Palace Theatre
30 Pine Avenue,
Long Beach,
CA
90802
30 Pine Avenue,
Long Beach,
CA
90802
8 people favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 41 of 41 comments
Here is a photo, circa late 70s:
http://tinyurl.com/22pwpy
Here is a circa 1930s photo:
http://tinyurl.com/2p56tm
“The Movie” was at 345 Ocean.
I’d say that the LAPL picture is definitely this Palace Theatre, which opened in 1916. Even in later years the Palace had that very narrow entrance.
Here is a 1917 photo of “Fahey’s Palace” on Pine Street from the LAPL. Same theater?
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014849.jpg
Here are some interior photos from the 1920s:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014885.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014886.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014887.jpg
To ken mc: The theatre you saw on the East side of Ocean Blvd. was probably “The Movie”. It was an x-rated house and was also owned by Walnut Properties. The State Theatre I remember very well indeed. It can also be seen in “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”. It was a beautiful old Fox house. The last movie I watched there was “The Boyfriend” starring Twiggy (anyone remember her?).
The Palace was owned, in its' last days, by Walnut Properties (who employed me for many years) and managed by a very wonderful lady named Ada Johnson. It was quite a place to say the least. The grind houses pretty much disappeared with the advent of video tape.
That is a great picture.
I was watching Gone in 60 Seconds today (the original) and noticed the Palace as well as the State during a chase scene in downtown Long Beach. I also saw a theater with a blank marquee on the east side of Ocean Avenue, but I couldn’t identify that theater.
Here is a picture, courtesy of the LA Library:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014883.jpg
The Palace opened on September 30th, 1916. The architect was H. Alfred Anderson, of Long Beach. The original design featured a facade of pressed brick inlaid with decorative tiles. The original owner was E.W. Bollinger.
In 1921, Anderson prepared plans for an expansion of the theater, including raising the ceiling and adding balcony seating.
Further alterations took place in 1929, this time designed by the firm of Merrill and Wilson. The front of the theater was remodeled and a new marquee installed. The leasee of the Palace at this time was Pacific National Theatres.
H.A. Anderson returned to the Palace to design alterations to the lobby and install another new marquee in 1942.
as a child in Long Beach I had the priviledged of being in every run down theatre in town the Palace was no exception 3 movies for .99 cents. me and my brother would go there with 2-3 bucks and see the films twice once there was a Raquel welch triple bill “one hundred million years, Mother jugs and speed and Kansas city bomber.we got home arund midnight boy we’re we in trouble. the palace another treasure lost.
The palace was a place that showed all night movies to cater to the sailors stationed in Long Beach until the 70’s when the Long beach Naval Station was greatly downsized.
I was with the Long Beach police Department on night shift and often got called there.
My parents tell me it was a very nice place in the 30’s…it finally disappeared in the early 70’s when the City began a multi billion dollar redevelopment program
The Palace Theatre was located at 30 Pine Ave. and was designed in the Art Deco style.
I saw and photographed the Palace shortly before its demolition, sometime between 1982 and 1986. It kept that lovely marquee shown in the above photo right up until the end.
My adopted grandmother, who lived in Long Beach during the Twenties, tells me the Palace presented vaudeville as well as movies at that time.