In the ‘50s I went to the Baldwin Theater on numerous occasions. In 1952 I remember seeing the early 3-D film “Bwana Devil” which launched the 3-D fad at the Baldwin. The Leimert was our “home” theater but we would often ride our bikes over the Baldwin which we considered to be pretty snazzy with the modern architecture. I graduated from nearby Dorsey High in 1958 and the commencement was held in the Baldwin.
The previous reference to Baldwin Park is a little off the mark. The area is Baldwin Hills and the model development is called Village Green. Baldwin Park is east of Los Angeles. Both are named after “Lucky” Baldwin who was an oil magnate and large preperty owner at the turn of the last century.
I remember the Leimert from childhood as well (1951-58). Mr Pantages from the theater family was the manager. The sci-fic classic “It Came fromn Outer Space” had a sneak preview there (we loved it and couldn’t believe the alien was changed in final release). The “magic” drinking fountain was controlled by an electric eye – I had completely forgotten about it until Bruceschwa’s comments above. I think we knew it was an interesting architecture but that wasn’t a priority then. We all thought the Academy on Manchester was cooler. I think the last film I saw there was “Love me Tender” with Elvis. We were ejected for making “counter comments” to the girls swooning.
In the ‘50s I went to the Baldwin Theater on numerous occasions. In 1952 I remember seeing the early 3-D film “Bwana Devil” which launched the 3-D fad at the Baldwin. The Leimert was our “home” theater but we would often ride our bikes over the Baldwin which we considered to be pretty snazzy with the modern architecture. I graduated from nearby Dorsey High in 1958 and the commencement was held in the Baldwin.
The previous reference to Baldwin Park is a little off the mark. The area is Baldwin Hills and the model development is called Village Green. Baldwin Park is east of Los Angeles. Both are named after “Lucky” Baldwin who was an oil magnate and large preperty owner at the turn of the last century.
I remember the Leimert from childhood as well (1951-58). Mr Pantages from the theater family was the manager. The sci-fic classic “It Came fromn Outer Space” had a sneak preview there (we loved it and couldn’t believe the alien was changed in final release). The “magic” drinking fountain was controlled by an electric eye – I had completely forgotten about it until Bruceschwa’s comments above. I think we knew it was an interesting architecture but that wasn’t a priority then. We all thought the Academy on Manchester was cooler. I think the last film I saw there was “Love me Tender” with Elvis. We were ejected for making “counter comments” to the girls swooning.