Palace Theatre

I just watched an episode of the 1989 TV series “Ailen Nation” and there were scenes filmed in the balcony of a “Palace” theatre in LA. Was that this theatre? It appeared to be a rather large balcony and the movie “My Darling Clementine” was playing on the screen.

Returning to the scene of the grime, the Palace Theatre marquee is returned after her guest shot as the Detroit Theatre for “Dreamgirls.”. Neon and light bulbs have been repaired and restored. Solid cosmetic – if not complete restoration – of the front lobby is being completed. Small exposed carvings in the corners of the entrance are peeking over Broadway. According to my onsite source, they will again be hidden as they restore the frame of the doorway. Maybe someday they can be seen in a full restoration of the theatre, but because of being within the wall for years, protected from the elements, they are in good shape.
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Confirming recent posts. Was out shooting theatres and the crew member reported they were also replacing bulbs underneath sign.

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That does seem more than a bit odd.

BTW, the picture that Stevebob posted of the interior is outstanding.
Too bad it isn’t in color.

In regards to the “inevitable fate” of the forgotten theater, how can cause-and-effect best be dissected when it comes to the middle-class flight and decay that so many of our downtowns suffered post-War and especially by the 1960s and 1970s?

I was a teenager in Los Angeles in the 1970s and was acutely aware of the changes that had taken place in Los Angeles in the prior decade and the way that Broadway and Spring Street continued to be reshaped by them. I honestly felt angry at Metropolitan Theaters because I believed the films they were booking into their palaces (specifically Spanish-language and action/blaxplotation) were driving away the middle-class retail and finance that had driven Broadway and Spring as the nexus of the Los Angeles business district for decades.

After all, every major retailer’s main branch was still on Broadway in addition to the mall stores it might have had by then. The Broadway even had a sign that proudly said “Through The Broadway to Broadway.”

In 1973 The Broadway moved to the Broadway Plaza. The May Company and Bullocks came to refer to their locations as as Eighth & Hill and Seventh & Hill, respectively, and while they hung on for a few years longer they no longer even bothered to light their vertical signs in the evening. Likewise with all the other stores and theaters. (It was blamed on the energy crisis.) Soon Desmonds, Silverwoods, Harris & Frank, Bond, plus every single bank branch on the entire strip was a thing of the past.

Of course, the demographics might have changed anyway, just as they did on Market Street in San Francisco, State Street in Chicago and so many other downtowns big and small.

And Spring Street was probably doomed by its proximity to Main Street, the seemingly permanent skid row of Los Angeles, and the fact that Bunker Hill redevelopment was already well underway.

But, really, what caused what with the dramatic slide of our collective downtowns? I guess it’s nothing profound to wonder about and books been written on the topic, but it’s certainly of great interest to movie palace geeks. After all, the palaces were in business districts, and their fortunes rose and fell together — and continue to do so where they are lucky enough to have survived together in some fashion.

What is the inevitable fate of an forgotten theater?

1) Third rate horror movies

2) Adult films

3) Church

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028715.jpg

1988, from the LA Public Library:

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics27/00048409.jpg

From the California State Library:

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With such a rich history, does anyone know if the Downtown Palace Theatre is haunted?

I’ve never seen that shot before, but I remember seeing Broadway that bright, with all the signs lit up and lots of traffic, and pedestrians (who I’m sure would show in this picture had they not been made ghosts by the time lapse photograph.) It still looked like that by night into the mid-1960s (though this picture appears to be from the early 1950s.) One thing seems odd, though. Didn’t the Globe have a blade sign? It ought to be there on the left, in between the signs of the Lankershim Hotel and the Newsreel Theatre. But maybe I’ve misremembered, and the Globe had only its marquee.

This is an interesting color photo from yesterdayla.com:

http://www.yesterdayla.com/Graphics/broadway2.jpg

Here are two pictures from 1928, courtesy of the LA Library:

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015244.jpg

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015245.jpg