered by former customers in this June 2, 2004 L.A. Times article: 

 Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the article. 

Status: The front part of the building was demolished in late 2014 or early 2015. The auditorium portion of the building was demolished in 2016. There's now a mini strip mall on the site.  

 

More exterior views: 

c.1960 - Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing this shot from his collection. We're looking north with the former theatre is on the right, at the time of the photo turned into the Savoy Skate Palace. On the left it's Swingtime Cleaners at 7811 S. Central. Central Liquors across 78th St. is at 7727, White Front Stores is at 7651. They're all in the 1961 phone book. Sean notes that March 1963 was the end of rail service. 

 

 

c.1960 - A detail from Sean's photo. The marquee is the one from the Centro Theatre days, re-lettered when the venue became the Savoy ballroom. There had been a Savoy Theatre up the street at 5326 S. Central. 

 

 

2007 - A shot by Ken McIntyre. 

 

2007 - Looking north across the former theatre entrance and the storefronts. It's a photo by Bob Meza, one of seven exterior views on the Cinema Tour page about the Centro. 

 

 

2007 - The screen end of the building. It's another photo by Bob Meza. Thanks! 

 

 

2014 - Looking along the length of the lobby. Note the projection booth. Image: Google Maps 

 

 

 

2014 - The entrance for the church using the storefront space was behind the streetlight. That's E. 77th Place on the left. On the right we're looking south on Central Ave. Image: Google Maps

 

2015 - The storefront portion of the building had been demolished by the time of this April image from Google Maps. The auditorium came down in 2016. 

More information: See the Cinema Tour and Cinema Treasures pages about the Centro.

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