Van Nuys Theatre

6255 Van Nuys Blvd. Van Nuys (Los Angeles), CA 91401  | map |

Opening: May 26, 1917. This was the first theatre in town to be called the Van Nuys.  It was on the west side of the street, then called Sherman Way, between Erwin St. (then called E St.) and Sylvan (then called Virginia St.). The original address was 255 Sherman Way. This section of Sherman was renamed Van Nuys Blvd. in 1926 with this lot getting a 6255 address. 

 

For information on the theatre opening in 1924 as the Van Nuys Theatre see the page about the Fox Van Nuys. It was unrelated to this one and at a different address. 

 

 

 

A 1917 opening week ad for the Van Nuys. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Dallas Movie Theaters for locating it. In the 1917 L.A. city directory an Edwin M. Frazer of Van Nuys was listed as being in the feed business. 

 

The west side of the block with addresses 250 and up (now 6250+) is seen in this detail from image 5 of the 1918 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Van Nuys in the Library of Congress collection. That year the map had nine pages. The Van Nuys Theatre is seen as "Moving Pictures" just north of Erwin St. Also see the LOC's 1913 Van Nuys Sanborn Map. 

 

Closing: It's unknown how long this one operated. Possibly until the replacement theatre was ready to open in 1921. That one, listed in the 1921 San Fernando Valley city directory as the Van Nuys Theatre, opened as the Rivoli. It was in the same block, across the street from this 1917 vintage house.  

 

By 1923 the theatre location at 255 Sherman had become something to do with the electrical business. This is a detail from image 14 of the 1923 Sanborn Nan Nuys Map in the Library of Congress collection. It had 20 sheets that year. Page one of the map gave the Van Nuys population as 4,000. 

 

Thanks to Karl Gerber for his research on early Van Nuys theatres. Visit his website: vintagelosangeles.org  

 

Looking north across Erwin St. on Van Nuys Blvd. The 1917 Van Nuys Theatre was on the lot now occupied by the far half of that building on the left. The city's Zimas site gives a construction date of 1939 for it. The Rivoli/Capri Theatre was across the street on the right. Image: Google Maps - 2024 

More information: There isn't any yet.  

Nearby: See our page about the first theatre in town, called the Empire, that was running in 1912 and 1913 at what is now 6315 Van Nuys Blvd. In 1921 the Rivoli / Capri Theatre opened at 6258 Van Nuys Blvd. and the Van Nuys / Fox Van Nuys opened in 1924 in what had been a furniture store at 6417 Van Nuys Blvd.  

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