Rosslyn Theatre
431 S. Main Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90013
431 S. Main Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90013
2 people
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Showing 1 - 25 of 33 comments
The Rosslyn can be seen in this 1939 USC photo:
http://tinyurl.com/djyhk5
The Rosslyn Hotel occupied all three of the buildings on the 400 block in vokoban’s “then” picture, plus the annex south of 5th Street. The Rosslyn began with this building, then took over took over the Lexington Hotel next door, then built the New Rosslyn on the corner. I think the older buildings remained part of the Rosslyn right up until they were demolished.
You can easily see the outline of the middle building on the hotel.
I can’t remember if I already posted this but here’s a then/now photo I took of the Rosslyn: View link
Funny that the Rosslyn was so far down the street from the hotel. Maybe the name had some cachet back then, so they were trying to cash in on that.
If you still had a dollar after the show in 1929, you could have a nice meal:
http://tinyurl.com/2kas76
The Muse was at 417 S. Main. It’s already listed on CT. It was advertised in 1925 and in 1942, so it must have been around for a while.
you can see it in the edge of this 40’s(?) photo:
View link
Also, in that movie called The Street With No Name I think its a penny arcade with winos stumbling out of it.
The Rosslyn was advertised as such in the 1925 city directory, at 431 S. Main. So any photos of Main between 4th and 5th during that time should show the Rosslyn in some form or another.
You know, I’m wrong on that, after I looked at the map from 5/9/07. I’m on the wrong side of the street. 417 would have been on the west side of Main.
Here’s an LA Times article about the yet unidentified theater at 417 S. Main. Date is 3/7/37. I don’t see any other reference to a theater at this address. It may have just a hole in the wall. There are a couple of references to a rooming house at 417 ½, which I think was the hotel at the northeast corner of Main and Winston.
DEATH ATTEMPT HALTS SHOW
Man Shoots Himself at Film Theater
Two pistol shots which were not part of the sound effects stopped the running of a motion picture at an all-night theater at 417 South Main Street early yesterday morning. Employees of the place investigated and found Jack D. Riley, 58 years of age, behind the screen with two bullet wounds in the head. Still conscious, although one bullet had passed through his head, Riley told police that he shot himself because of ill health and financial difficulties. Riley was given emergency treatment at Georgia Street Receiving Hospital and then sent to General Hospital.
417 would be between 4th and 5th on the east side of the street. After the San Fernando building, there are a few small businesses and then a parking lot where a hotel used to stand. Then you cross Winston and start with some older buildings. I think 417 would be after Winston, so I can look the next time I’m downtown.
I wonder what is in the building now. I looked closely at the full size image and its the same as the Turkish Bath building. So the Banner takes care of 458. Does anyone know 417? That building is still standing I believe. I wonder if there is any hint left of a theater. It would be interesting since with the destruction of the Linda Lea, the Regent is thought of as the only one left on Main.
458 is the Banner theater. Currently a parking lot. No more Turkish baths at 4th and LA.
Here is a giant overlay map I put together of the area bordered by Spring-4th-Los Angeles St.-5th with Main running through the middle. The Sanborn map I used to overlay is from 1950. There are a few theaters that I didn’t know were there. Maybe others can tell me what their names were or find some I didn’t see.
This is the link for the whole map. It is too large to display and still read the text. The other links are the same thing split into quadrants so you can actually read the text.
View link
NW quadrant:
View link
I see a theater at 417 S. Main…anyone know the name?
NE quadrant:
View link
I don’t see any theaters on this block. I wonder if the Turkish Baths are still on 4th street near Los Angeles street.
SW quadrant:
View link
I see a theater at 431 S. Main which I guess is the Rosslyn.
SE quadrant:
View link
I see the Regent at 448 S. Main, of course, and there is also a theater at 458 S. Main. Anybody know the name of this one?
here’s another post I put up about the Rosslyn….any input would be appreciated…
View link
Here’s a blog post I put on my HTC group that shows a ‘then & now’ comparison with the Rosslyn Theater.
View link
The theater would be behind the first streetcar in this 1940 photo:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067393.jpg
Actually, from looking at the map from the above link and the old photo, I bet the Rosslyn Theater was at 431 and leased the lobby on the left and right to those money places, leaving the middle entrance to get into the theater. Maybe it took up all three places originally.
In that photo you can see 433 main and barely make out 431 main next door to the Rosslyn. Maybe the correct address was 429 main.
This is the building at 431 S. Main as of today. Note the fine architectural detail:
http://tinyurl.com/ysdfz5
wow, you found it….the money to loan places on either side probably explain some of the other things above. It looks tiny. I wish i could get that zoom feature to show up and work on this photo. thanks ken
Here it is, gentlemen:
http://tinyurl.com/lac4x
I have visited the following website many times for its exhaustive details on Main Street, block by block. Nary a mention of the Rosslyn Theater, although this history may pre-date the theater’s existence. It’s a puzzle.
http://www.csulb.edu/~odinthor/socal2.html
Ken, I wonder why it’s so hard to find anything about this theater. Something must have happened there if it was around still in the 50’s. Does anyone know where to get a copy of that map on the webpage Ken posted? I want to see the rest of it. Maybe the Central Library has it.