Too bad those 1941 photos don’t show The Pantry; I would have liked to have seen a picture of it in its original context. It’s in the far left background of the first photo, probably behind that church (wow! Didn’t know there was a huge church right there!)
Here’s hoping that Anschutz does something good with the place. The first portions of L.A. Live are scheduled to open by the end of this year, maybe early 2008. It’ll be here before we know it. There’s scheduled to be a two building complex of apartments built right next to it (called the Concerto), that’s where the Finkle Arms was. Unfortunately, that project seems to be stalled at the moment. Apart from that, that whole neighborhood is like brand new compared to 10-15 years ago.
Here’s the solution. This building was torn down in 1923, and Desmond’s Department Store was built on the spot. Opened as Desmond’s for several decades, probably never had a theater in it.
Well, obviously the theatre wasn’t torn down in 1929 for the construction of the Eastern Columbia Bldg., because the postcard above, photo above, and 1933 article all prove the building went on until 1933.
By the way, the Burger King mentioned above has also been razed, no big loss. The Eastern Columbia has been turned into lofts, one of the most lauded and beloved rehabilitations of old buildings into lofts in downtown. The one story retail formerly holding the Burger King has now been replaced by a 3 story parking structure for the Eastern Columbia. There’s retail spaces there too, but they haven’t been filled yet.
I lived across the street from this theatre for a couple of years.
I saw a few shows here before the conversion, when it was a revival house, including a fantastic double feature of “Psych-Out” and “Wild in the Streets.”
After the triplexing, it became a first run house, leaning towards the “indie” releases. I saw Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood” here, and Ed’s associate and bit player Conrad Brooks was hanging around after the movie, peddling a book and autographed photos. Talked with him for several minutes. Nice guy.
I saw a couple of shows here in its very last days of movies, probably 1995, because the film was MONEY TRAIN with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. I think they were doing second run at that point. The second feature was ACE VENTURA: WHEN NATURE CALLS, which was so bad I walked out and had dinner at Clifton’s.
I’m very upset that I didn’t come down to downtown more often and take in some more shows while they were still going on. Now I live here, but at that time I lived in the Valley and it was somewhat of a trial to get down here.
At that point, the only other operating theater in downtown was the Palace, who were showing English films with Spanish subtitles. I saw something there at least once, maybe it was “The Net” with Sandra Bullock? The subtitles were really distracting.
Anybody have a guess to the actual address? Maybe 236 S. Main Street? Definitely an even number since it’s on the East side of the street. The M.J. Higgins Gallery, still there today, is at 244 S. Main Street (but not for long, the new police motor pool building is being put in there, probably ground breaking before the end of 2007).
No other vintage buildings are today next to the Higgins Gallery to help us. Only vacant lots and a taco stand of more recent vintage. (Please don’t confuse this building with the Higgins Building at 2nd and Main on the southwest corner.)
But the question is, was the Liberty theatre north of the current MJ Higgins Gallery building or not? Hard to tell from the postcards on the page linked to above. The Gallery building is currently one story, but that doesn’t mean much; many buildings downtown were reduced in height over the years. The picture above seems to show two story buildings on either side of the theater entrance. I’m going to guess 248 S. Main for the Liberty Theater.
This theatre is only a couple blocks from the Gold Line train stop.
Westsiders, why not have an adventure. Take the train to Highland Park and check out this historic theatre. Pretend it’s 1950 and you’re taking the Red Cars to Highland Park. Have fun and explore your city.
The “smoking gun” photograph posted by Ken (entry #9 above) is interesting, but I believe it’s a little bit later than you think. This must have been taken sometime after World War II had ended, because that’s when the Pacific Electric applied their “butterfly” paint scheme to all their trolley cars (I believe it was in 1946?) seen in the photo, in a hopeless attempt to “update the look” of their rolling stock and increase ridership. So, in spite of the old clunker parked at the curb, which probably is a late 1930’s car, this is probably a late 1940’s picture.
That photo posted by Ken of the Tie store shows the parking lot where the former Metropolitan/Paramount Theater was prior to 1962.
Almost as tragic as tearing down Philharmonic Auditorium was the “makeover” the building had at some point during its life, removing all of its gothic facade and trimmings. That thing was beautiful! Reminds me of the Canadian Houses of Parliament.
Yes, that is not the original building. If you exit the Bradbury from the back exit, heading into Biddy Mason Park, you can see the back of this building at 314. It’s a smooth wall of concrete cinder blocks with absolutely no ornmentation at all. Dates from the 1970’s at the earliest, probably later.
Ugh, I saw a few movies when I lived nearby this horrible theater, but after a while I couldn’t stand the tiny screens/theatres and stopped going there. Then I switched over to the newly opened Hollywood Galaxy, now closed. Did see David Bowie and Iman coming out of a show one time at the BC.
That tiny theatre has a screen only slightly larger than the one I use at home for my video projector! Yikes. And I only counted 51 seats in that photo.
Anyone have any idea how long this place has been going? It probably opened during the heyday of “tiki” culture in the late 1950’s. What a throwback. Tons of places like this used to be in downtown LA on Main Street. They’re all gone now.
Saw the first of run of “Superman” here in 1978. I was in junior high. I believe the theatre was a twin at that time, and the movie might have been in 70MM? Anyone know for sure? At that time this was still a nice theatre, only 10 years old and first run top line features played there.
This building is now known as the Judson C. Rives building. Don’t know exactly when that name was applied, because, apparently, originally it was the Broadway Central building. Amazing they were able to cram a theater into this space.
The Elden Hotel, to the left of the theatre, is still there.
I believe it was built in 1893. It currently has stores on the ground floor and the top two floors are not occupied. It was recently (2006) repainted and looks a little better.
By the time I was able to go to this theatre, the area was falling apart. I saw several movies here including “Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life” and “Sleepaway Camp.” I think we also saw “The Seven Ups” here first run. I was very young, about seven. And I think that movie was rated R, too. I think I saw “The Towering Inferno” here too. This theatre was about a 10 minute drive from my house, and my dad would sometimes use the car wash in the same strip mall.
Yes, somewhat large, but then again quite undistinguished, with the most generic, boxy strip mall architecture possible. Had no identifying characteristics. I do remember seeing “Pink Floyd: The Wall” there first run. It will not be missed.
I remember seeing a few movies here in the 1970’s, including “Mother, Jugs and Speed,” and Hal Holbrook’s one man show of Mark Twain. Very small, and the decor was mostly orange. It was the 70’s.
Boo! They tore down this drive-in and put in a shopping center with a Price Chopper. Right down the street was an old style McDonald’s (1950’s style with giant yellow arches) that got torn down around the same time, summer 1984.
Too bad those 1941 photos don’t show The Pantry; I would have liked to have seen a picture of it in its original context. It’s in the far left background of the first photo, probably behind that church (wow! Didn’t know there was a huge church right there!)
Here’s hoping that Anschutz does something good with the place. The first portions of L.A. Live are scheduled to open by the end of this year, maybe early 2008. It’ll be here before we know it. There’s scheduled to be a two building complex of apartments built right next to it (called the Concerto), that’s where the Finkle Arms was. Unfortunately, that project seems to be stalled at the moment. Apart from that, that whole neighborhood is like brand new compared to 10-15 years ago.
Here’s the solution. This building was torn down in 1923, and Desmond’s Department Store was built on the spot. Opened as Desmond’s for several decades, probably never had a theater in it.
http://www.you-are-here.com/broadway/desmond.html
I wonder who won the cow?
Kind of hard to make out in the picture, but I think it says “Burlesk” above the arch in that picture Joe mentions above. Anyone else think so?
I have a panoramic map of Los Angeles in 1909 which shows the Walker Theater on the east side of the street.
Well, obviously the theatre wasn’t torn down in 1929 for the construction of the Eastern Columbia Bldg., because the postcard above, photo above, and 1933 article all prove the building went on until 1933.
By the way, the Burger King mentioned above has also been razed, no big loss. The Eastern Columbia has been turned into lofts, one of the most lauded and beloved rehabilitations of old buildings into lofts in downtown. The one story retail formerly holding the Burger King has now been replaced by a 3 story parking structure for the Eastern Columbia. There’s retail spaces there too, but they haven’t been filled yet.
I lived across the street from this theatre for a couple of years.
I saw a few shows here before the conversion, when it was a revival house, including a fantastic double feature of “Psych-Out” and “Wild in the Streets.”
After the triplexing, it became a first run house, leaning towards the “indie” releases. I saw Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood” here, and Ed’s associate and bit player Conrad Brooks was hanging around after the movie, peddling a book and autographed photos. Talked with him for several minutes. Nice guy.
I saw a couple of shows here in its very last days of movies, probably 1995, because the film was MONEY TRAIN with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. I think they were doing second run at that point. The second feature was ACE VENTURA: WHEN NATURE CALLS, which was so bad I walked out and had dinner at Clifton’s.
I’m very upset that I didn’t come down to downtown more often and take in some more shows while they were still going on. Now I live here, but at that time I lived in the Valley and it was somewhat of a trial to get down here.
At that point, the only other operating theater in downtown was the Palace, who were showing English films with Spanish subtitles. I saw something there at least once, maybe it was “The Net” with Sandra Bullock? The subtitles were really distracting.
Anybody have a guess to the actual address? Maybe 236 S. Main Street? Definitely an even number since it’s on the East side of the street. The M.J. Higgins Gallery, still there today, is at 244 S. Main Street (but not for long, the new police motor pool building is being put in there, probably ground breaking before the end of 2007).
No other vintage buildings are today next to the Higgins Gallery to help us. Only vacant lots and a taco stand of more recent vintage. (Please don’t confuse this building with the Higgins Building at 2nd and Main on the southwest corner.)
But the question is, was the Liberty theatre north of the current MJ Higgins Gallery building or not? Hard to tell from the postcards on the page linked to above. The Gallery building is currently one story, but that doesn’t mean much; many buildings downtown were reduced in height over the years. The picture above seems to show two story buildings on either side of the theater entrance. I’m going to guess 248 S. Main for the Liberty Theater.
Oh, to have been able to go there…sigh…
P.S.: I live across the street in the former Pacfic Electric train station.
This theatre is only a couple blocks from the Gold Line train stop.
Westsiders, why not have an adventure. Take the train to Highland Park and check out this historic theatre. Pretend it’s 1950 and you’re taking the Red Cars to Highland Park. Have fun and explore your city.
The “smoking gun” photograph posted by Ken (entry #9 above) is interesting, but I believe it’s a little bit later than you think. This must have been taken sometime after World War II had ended, because that’s when the Pacific Electric applied their “butterfly” paint scheme to all their trolley cars (I believe it was in 1946?) seen in the photo, in a hopeless attempt to “update the look” of their rolling stock and increase ridership. So, in spite of the old clunker parked at the curb, which probably is a late 1930’s car, this is probably a late 1940’s picture.
Still open over a year later, but it could go anytime. Architecture wise, it’s totally undistinguished and built in the 1970’s.
The new multiplex (large number of screens, maybe 12-14) at L.A. Live will open in about two years. Could they be keeping the Grande going until then?
I hope so, because IT’S THE ONLY MOVIE THEATRE SHOWING MOVIES IN ALL OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES!
Yes, I’m yelling about that. That just STINKS. Come on, somebody, open up at least ONE of the movie theatres on Broadway!
That photo posted by Ken of the Tie store shows the parking lot where the former Metropolitan/Paramount Theater was prior to 1962.
Almost as tragic as tearing down Philharmonic Auditorium was the “makeover” the building had at some point during its life, removing all of its gothic facade and trimmings. That thing was beautiful! Reminds me of the Canadian Houses of Parliament.
Yes, that is not the original building. If you exit the Bradbury from the back exit, heading into Biddy Mason Park, you can see the back of this building at 314. It’s a smooth wall of concrete cinder blocks with absolutely no ornmentation at all. Dates from the 1970’s at the earliest, probably later.
Ugh, I saw a few movies when I lived nearby this horrible theater, but after a while I couldn’t stand the tiny screens/theatres and stopped going there. Then I switched over to the newly opened Hollywood Galaxy, now closed. Did see David Bowie and Iman coming out of a show one time at the BC.
That tiny theatre has a screen only slightly larger than the one I use at home for my video projector! Yikes. And I only counted 51 seats in that photo.
What the hell is a “xymposium” anyway?
I guess that has to do with “X” rated movies?
Anyone have any idea how long this place has been going? It probably opened during the heyday of “tiki” culture in the late 1950’s. What a throwback. Tons of places like this used to be in downtown LA on Main Street. They’re all gone now.
Saw the first of run of “Superman” here in 1978. I was in junior high. I believe the theatre was a twin at that time, and the movie might have been in 70MM? Anyone know for sure? At that time this was still a nice theatre, only 10 years old and first run top line features played there.
This building is now known as the Judson C. Rives building. Don’t know exactly when that name was applied, because, apparently, originally it was the Broadway Central building. Amazing they were able to cram a theater into this space.
The Elden Hotel, to the left of the theatre, is still there.
I believe it was built in 1893. It currently has stores on the ground floor and the top two floors are not occupied. It was recently (2006) repainted and looks a little better.
By the time I was able to go to this theatre, the area was falling apart. I saw several movies here including “Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life” and “Sleepaway Camp.” I think we also saw “The Seven Ups” here first run. I was very young, about seven. And I think that movie was rated R, too. I think I saw “The Towering Inferno” here too. This theatre was about a 10 minute drive from my house, and my dad would sometimes use the car wash in the same strip mall.
Yes, somewhat large, but then again quite undistinguished, with the most generic, boxy strip mall architecture possible. Had no identifying characteristics. I do remember seeing “Pink Floyd: The Wall” there first run. It will not be missed.
I remember seeing a few movies here in the 1970’s, including “Mother, Jugs and Speed,” and Hal Holbrook’s one man show of Mark Twain. Very small, and the decor was mostly orange. It was the 70’s.
Only stayed open 9 years? That is crazy.
Boo! They tore down this drive-in and put in a shopping center with a Price Chopper. Right down the street was an old style McDonald’s (1950’s style with giant yellow arches) that got torn down around the same time, summer 1984.