Fox Ritz Theatre

5214 Wilshire Boulevard,
Los Angeles, CA 90036

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Fox West Coast Theatres

Architects: Lewis Arthur Smith

Previous Names: Lindy Opera House, American Theatre

Nearby Theaters

Fox Ritz Theatre exterior

West Coast Theatres built the Ritz Theatre which opened on October 15, 1926 with Harry Langdon in “The Strong Man”. It was located on Wilshire Boulevard near S. La Brea Avenue, was later operated by Fox West Coast Theatres.

In its later years, it was closed to the public and was used as a reserved film house by Michael Todd. It was also later used as a venue for live theatre and second run films as the Lindy Opera House. A last gasp effort to show vintage films and renamed American Theatre sadly failed and it was closed and converted into a Korean church.

In 1977 the former theatre was demolished and replaced by a parking lot.

Contributed by John Chappell

Recent comments (view all 30 comments)

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on January 17, 2010 at 11:45 pm

Here is a February 1953 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/ylq9lma

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on August 4, 2010 at 1:16 pm

Nice ads and photos.

drb
drb on June 20, 2011 at 1:00 am

You can see it as the Lindy Opera House at around the 1:00 minute mark here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0lEosbR-Vg

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on October 18, 2018 at 3:02 pm

Five 1960 Smell-O-Vision related images added, courtesy of Sid Terror’s Haunted Film Vault Facebook page.

meheuck
meheuck on July 3, 2019 at 3:48 am

In the 1977 sketch comedy film CAN I DO IT…‘TILL I NEED GLASSES, a scene opens outside the theatre, and the marquee is advertising the producers’ previous film IF YOU DON’T STOP IT, YOU’LL GO BLIND. Don’t know if the actual theatre interior was used for the remainder of the sketch.

retroalli
retroalli on November 24, 2019 at 12:53 pm

I believe this theater is shown in season one of The Beverly Hillbillies. The Clampett’s old truck passes the front of a Ritz theater in episode 26. There’s a banner for a church under the marquee.

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on April 6, 2020 at 1:56 pm

The Fox Ritz Theatre can be seen in a street scene in the UK made movie “The Man Who Could Work Miracles” (1936) starring Roland Young and Ralph Richardson. Based on a short story by H.G. Wells, the scene is supposed to be in San Francisco.

theonlydennisnyback
theonlydennisnyback on October 2, 2020 at 5:17 pm

There is a long scene inside the Theatre in the 1968 film Wild in the Streets

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on April 16, 2021 at 7:13 pm

Fox Ritz sign upper right in this Getty Images link.

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/civil-defense-billboard-with-old-cars-in-front-news-photo/590960634?irgwc=1&esource=AFF_GI_IR_TinEye_77643&asid=TinEye&cid=GI&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=TinEye&utm_content=77643

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