Montalban Theatre

Here is part of an LA Times story dated 7/10/53:

CBS-RADIO THEATER SOLD TO HARTFORD

Co;lumbia Broadcasting System announced sale of its CBS-Radio Theater at 1615 N. Vine Street to Huntington Hartford III, food chain heir, for a figure in excess of $200,000. It was understood that Hartford acquired the theater-scene of many radio shows since 1936-as a legitimate stage theater and theater workshop.

Formerly known as the Vine Street Theater, the house was acquired by the radio network in 1936 and was operated by the Vine Street Realty Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS.

The theater was showing a boxing match last night:
http://tinyurl.com/6kzo7c
http://tinyurl.com/6lxalt
http://tinyurl.com/6oaof8

Here is that 1930’s photo side-by-side with present day Vine Street (October 2008). Unfortunately the W Hotel construction and billboards obscure the buildings somewhat. My photographer tried her best to get a similar angle.

And no Ken shoe purchase is not required.

Special film screenings have been extended through the end of the year.

On August 8th, 2008, The Montalban became the temporary home of Nike Sportswear’s unique retail and special events theatre. As part of this theatre has been cleaned, painted and upgraded. New sound and lighting as well as 35mm film and HD video projection have been installed. A massive 55x26 screen recovered from one of San Diego’s single screen theaters, most likely the Valley Circle, was installed in The Montalban. Artist Geoff McFetridge was commissioned to create large scale murals on the roof and south side of the building and installed a unique wallpaper motif in the second floor mezzanine room.

From a press release: Margarita Cannon, the theater’s creative director explains, “One of the great challenges in having a landmark theatre is reversing the aging process. Nike Sportswear brought in ideas and artists, and now the Montalbán has new life to share with our community.”

Movies came back to the Montalban in a major way with weekly Cinema Tuesdays series, which features premieres, advance screenings and sneak peeks of innovative films from around the world:

12 Aug 2008 … BEAUTIFUL LOSERS (LA PREMIERE)
19 Aug 2008 … TOKYO OLYMPIAD
26 Aug 2008 … ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT
09 Sep 2008 … SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO
09 Sep 2008 … 3X3: THE WINDRUNNER SHORTS (WORLD PREMIERE)
23 Sep 2008 … MEGUNICA (U.S. PREMIERE)
30 Sep 2008 … ROCKNROLLA
07 Oct 2008 … ASHES OF TIME REDUX
14 Oct 2008 … LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
21 Oct 2008 … SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
28 Oct 2008 … PART OF THE WEEKEND NEVER DIES (U.S. PREMIERE)

Here is the corrected link to the great photo of the theater as the Studio from the USC archive.

Here is the metadata and description of same photo.

I’d like to shoot a current photo (for a then and now) from the same spot, since the Montalban, Broadway Hollywood and Taft buildings are all still standing.

Here are some March 2008 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/37pjoh
http://tinyurl.com/2oa53j
http://tinyurl.com/3c2rpq

Thank You Joe V.
After your knowledge of Aldos, I looked it up in the LA library directory. I’m quite sure it was the 6413 Hollywood Boulevard location…I remember Coffee Dan’s and Woolworth nearby. My father worked for KFWB which was a few doors down. We went to Aldos often, and late 62 to 63 would have been the time period. Funny you should mention Sonny Bono as I completely recall him. He must have been doing promo work, my father knew him well and he definitely did stand out. He dressed pretty funky for the times. Not long ago, I was in a bookstore where I live now in the midwest, and ran accross a book Cher had written a while back. Sure enough, she met Bono at Aldos and described him as the strangest man she had ever seen (though she was totally attracted to that aspect of him). I was intrigued, so I looked up Bono in that same 1963 directory. He lived at 7237 Franklin Avenue #1. This would be the apartment Cher talked about in her book. She moved in with him not long after they met. Strictly platonic at first, as she needed a place to stay, but eventually it became a romantic relationship. Interesting. Wonder if that building he lived in still exists? I know Franklin Ave. was and still is sprawling apartment complexes. Anway, thanks for the info. I had fun researching this…wish my father were still alive and I could talk to him about my findings. I guess I wasn’t too far off, at least in the vicinity. Not bad for a 10 year old mind at the time.

Joe, I posted a photo of the Mirror on November 8.

Michele: Almost all of the ground floor of the Taft Building was occupied by a Rexall drug store in those days. I remember a coffee shop called Aldo’s in the neighborhood, but I can’t recall exactly where it was. It was supposedly at Aldo’s that Cher first met Sonny Bono in 1963. I don’t know if Cher would remember exactly where Aldo’s was or if she’s suppressed that knowledge.

Oh, wait. The L.A. library website now has some street directories of the era available on-line. OK. Aldo’s is listed in the 1960 directory as having two locations on Hollywood Boulevard: at 6413, which would have been just east of the Warner Cinerama Theatre; and at 6721, almost directly across the street from the Egyptian Theatre. I don’t know at which of these locations Cher met her diminutive destiny.

The 1960 directory lists another Aldo’s at 7369 Melrose, but I have no memory of that location at all.

Here is a photo of the Mirror from the early thirties:
http://tinyurl.com/ynury7

And, from the L.A. Public Library, a dramatic night shot taken when it was still called the Vine Street Theater.

In regards to the Hollywood Playhouse: No it was never a motion picture theatre, however, it did (and still does) have a projection booth and at one time had two projectors that were removed in 1981 when the building was remodeled and transformed into THE PALACE – a concert venue and nightclub. I have worked there on and off in the eighties and again in the late ninties thru now. While there The Palace has shown some films as special events, though nothing truly notable: Premier of Eurythmics documentary and a private screening of Disney’s Beauty and The Beast for all the staff that worked on the film along with a viewing of the Academy Awards as that film was nominated for best film.
PS – The Playhouse was renamed several times through it’s life, which may account for some confusion of some other thatres: Hollywood Playhouse, WPA Federal Theatre, The El Capitain (interesting footnote), The Jerry Lewis Theatre, The Hollywood Palace, The Palace, Avalon.