Palace Theatre

630 S. Broadway,
Los Angeles, CA 90014

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Showing 76 - 100 of 121 comments

YMike
YMike on February 26, 2006 at 11:11 am

I just watched an episode of the 1989 TV series “Ailen Nation” and there were scenes filmed in the balcony of a “Palace” theatre in LA. Was that this theatre? It appeared to be a rather large balcony and the movie “My Darling Clementine” was playing on the screen.

William
William on January 26, 2006 at 4:04 am

They changed the neon in the same manner over at the Wiltern Theatre for the Paramount feature “American Hot Wax”. They reneoned the vertical signs and the marquee to read Paramount after the Brooklyn Paramount.

You can find more info on the Palace Theatre and the Los Angeles Theatre at this site.

View link

someonewalksinla
someonewalksinla on January 24, 2006 at 2:45 pm

Returning to the scene of the grime, the Palace Theatre marquee is returned after her guest shot as the Detroit Theatre for “Dreamgirls.”. Neon and light bulbs have been repaired and restored. Solid cosmetic – if not complete restoration – of the front lobby is being completed. Small exposed carvings in the corners of the entrance are peeking over Broadway. According to my onsite source, they will again be hidden as they restore the frame of the doorway. Maybe someday they can be seen in a full restoration of the theatre, but because of being within the wall for years, protected from the elements, they are in good shape.
View link

MagicLantern
MagicLantern on January 22, 2006 at 3:39 pm

Saw this marquee change, too. Looks like they were wrapping up filming this weekend; the job they did on changing it to the Detroit was amazingly seamless.

someonewalksinla
someonewalksinla on January 22, 2006 at 7:44 am

Confirming recent posts. Was out shooting theatres and the crew member reported they were also replacing bulbs underneath sign.

View link

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on January 20, 2006 at 1:54 pm

Now, that’s wonderful news! I’ve been in the Palace, even saw movies there, before it closed. Glad to hear it keeps its historic name, and thrilled to hear about the marquee.

Broan
Broan on January 20, 2006 at 9:44 am

That does seem more than a bit odd.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on January 20, 2006 at 9:37 am

The theater was renamed the “Detroit”? Are you sure that’s not temp for a movie being filmed that is set in Detroit?

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on December 14, 2005 at 4:56 pm

BTW, the picture that Stevebob posted of the interior is outstanding.
Too bad it isn’t in color.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on December 14, 2005 at 4:54 pm

You have to look at the migration to the suburbs after WWII. If the movie theater was in the neighborhood, why go all the way to downtown at night, where parking and crime are a problem? The movie palaces were built for a pre-war urban population that disappeared after the Second World War.

stevebob
stevebob on December 4, 2005 at 5:23 am

In regards to the “inevitable fate” of the forgotten theater, how can cause-and-effect best be dissected when it comes to the middle-class flight and decay that so many of our downtowns suffered post-War and especially by the 1960s and 1970s?

I was a teenager in Los Angeles in the 1970s and was acutely aware of the changes that had taken place in Los Angeles in the prior decade and the way that Broadway and Spring Street continued to be reshaped by them. I honestly felt angry at Metropolitan Theaters because I believed the films they were booking into their palaces (specifically Spanish-language and action/blaxplotation) were driving away the middle-class retail and finance that had driven Broadway and Spring as the nexus of the Los Angeles business district for decades.

After all, every major retailer’s main branch was still on Broadway in addition to the mall stores it might have had by then. The Broadway even had a sign that proudly said “Through The Broadway to Broadway.”

In 1973 The Broadway moved to the Broadway Plaza. The May Company and Bullocks came to refer to their locations as as Eighth & Hill and Seventh & Hill, respectively, and while they hung on for a few years longer they no longer even bothered to light their vertical signs in the evening. Likewise with all the other stores and theaters. (It was blamed on the energy crisis.) Soon Desmonds, Silverwoods, Harris & Frank, Bond, plus every single bank branch on the entire strip was a thing of the past.

Of course, the demographics might have changed anyway, just as they did on Market Street in San Francisco, State Street in Chicago and so many other downtowns big and small.

And Spring Street was probably doomed by its proximity to Main Street, the seemingly permanent skid row of Los Angeles, and the fact that Bunker Hill redevelopment was already well underway.

But, really, what caused what with the dramatic slide of our collective downtowns? I guess it’s nothing profound to wonder about and books been written on the topic, but it’s certainly of great interest to movie palace geeks. After all, the palaces were in business districts, and their fortunes rose and fell together — and continue to do so where they are lucky enough to have survived together in some fashion.

stevebob
stevebob on December 4, 2005 at 4:55 am

ken mc, I don’t think you posted this link yet. I will, since I think it’s one of the best pictures of the Palace’s auditorium that I’ve seen:

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015523.jpg

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on November 30, 2005 at 3:07 pm

What is the inevitable fate of an forgotten theater?

1) Third rate horror movies

2) Adult films

3) Church

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028715.jpg

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on November 12, 2005 at 2:21 pm

1945 postcard, from the Pomona Public Library:

View link

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on November 12, 2005 at 10:20 am

From the California State Library:

View link

UKuser
UKuser on November 2, 2005 at 12:47 am

CALLING ALL THEATRE / MOVIE ENTHUSIASTS!!!

T'he Los Angeles Theatre' on South Broadway, LA is playing host to the UK television show ‘Dead Famous LIVE’. We are currently looking for people who would like to come along as part of the studio audience.

‘Dead Famous LIVE’ is a studio entertainment show all about Hollywood History and the paranormal. We will be welcoming celebrity guests on to the show and investigating famous locations around Hollywood which are rumoured to be haunted including the Los Angeles Theatre itself.

This is an invaluable chance to get access to the Los Angeles Theatre, the place where Charlie Chaplin’s ‘City Lights’ premiered in 1931 and to have a thoroughly great day out! (And its free!!)

We’re transmitting ‘Live’ back to the United Kingdom so expect it to be exciting and fun!

We will be filming on three days from 11th – 13th November between 11.30am – 4pm. If you are interested in coming on one or all of these days then email me for tickets!

.uk

I look forward to your responses!

ColinMay
ColinMay on October 31, 2005 at 12:22 am

With such a rich history, does anyone know if the Downtown Palace Theatre is haunted?

ColinMay
ColinMay on October 27, 2005 at 5:01 am

What a great place the Palace Theatre used to be, and still is. So many interesting stories and the pics on this page are great. Does anyone know of any former employees of the Palace Theatre?

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on October 27, 2005 at 4:03 am

I’ve never seen that shot before, but I remember seeing Broadway that bright, with all the signs lit up and lots of traffic, and pedestrians (who I’m sure would show in this picture had they not been made ghosts by the time lapse photograph.) It still looked like that by night into the mid-1960s (though this picture appears to be from the early 1950s.) One thing seems odd, though. Didn’t the Globe have a blade sign? It ought to be there on the left, in between the signs of the Lankershim Hotel and the Newsreel Theatre. But maybe I’ve misremembered, and the Globe had only its marquee.

stevebob
stevebob on October 27, 2005 at 3:33 am

Ken, that shot is one of my favorites. It’s actually a postcard, and occasionally comes up for auction on eBay.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on October 25, 2005 at 2:51 pm

This is an interesting color photo from yesterdayla.com:

http://www.yesterdayla.com/Graphics/broadway2.jpg

stevebob
stevebob on October 13, 2005 at 1:21 am

To me, an important part of any streetscape is the lighting. The old ornamental two- and three-headed lamps were beautiful; the plain hanging-acorn-style ones that replaced them on Broadway are not.

Funny that the nice ones were maintained on other streets decades after they were removed from Broadway. Now I’m certainly not saying this caused or hastened the decline of the street as a middle-class shopping and entertainment destination, but, really, what were the city planners thinking by taking such an action?