Comments from kencmcintyre

Here is part of an article in the Oakland Tribune dated 11/21/72:

They’re tearing down another part of old Oakland this week. The long-shuttered Broadway Theater at 1121 Broadway will vanish under the wrecker’s ball as part of the clearance of the fourth block of the projected 15-block $150 million City Center downtown regional shopping center. A skyscraper hotel will one day rise on the site.

The Broadway theater was new and modern Aug. 9, 1930 when it opened “for the exclusive presentation of talking motion pictures,” showing “The Texan'‘, an "all-outdoor” production, and a version of O. Henry’s story, “A Double Dyed Deceiver.” An older Broadway theater stood there for 25 years before the 1930 structure was built. Here, the word has it, Al Jolson once sang. Yesterday, renewal officials spoke glowingly of the newer Broadway to come â€" the resurgence of an urban core to draw shoppers from throughout the Eastbay.

These folks had their wedding at the Orpheum:
http://tinyurl.com/cscblq

This photo is supposed to be from 1917, so apparently there were two theaters in Benson at that time. The marquee’s front says Benson Opera House.
http://tinyurl.com/ddjbnv

Here is a 1999 photo from the LAPL:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics41/00040198.jpg

Here is a 1938 photo from the LAPL:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015223.jpg

This is from the LA Times in January 1949. The La Tijera ad is at the bottom of the page. Click on the ad for a better view.
http://tinyurl.com/car6j4

Here is a 1949 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/c9febh

This is the Lynn circa 1929, from the LAPL:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014829.jpg

Here is a 1930 photo from the LAPL, at the opening of the theater:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028809.jpg

Here is a photo, circa 1950s:
http://tinyurl.com/dksj4q

Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/dzc2t4

In the photo on Google, the theater is gone, but you can still see the steps and the handicapped ramp. Too bad.