Opened: 1910 or earlier. This was the first of two theatres to use the Glendale Theatre name. The location was on the south side of the street between Jackson and Isabel. That's a block and a half west of Glendale Blvd.
In this photo the theatre was running "Saved by the Flag" and "Wilson's Wife's Countenance," both released in 1910. The photo appeared in the May 13, 1911 issue of The Film Index. They noted that the house was managed by J. Elgie Busch. The issue is on Internet Archive. Perhaps that's the charming staff we're seeing in the photo. Or maybe it's the stars there for the premiere of one of the films.
The theatre location at 704 is identified as "Moving Pictures" in this detail from page 7 of the 1912 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map that's in the Library of Congress collection. Glendale that year rated only 8 pages. Isabel St. is off to the right, Jackson St. to the left.
The early address of 704 W. Broadway was with a numbering system giving east/west addresses with a "100" block starting at A St. (today called Adams). Their north/south numbering began with a "100" block either side of 1st St. (now called Lexington).
Sometime before 1917 the establishment was renamed the Broadway Theatre. At least that's how it was listed in the city directory published that year by the Glendale Evening News.
Under the new numbering system adopted in 1918 there are now east/west blocks with "100" addresses beginning at Brand Blvd. The north/south addresses begin with "100" blocks either
side of Broadway. With the changes this location became 520 E. Broadway. Thanks to Steve Preston for researching the numbering and locating the City of Glendale's "Historical Research Guide" for a mention of the 1918 changes. It's in pdf format. See page 5.
As a side note, the community of Tropico, just south of Glendale, had even before 1918 been numbering their east/west blocks from Brand so with their 1918 annexation to Glendale those addresses didn't change. But all the addresses on their north/south streets did. All the addresses became South, for one thing. See "New House Numbers Out" in the September 14, 1918 Tropico Herald. It's on the site California Revealed. Thanks to George Ellison of the Special Collections Room at the Glendale Public Library for earlier research on the addresses for the theatre.
Status: Mr. Ellison notes that the building survived with other tenants until it was demolished following damage from the 1971 Sylmar earthquake.
The four story building in the center of the image is on the site of the first Glendale Theatre. We're looking west toward downtown. Photo: Google Maps
More information: See the page about the later Glendale Theatre at 122 S. Brand Blvd., opening in 1920 and running until 1990.
