Palace Theatre

Great photos.

It is a beautiful old place but what to do with these old theatres on Broadway? The immigrant Latino population is moving on that once used these places for Spanish films and churches. The young white condo buyers that are moving in are too busy to see live shows and watch movies on their Ipods and flat screen TVs at home. I don’t see any commercially viable uses for these places other than for infrequent special events and as filming locations. The new Club Nokia and Nokia theatre at the LA Live complex nearby have a lock on any live performances for halls of this size.

I’ve just seen the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation’s page about the Palace. It has a few interesting pictures but also has some errors in the text. It says that the third Orpheum in Los Angeles (the Palace) was built when the second Orpheum burned down, but in fact the second Orpheum didn’t burn down, and had a long post-Orpheum life as a movie theater called the Lyceum.

The page also says that the first Orpheum was built in Los Angeles in the 1880s. That’s a bit ambiguous, but if it means that the Orpheum Circuit began in Los Angeles it’s not quite right. The first theater in what became the Orpheum circuit was opened in San Francisco in 1887, and in 1894 its operator, Gustav Walter, entered a partnership with Martin Lehman, owner of the Grand Opera House on Main Street in Los Angeles, to present vaudeville shows there under the Orpheum banner. As a circuit implies more than one theater, the Grand could be considered one of the first two theaters in the Orpheum Circuit, as it was the first house Walter and Meyerfield operated outside San Francisco, but it was never the flagship of the circuit.

Incidentally, the Wikipedia article about the Orpheum Circuit also contains some errors. Most significantly, it is wrong in saying the company was founded by Martin Beck. Gustav Walter and his assistant Morris Meyerfield started the circuit. Beck, originally a vaudeville troupe manager from Chicago who became another of Walter’s assistants, acquired control of the company several years after it was founded.

Here is another late 30s photo from USC:
http://tinyurl.com/csrlpq

Great slide show from last week. Let’s hope this place can be turned around like the Orpheum.

Here is a colorful shot from 1980:
http://tinyurl.com/d8rmd6

I can’t find the info on the LAHTF’s website yet, but Chris Nichols posts this about their upcoming free tour of the Palace, along with dates of upcoming tours of the Los Angeles, Tower and Rialto.
View link

[quote]The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation http://www.lahtf.org/
Invites You & Your Friends To Attend
All About the Palace
Saturday, February 28, 10:30 am â€" Doors open at 10:00 am
Palace Theatre * 630 S. Broadway * Downtown Los Angeles
http://www.losangelestheatre.com
FREE ADMISSION

SEE! â€" the beautiful 1911 Palace Theatre and a big screen presentation of rare photos of its past
HEAR! â€" Theatre Historian Ed Kelsey tell the Palace story
TOUR! â€" get an insider’s look at this amazing theatre â€" from the Gallery to the Basement
DISCOVER! â€" how you can become actively involved with the LAHTF
PREVIEW! â€" a series of exciting events coming to historic theatres soon
LEARN! â€" how you can get hands-on experience saving, restoring and programming great theatres
EXPLORE! â€" visit the Palace’s comprehensive website â€" http://www.losangelestheatre.com
REPAST! â€" Join us at Clifton’s Cafeteria immediately following the event to continue the discussion.
SHOP! – Look for bargains in the nearby Garment District and in Broadway’s shops.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: ALL ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES, March 21
ALL ABOUT THE TOWER & RIALTO, April 18 [/quote]

Here’s a July 2008 photo I took:
View link

I posted a diptych of the Palace and the Roxie on my Flickr page:
View link

Here is a photo taken from Spring Street that Larry Harnisch posted on his LA Times “Daily Mirror” blog:
http://tinyurl.com/5xznuk

Note the old Orpheum signage in the lower picture.

Here is a March 2008 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/29amhj

Liz plays the Palace, per an August 1973 ad in the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2seqlx