Just one more because it makes me laugh….
(Dec. 24, 1920)
In the old Regal Theater, 321 South Main street, hundreds of old men gathered as the guests of the Los Angeles Men’s Club, and sang ‘Silver Threads Among the Gold,’ weeping the while, and then applauding vigorously to be allowed to sing it over again. A number of talks and vaudeville acts were also given.
I guess I shouldn’t be putting all of this on the Hippodrome page…maybe I should add the theater but I’ll wait to make sure it isn’t under another name.
It must have been a theater until 1919 before it was converted to the gym/men’s club:
(Jan. 15, 1919)
Dr. Gentry, Of Chicago
For 24 Years Exponent Of Divine Healing
and Preacher of Full Gospel of Christ, has been holding
Meetings at Regal Theater, 323 S. Main St.
I’ve searched for previous names on here for Regal and also New Star but nothing shows up. There was a Regal that showed movies, however:
(May 2, 1909)
The Main-street Regal Theater programme for the coming week will include the first appearance of the Sisters Petite, singers and dancers; Warren Ellsworth, story-teller and monologist; James Heatherington, in illustrated songs and travelogues; new moving pictures, and music by Ransom’s orchestra.
The strange thing is that I can’t find anything about a gym on the other side of the street….I’m having a strange deja vu….I remember writing about this a long time ago. There are a bunch of articles about union problems at the Regal Theater from 1909 on for a few years. There seems to have been a lot of cracked skulls and faces punched. Is Joe Vogel in the house?
This could explain why a the city directory listings stop by 1916 (I haven’t been able to find the 1917 directory) for a theater.
(Sept. 4, 1919)
GERMAN SIGN CHIPPED FROM TURNER HALL: TO BECOME “DRY SALOON."
A workman with a mallet and chisel yesterday chipped off the German words "Turn Halle” from the front of the building at 321 South Main street, thus putting out of existence in name Turner Hall, where for many years the German-speaking people of Los Angeles danced and sang and met in lodge and club gatherings. Over the door the city will place an electric sign reading, “Los Angeles Men’s Club,” and this institution, the only municipal organization of its kind in the United States, will be formally opened in about two weeks. The city has leased the building from its owners, the Turn Verein Germania, for one year with the right to extend the lease five years, and the Play Ground Commission is spending $3000 in fitting up the building as a men’s club. It was primarily established to be a returned service men’s club, but all men are to be welcome, and it will be, in effect, as called by Play Ground Commission Superintendent Charles B. Raitt, a ‘dry saloon.’ In the basement there will be pool tables and hot and cold showers. On the street floor there will be reading and smoking-room, and lunches, soft drinks, cigars, tobacco and cigarettes will be sold. The large auditorium where many famous dances were held in years past, and where many steins of beer were drunk to the words, “Hoch der Kaiser,” becomes a municipal gymnasium, and the German club rooms become committee rooms where evening classes will be conducted by the Board of Education.
The mitt palace, located at 321 S. Main St., was the training arena for luminaries of the fight world from time to time. Joe Louis trained there for his bout with Jack Roper at Wrigley Field. …As late as a year ago, Jack Dempsey worked out there with his protege, Clarence Henry, and made a series of gym talks.
Then there must have been two gyms because there definitely was a gym and a theater in Turn Halle which took up the addresses from 319-325 S. Main. Here’s a picture showing the theater:
(Feb. 5, 1951)
Fire Wins Round-In flame-swept Main Street Gym, Fire Capt. John Langston looks over damaged boxing gloves and other equipment. The gymnasium, 321 S Main St., has been training arena for fight luminaries.
Does anyone know if there is a CT page for a Regal theater at 323 S. Main? It shows up in 1906 as the New Star Vaudeville but is in the City Directories for 1915 & 1916 as the Regal. I think this is actually the theater where the Main St. Gym took over. There are a few articles with the Main St. Gym at 321 S. Main and a large fire there. It would have been across the street from the Hippodrome and a few doors north of the Follies.
There are a lot of articles from the early teens for 320 S. Main for meetings and speakers at an Eagles' Hall. It was probably in the front part of the building and not the auditorium.
(Jan. 6, 1907)
The eighteenth annual poultry and pigeon show of the Los Angeles County Poultry Association will begin tomorrow afternoon in the Panorama building, No. 320 South Main street, and it will continure for the entire week. All day yesterday, and late last night, the skating rink feature of the place was eliminated to give way to the largest poultry exhibit that has ever been assembled here. The entrees received upt to 6 o'clock last evening indicate that over 2000 fowls will be cooped when the show opens to the public.
(June 30, 1890)
Tomorrow afternoon at the Panorama amphitheater, 320 South Main street, the boys will have a cavalry drill under the instruction of a well-known United States Army officer. There are a few vacancies in the battalion for well-behaved boys between the ages of 12 and 15. The tallest boy of the age of 15 in the city is wanted for color-sergeant.
In the movie they pan over a little to the south and you can see the building with the turrets on the corner that shows up on the Sanborn comparison above. Wouldn’t this be where City Hall East now sits?
From the LA Times archives, it looks like the majority of taxi-dance halls had something to do with Filipinos. There are hundreds of articles from the 20’s until around 1950 about police raids and problems at those places. They called the girls ‘nickel-hoppers’ and later on B-girls.
I don’t think it was the same place just because the history of the building is pretty clear through the years. There seems to have been a Hippodrome Dance Palace, but I can’t find it in the old LA Times archives. Here’s a blurb from a website:
‘Pilipinos were also drawn to taxi-dance halls where they paid ten cents for one-minute of dancing with a White woman. Pilipino musicians would often play some three hundred one-minute tunes at Liberty Dance Palace, Hippodrome Dance Palace, and other clubs near Third Street in LA. Pool halls certainly attracted the young bachelors.' View link
A lot of theaters downtown featured vaudeville and were then converted to movies or they still had both at some of them. I don’t know about the taxi dancing there, though. I don’t know of any theaters that also had a ballroom or dance hall but there could have been. In the 20’s anybody who was anybody would go out to the Cocoanut Grove or to the Palomar Ballroom on Vermont to dance. Here’s a link to the Palomar:
Did this theater ever have signage that actually said ‘Childs’? Even from 1884 in advertisements it is referred to as the Grand Opera House. I don’t know if the public just called it Childs because of the original builder or if it was actually named that. Here is a graphic I put together showing the positioning of the theater back from the street. I think Joe wanted to see how far back it was a long time ago on this page:
From looking at those side by sides, I think the 1942 city guide was a misprint. The building at 220 N. Main that says Bank also says 1926, so that’s probably what you can see in Joe’s picture from the 30’s. I don’t think a 216 N. Main even existed by 1942.
On the 1906 map the US Hotel takes up 168, 170, and 172 and then the addresses start at 200 on the turreted building after Market. The 200’s end at 240 with the US Natl. Bank and then start on the other side of Commercial with the 300’s. All the 100’s N. Start at first and the 300’s on the West side of Main start at Temple (Downey Block 301-325) where it ends at Main.
Here’s a side by side comparison of the 1906 and what is supposed to be an updated 1950 sanborn map. The maps are very confusing when it comes to dates, so I’m not sure how accurate the 1950 is. You can see that by the later map on the right that the addresses jump from 212 to 220.
Great photo…I love how the terra cotta comes to life. I read somewhere that they are going to restore the top of the tower and the clock is being repaired.
Just one more because it makes me laugh….
(Dec. 24, 1920)
In the old Regal Theater, 321 South Main street, hundreds of old men gathered as the guests of the Los Angeles Men’s Club, and sang ‘Silver Threads Among the Gold,’ weeping the while, and then applauding vigorously to be allowed to sing it over again. A number of talks and vaudeville acts were also given.
I guess I shouldn’t be putting all of this on the Hippodrome page…maybe I should add the theater but I’ll wait to make sure it isn’t under another name.
It must have been a theater until 1919 before it was converted to the gym/men’s club:
(Jan. 15, 1919)
Dr. Gentry, Of Chicago
For 24 Years Exponent Of Divine Healing
and Preacher of Full Gospel of Christ, has been holding
Meetings at Regal Theater, 323 S. Main St.
(May 7, 1915)
Times $5000 Prosperity & Trade Contest.
Theaters
Regal Theater Musical Comedy, 323 S. Main.
I’ve searched for previous names on here for Regal and also New Star but nothing shows up. There was a Regal that showed movies, however:
(May 2, 1909)
The Main-street Regal Theater programme for the coming week will include the first appearance of the Sisters Petite, singers and dancers; Warren Ellsworth, story-teller and monologist; James Heatherington, in illustrated songs and travelogues; new moving pictures, and music by Ransom’s orchestra.
The strange thing is that I can’t find anything about a gym on the other side of the street….I’m having a strange deja vu….I remember writing about this a long time ago. There are a bunch of articles about union problems at the Regal Theater from 1909 on for a few years. There seems to have been a lot of cracked skulls and faces punched. Is Joe Vogel in the house?
This could explain why a the city directory listings stop by 1916 (I haven’t been able to find the 1917 directory) for a theater.
(Sept. 4, 1919)
GERMAN SIGN CHIPPED FROM TURNER HALL: TO BECOME “DRY SALOON."
A workman with a mallet and chisel yesterday chipped off the German words "Turn Halle” from the front of the building at 321 South Main street, thus putting out of existence in name Turner Hall, where for many years the German-speaking people of Los Angeles danced and sang and met in lodge and club gatherings. Over the door the city will place an electric sign reading, “Los Angeles Men’s Club,” and this institution, the only municipal organization of its kind in the United States, will be formally opened in about two weeks. The city has leased the building from its owners, the Turn Verein Germania, for one year with the right to extend the lease five years, and the Play Ground Commission is spending $3000 in fitting up the building as a men’s club. It was primarily established to be a returned service men’s club, but all men are to be welcome, and it will be, in effect, as called by Play Ground Commission Superintendent Charles B. Raitt, a ‘dry saloon.’ In the basement there will be pool tables and hot and cold showers. On the street floor there will be reading and smoking-room, and lunches, soft drinks, cigars, tobacco and cigarettes will be sold. The large auditorium where many famous dances were held in years past, and where many steins of beer were drunk to the words, “Hoch der Kaiser,” becomes a municipal gymnasium, and the German club rooms become committee rooms where evening classes will be conducted by the Board of Education.
The mitt palace, located at 321 S. Main St., was the training arena for luminaries of the fight world from time to time. Joe Louis trained there for his bout with Jack Roper at Wrigley Field. …As late as a year ago, Jack Dempsey worked out there with his protege, Clarence Henry, and made a series of gym talks.
Then there must have been two gyms because there definitely was a gym and a theater in Turn Halle which took up the addresses from 319-325 S. Main. Here’s a picture showing the theater:
View link
(Feb. 5, 1951)
Fire Wins Round-In flame-swept Main Street Gym, Fire Capt. John Langston looks over damaged boxing gloves and other equipment. The gymnasium, 321 S Main St., has been training arena for fight luminaries.
fowl play indeed….
Does anyone know if there is a CT page for a Regal theater at 323 S. Main? It shows up in 1906 as the New Star Vaudeville but is in the City Directories for 1915 & 1916 as the Regal. I think this is actually the theater where the Main St. Gym took over. There are a few articles with the Main St. Gym at 321 S. Main and a large fire there. It would have been across the street from the Hippodrome and a few doors north of the Follies.
There are a lot of articles from the early teens for 320 S. Main for meetings and speakers at an Eagles' Hall. It was probably in the front part of the building and not the auditorium.
That’s a lot of chickens in a skating rink!
(Jan. 6, 1907)
The eighteenth annual poultry and pigeon show of the Los Angeles County Poultry Association will begin tomorrow afternoon in the Panorama building, No. 320 South Main street, and it will continure for the entire week. All day yesterday, and late last night, the skating rink feature of the place was eliminated to give way to the largest poultry exhibit that has ever been assembled here. The entrees received upt to 6 o'clock last evening indicate that over 2000 fowls will be cooped when the show opens to the public.
Here’s a pre-skating rink quote for this address:
(June 30, 1890)
Tomorrow afternoon at the Panorama amphitheater, 320 South Main street, the boys will have a cavalry drill under the instruction of a well-known United States Army officer. There are a few vacancies in the battalion for well-behaved boys between the ages of 12 and 15. The tallest boy of the age of 15 in the city is wanted for color-sergeant.
In the movie they pan over a little to the south and you can see the building with the turrets on the corner that shows up on the Sanborn comparison above. Wouldn’t this be where City Hall East now sits?
Here’s a screen shot of a movie called Crime Wave from 1954 that shows a Roosevelt Theater in the background.
View link
From the LA Times archives, it looks like the majority of taxi-dance halls had something to do with Filipinos. There are hundreds of articles from the 20’s until around 1950 about police raids and problems at those places. They called the girls ‘nickel-hoppers’ and later on B-girls.
I don’t think it was the same place just because the history of the building is pretty clear through the years. There seems to have been a Hippodrome Dance Palace, but I can’t find it in the old LA Times archives. Here’s a blurb from a website:
‘Pilipinos were also drawn to taxi-dance halls where they paid ten cents for one-minute of dancing with a White woman. Pilipino musicians would often play some three hundred one-minute tunes at Liberty Dance Palace, Hippodrome Dance Palace, and other clubs near Third Street in LA. Pool halls certainly attracted the young bachelors.'
View link
The tour on this page called The Historic Core is a good tour to start for downtown:
http://laconservancy.org/tours/tours_main.php4
A lot of theaters downtown featured vaudeville and were then converted to movies or they still had both at some of them. I don’t know about the taxi dancing there, though. I don’t know of any theaters that also had a ballroom or dance hall but there could have been. In the 20’s anybody who was anybody would go out to the Cocoanut Grove or to the Palomar Ballroom on Vermont to dance. Here’s a link to the Palomar:
http://www.100megspopup.com/ark/PalomarBlrm.html
Did this theater ever have signage that actually said ‘Childs’? Even from 1884 in advertisements it is referred to as the Grand Opera House. I don’t know if the public just called it Childs because of the original builder or if it was actually named that. Here is a graphic I put together showing the positioning of the theater back from the street. I think Joe wanted to see how far back it was a long time ago on this page:
View link
From looking at those side by sides, I think the 1942 city guide was a misprint. The building at 220 N. Main that says Bank also says 1926, so that’s probably what you can see in Joe’s picture from the 30’s. I don’t think a 216 N. Main even existed by 1942.
On the 1906 map the US Hotel takes up 168, 170, and 172 and then the addresses start at 200 on the turreted building after Market. The 200’s end at 240 with the US Natl. Bank and then start on the other side of Commercial with the 300’s. All the 100’s N. Start at first and the 300’s on the West side of Main start at Temple (Downey Block 301-325) where it ends at Main.
Here’s a side by side comparison of the 1906 and what is supposed to be an updated 1950 sanborn map. The maps are very confusing when it comes to dates, so I’m not sure how accurate the 1950 is. You can see that by the later map on the right that the addresses jump from 212 to 220.
View link
Great photo…I love how the terra cotta comes to life. I read somewhere that they are going to restore the top of the tower and the clock is being repaired.