Opened: The theatre was built in 1914, located three blocks west of Glendale Blvd. The 1982 photo of it operating as the Estudio 1 is from the now-vanished website American Classic Images.
Initially it was known as Miller's Creation Theatre, named after a local chiropractor and his mother who were the first operators. In the 1915 and 1916 city directories
it's listed as the Creation Theatre, running "moving pictures."
Seating: 500
Architect: Alfred Grayson
was the architect. Cinema Treasures contributor Lost Memory came up with
the information that the builder was J. Louis Pancoast, who had an
office down the street at 2121 Sunset.
Thanks to Alvaro Guevara, Al Medrano and other researchers who have
assembled a Ramona Theatre album with many clippings and photos for the Echo Park History Facebook group. They note that early owners of the building included Mark (Meek) Mitchell (1914), Nannie Ella Mitchell (1918), J.H. Phyn and R. Armour (1921), Chas M. Strect (1925), Tina F. Church (1929) and, from 1930 onward, the Lotito family including Carlo, Gioella, John and Virginia,
It was Schwartz's Garden Theatre at the time of this May 1927 flyer. Thanks to Ron Strong for locating it. See his Bijou Memories page about the theatre and his accompanying photo album.
Later it became the Ramona Theatre.
A Ramona flyer for Cecil B. DeMille's September 1930 release "Madam Satan." Thanks to Ron Strong for locating it. The film's first-run engagement was downtown at the Criterion on Grand Ave.
"The redesign of the theatre included reclining seats in the back five rows that were noticeably plush. The remaining seats were reupholstered/refurbished from the original seats. The new interior of the auditorium was more colorful, with a sleek post-modern color palette. All of the ornate wall sconces and panels were removed, replaced with light created by an imaginary pillar of light that fell from the ceiling to just above the seats, giving the theater a unique modern feel.
"The majority of the remodeling was done towards the front of the auditorium, with the wider stage and a full 2.35:1 silver screen that was obviously brighter than the previous screen. New curtains rang with a vivid sea blue that was vastly different from the velvet red of the Ramona. When those blue curtains opened, and the show started, it was stunning in a way that only a ten year-old could appreciate. The stage was smaller than before, as there were no longer traveling vaudeville shows to perform. The Studio 1 was a movie theatre pure and simple."
April 1966 brought a short-lived experiment as a Spanish-language revival house. Ron notes beginning April 18 it was "Asi era mi Madre" ("That's How My Mother Was," 1961) and "Jóvenes y Rebeldes" ("Young and Rebellious"). A week later the bill was Cantiflas in "The Porter" (1950) along with "Me Gustan Valentones" (1959). They closed April 26th.
A 1984 Metropolitan Theatres ad listing the Estudio 1 and a few of their other Spanish language houses. Thanks to Ross Melnick for sharing this. He's a professor of film and media studies at UC Santa Barbara and is the founder of the Cinema Treasures website. His latest book is "Hollywood's Embassies: How Movie Theatres Projected American Power Around the World."
Sometime around 1986 the "E" of "Estudio 1" was pulled off the marquee and the house, once again called Studio 1, became a bargain operation, again running mainstream Hollywood product.
Closing: It was closed by 1995.
Status: Nothing remains of the building's theatrical past except the marquee. The building was gutted when converted for retail use. In the Ramona Theatre album on the Echo Park History Facebook group they note:
"Around 1998, a member of the Lotito family which has owned the building and much of the block for at least 75 years – decided to gut the interior, rip out the theatre seats and level the floor as part of a renovation to seek new tenants, possibly retail, but the building has remained empty."
See the 2010 LA Eater story about the conversion to a restaurant, "Inside the gutted Ramona Theatre." The building became a restaurant called Mohawk Bend, opening in 2011. The name derived from the fact that the venue is just east of a bend in Sunset at Mohawk St.
The building was sold to investment group Tova Capital in 2020. It had been in the same family for over 75 years but was put on the market by court order following a family dispute. Barry Lank covered the story in "Mohawk Bend building in Echo park sells for $2.5 million," his October 1 story for The Eastsider. Thanks to Sandi Hemmerlein for spotting it. The restaurant was leasing the entire building. No changes were anticipated at the time.
Mohawk Bend closed in 2023 after twelve years of operation. As of February 2024 Pitfire Pizza had this as a location. Eater had the story.
More exterior views:
1928 - It was in the movies as the Garden Theatre. The late silent film detective John Bengtson spotted "Garden Theatre" on a side wall in Echo Park in the sixteen minute film "Standing Pat" (FBO, 1928). He noted: "During this scene, traveling west along Sunset towards the fire station at Mohawk Bend visible to the left, you can see the east side of the Ramona Theater, known at the time as the Garden Theater."
The film stars the "Ton of Fun," the trio of obese comedians Frank"'Fatty" Alexander, Hilliard "Fat" Karr, and Kewpie Ross. John provided the screenshot. Read about some of his explorations via the Silent Locations blog "Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd film locations (and more)." See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post about "Standing Pat" for another frame a moment later and some views of the Vista Theatre from the film.
1934 - A trade magazine photo promoting Vitrolite. Thanks to Ron Strong for this version of the image. "Operator 13" was a June 1934 release starring Marion Davies and Gary Cooper. "Queen Christina" was out in 1933. The caption:
"Golden agate Vitrolite, trimmed with stainless steel snap moldings and black Vitrolite base and trim, modernized the Ramona Theatre, Los Angeles, Calif."
1998 - Some renovations underway but no tenant lined up. Photo: Ed Ruscha - "12 Sunsets."
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the theatre, which they list as the Studio 1. Cinema Tour has several 2003 exterior photos by Bob Meza.
Don't miss Ron Strong's page about the theatre on his Bijou Memories site. Also see his Ramona photo album on Google Photos.
There's a fine album of photos, ads, and historical data from Alvaro Guevara, Al Medrano and other contributors on the Echo Park History Facebook group.
| back to top | Westside theatres | Hollywood | Westwood and Brentwood | Along the Coast | Westside theatres: alphabetical list | Westside theatres: by street address | Downtown theatres | [more] Los Angeles movie palaces | Los Angeles theatres - the main alphabetical list | theatre history resources | film and theatre tech resources | contact info | welcome and site navigation guide |
