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Beverly Theater Demolition Begins Today
posted by
Ross Melnick
on
August 23, 2005 at 12:56 pm
BEVERLY HILLS, CA — According to the Friends of the Boyd Weekly Update: “Demolition is starting today on the famed Beverly Theater in Beverly Hills. Opened in 1925 with Indo-Chinese design, the movie palace’s conversion to a retail store in the 1970’s retained its ornate landmark exterior & ornate interior. Preservationists objected unsuccessfully to the loss of this Los Angeles landmark.”
Cinema Treasures users weigh in as well on the theater’s page on this site.
Comments (8)
The downfall of the theatre started back in the early 60’s when Fox West Coast Theatres dropped the theatre from it’s chain. They favored the Fox Wilshire and the nearby Carthay Circle Theatres that were at the eastern side of Beverly Hills. At that time Fox had the Fox Wilshire and Carthay Circle and Fine Arts and the nearby Lido to work with. The Fox Beverly and the Warner Beverly Hills and the little Canon were in the heart of Beverly Hills area. To bad GCC dropped the Beverly Theatre far to soon in favor of their Avco theatre.
I presume this was the fine theatre at Beverly and Wilshire which had a dome shaped roof.
Yes, it (currently is), but soon will be a was. Hoppy, Benny Rubin worked that house, long before he went over to the Writers Guild Theatre on Doheny.
William: You mean Milt Rubin. Sheldon works at the DGA. Bernie who is the oldest is retired and their Dad was Benny. Frank and his son own a carwash in Las Vegas. Milt has been at the Writer’s Guild forever. He and I used to trade off at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills in 1974. It was the L.B. Mayer Theatre. When Bob Perlmutter died last year the DGA did not replace him. When I was asst. mgr. at the FOX VENICE Sheldon came there sometimes to work. That was in 1994-1995. Back in the late 70’s Frank had seen the preview of automation with a Tower. Platters were right behind. He presented the idea of becoming part of the Studio Teamster’s Local but the membership voted it down because the Teamster’s wanted initiation fees from each member amounting to 750.00 Frank was hard to understand but sharp as a tack. I liked him alot.
William: I wrote 1994-1995 and I meant 1964 and 1965.
You’re right it was Bernie. But Bernie worked the WGA with Sheldon.
William: Here is a little history. After W.W.2 Vic Tanny opened a gym chain. There were many in L.A. Eventually he retired and sold each one separately. Frank Rubin and a partner bought the one on Lankershim and Magnolia. He called it No. Hollywood Health Club. Eventually Frank and the partner sold it to a man named Frank Van Der Nagel around 1980. I started there in 1987 and saw Bernie there regularly. We spoke briefly every visit but really shied away from Local 150 talk because something bad was always happening with management. I left in 2000 due to a disabling back condition. Bernie is the only Rubin I have seen since I left 150 in 1991.
I would talk to Bernie about the Beverly Theatre on nights that he worked Studio Calls with me.
If you want to see some of the inside of this once great theatre. Rent the movie “Xanadu”, you can see some of the interior auditorium after it became a retail store.