State Theatre
703 S. Broadway,
Los Angeles,
CA
90014
703 S. Broadway,
Los Angeles,
CA
90014
24 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 130 comments
Thanks. I thought that was the case.
It is the State theater,ken mc. That’s from around December of 1957, when the double feature of Reform School Girl and Rock Around the World played there.
Here is a night view from 1983:
http://tinyurl.com/c43ld4
This photo is supposed to be at a theater in downtown Los Angeles. I thought the marquee most closely matched that of the State:
http://electricearl.com/dws/movie.html
Here is a March 1939 ad. Click on the ad for a closer view.
http://tinyurl.com/cpw83u
Here is an August 1925 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/dmvrkr
That’s funny Meredith, I would enter the building from the main doors to the office building which was one store south of the theatre marquee. (see ken mc’s first shot above) The doors on the other side of Casa de Oro store. And then take the elevator to the 5th floor and walk down the hall to the second booth door.
For everyone else all theatres of the time when built had to have two exits to the booth for the projectionist. In case of fire. The other door to the booth was on the right side of the booth. (when your standing inside the booth) But that door was always bolted, because of the patrons inside watching the movies. It was not a very large booth as Meredith said. The Los Angeles’s booth was a Nice large booth and one of my favorite one for the size.
Here are two photos taken today. I was trying to get a shot of the booth but the proselytizers were swarming today, so it’s a little blurry.
http://tinyurl.com/bjps6b
http://tinyurl.com/bj24s4
I use to love this booth. The State and Los Angeles were my two favorite boothes on Broadway. This was a long, narrow and a deco booth. It was just comfortable.
What was strange about State is you had to walk to the corner of the street, walk North to another business, take an elevator upwards, get out, and from there you would open a door to enter the projection room. Hey, that was nice. Nobody could bug you up in the booth.
From Boxoffice magazine, January 1963:
LOS ANGELES-Metropolitan Theaters is taking over the lease on the State Theater, as of January 14. United Artists is dropping the theater, which it has operated since 1949. The house is owned by Loew’s Theaters. The UA lease had until May to run, but arrangements were worked out for the earlier takeover. This gives Sherrill C. Corwin’s Metropolitan circuit most of the downtown first-runs.
lol….I guess you’re brave. I was afraid they would suck my soul out and flush it down the toilet.
See post of 7/27/07. All things are possible, grasshopper.
They are really creepy also….they practically do a cavity search when you go inside to make sure you don’t have a camera.
It doesn’t look the same inside….that idiotic church painted white latex over everything.
Here is a photo taken yesterday:
http://tinyurl.com/4x2rv9
A recent shot of the State’s marquee:
View link
Here’s a photo of the State being built from a Harold Lloyd movie. The photos are from the author of the amazing books named Silent Echoes (Keaton) and Silent Traces (Chaplin). He’s currently writing a new book about all the locations from Harold Lloyd films…can’t wait.
View link
I usually put the dates on. I was working and doing this at the same time, so I wasn’t being thorough.
Here is a 1938 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/6bfksx
Today, sadly, the website dropped the historic Loew’s from the theater’s name, to be consistent with this site’s overall policy.
That was with a cell phone. OK for closeups, but not much good long range. I had to toss some other Broadway shots I took today.
Here is an April 2008 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/5kabsm
Here is a screen shot from the 1988 film “Colors”:
http://tinyurl.com/yv95ju
You can see the marquee in the film “Action Jackson” (around 51 minutes in). The film takes place in another city, but they used Downtown Los Angeles for select location shots.
Ken: with the big camera I had around my neck that day. I’d surely have been chased out. If I ever go back, I will take your advice. Thanks again.