Opened: 1938 as the Valley Theatre, a Fox West Coast operation. Many thanks to James Christensen for sharing the 1949 photo from his collection. "Rangers of the Sage" was a November release, "Drums Along the Mohawk" with Henry Fonda dated from 1939.
The theatre frequently played moveovers from the nearby El Portal Theatre but occasionally scored a long running Valley exclusive such as "The Best Years of Our Lives," a 1946 release. The location was on the west side of the street just south of Magnolia Blvd.
Architect: S. Charles Lee
Seating: 350
It's unknown what work was needed but this item appeared in the January 3, 1940 issue of Variety:
"Stars! Lights! Autographs!" The April 19, 1955 ads in the Valley Times. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org
It was later operated by National General and Mann Theatres, the successor companies to Fox West Coast. In 1977 the Guild Theatre became a Pussycat operation.
Status: It's been demolished. The demo permit was dated September 28, 1983 with the new construction permit dated January 1, 1984. There's now a Hewlett Packard building on the site. Thanks to Chris Nichols for the research.
c.1949 - The posse gathered for "The Cowboy and the Prizefighter," a December 1949 release with Jim Bannon and Don Reynolds. "Borderland" with Hopalong Cassidy dated from 1937. Thanks to James Christensen for sharing the photo from his collection.
1954 - Looking south toward the Valley Theatre. It's a Valley Times photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The occasion was a discussion about banning heavy trucks on Lankershim Blvd. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting this one for a post on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
1955 - A view of the reopening of the theatre as the Guild. The Valley Times photo is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. It was originally published on April 21 with this caption:
"Officials of Fox West Coast celebrating the opening of the New Valley Guild Theater last night were, left to right, Vaughn Taylor, manager of the Valley Guild Theater; Ernest 'Doc' Sloan, Van Nuys Theater manager; Fred Glass, district manager; Dick Mason, manager of the La Reina Theater; Ralph Wilson, manager of the Studio City Theater; and Lee Wentz, manager of the El Portal Theater. Under a new policy, the theater will show art films from all over the world."
1964 - Thanks to Larry Paul for this photo taken by his grandfather. It's on Cinema Treasures where Paul notes that his grandfather sculpted the comedy/tragedy masks on the right of the facade.
1967 - A look at the Guild playing "Up the Down Staircase." Thanks to Howard Sheldon for posting it on the Valley Relics Museum Facebook page. He credits it to the Decaying Hollywood Mansions page.
c.1970 - Looking north from Otsego St. Where's the theatre? Well, it's hiding down there just to the right of the streetlight. Thanks to Sean Ault for the photo.
1982 - A May look at the Guild as a Pussycat circuit operation. The photo appears in Chapter 9 of Jay Allen Sanford's "Pussycat Theaters: The Inside Story," a 2010 book length article originally appearing in the San Diego Reader. It's on Blogspot: Chapter 1 and Chapters 2 - 15. The photo can also be seen on the site American Classic Images.
1982 - "Happy Holidays." It's a December photo of the theatre appearing in Chapter 9 of Sanford's "Pussycat Theatres: The Inside Story." Thanks, Jay! The photo also appeared on the now-vanished American Classic Images website.
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on this theatre, which they list as the Valley Guild Theatre. They also have a page for the Valley Adult Theatre at 6749 Lankershim.
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