Tally's Broadway Theatre

833 S. Broadway,
Los Angeles, CA 90014

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rivest266
rivest266 on September 5, 2019 at 5:19 pm

Reopened as Kinemacolor on December 4th, 1911. Grand opening ad posted.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on September 21, 2010 at 5:59 am

The January 2, 1910, issue of the Los Angeles Herald said that architects Train & Williams had been engaged to draw the plans for Thomas Tally’s new theater on Broadway adjacent to the Majestic Theatre.

A few years later, Train & Williams designed the Hyman Theatre (aka Garrick) at 8th and Broadway, across the street and up the block from Tally’s Broadway, so there were two Train & Williams-designed theaters on this block until the Garrick was demolished in 1927. The firm also designed the Strand Theatre in Pasadena, which has also long since been demolished.

MJuggler
MJuggler on June 21, 2010 at 4:47 pm

Found a great old photo here of it but need to get them to correct the location but can seem to get it done. We’ll know at least:
View link

gldprstr
gldprstr on January 25, 2010 at 5:21 pm

Correction to the previous post is the address Sunset Broadway 4501. AllenH. Pahrump,NV

gldprstr
gldprstr on January 25, 2010 at 4:59 am

I’ve read all the comments and disputes about the location of Tally’s Broadway Theatre. Whether it’s relevant or not to the issue, I have 2 Tallygram’s which were the advertisement flyers for the silent movies shown weekly at T.B.T. William Gillette in Sherlock Holmes, June 26, 1916 & Elmo Lincoln in The Romance of Tarzan, April 7, 1919. Both flyer’s (Tallygram’s) have a location of Sunset Boulevard 4501. I hope this is of some help to someone interested.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on October 5, 2008 at 12:36 am

Tally’s New Broadway is listed at 264 S. Broadway in this 1908 city directory:
http://tinyurl.com/2bnoph

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on September 28, 2008 at 6:06 pm

I’ll take a look. Right now I have “Girl Shy”, “Milky Way” and “Safety Last” via Netflix.

nickb
nickb on September 28, 2008 at 5:55 pm

You can also see the Majestic (and, in various shots during the same ascent sequence, the Tower, and the United Artists) in Lloyd’s 1930 talkie ‘Feet First’. You can also see that Tally’s has made way for the Hamburger Dept Store extension.

Also worth watching is the Lloyd short ‘Never Weaken’, which is based around the construction of what would appear to be the State Theatre. You can see the Pantages Hill Street down 7th Street in a couple of exteriors.

vokoban
vokoban on September 26, 2008 at 10:38 am

They probably did but in the shots where he’s hanging from the clock it was a set on top of a building next to the Orpheum, I believe. There’s a good documentary about the ‘making of’ Safety Last on this set:

View link

Well worth the money…by the way.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on September 26, 2008 at 10:31 am

I actually thought they used several different buildings. One looked like the Broadway on 4th. In another shot you could see the old Hall of Records building, which was close to first and Temple.

vokoban
vokoban on September 26, 2008 at 10:29 am

Hey ken….there’s a much more clear and detailed shot of the same scene here:

View link_01.jpg)

What most people don’t realize is that its an optical illusion. The building he’s hanging from is a set on top of a building on the east side of the street. They set up the camera perfectly to give the illusion that he’s very high up on the west side of the street.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on September 26, 2008 at 10:18 am

Both Tally’s and the Majestic Theater can be seen in this shot from the 1923 Harold Lloyd film “Safety Last”:
http://tinyurl.com/52cj4v

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on January 15, 2008 at 2:33 am

Tally’s Broadway may have been the last theatre Thomas Tally ever built, but it wasn’t the last theatre he owned or operated. The Times retrospective of his career was premature. As late as 1941, Tally was advertising for sale Tally’s Theatre (formerly known as the Kinema and the Criterion) on Grand Avenue, which he had apparently operated since at least 1933 (see ken mc’s comments of May 9 and July 7, 2007, on the Criterion page.) I don’t know who, if anybody, bought the place from him, but it was knocked down later that year.

nickb
nickb on January 14, 2008 at 4:38 pm

From the Los Angeles Times, November 24 1918:

’T.L. Tally, while not ready to say much about it in detail, announces that with the closing of the war and the bright outlook for pictures, his new theater will soon be no longer a mere dream. That it will be one of the handsomest and most comfortable picture houses in the country, with the finest music obtainable, one needs only to know the conduct of Tally’s Broadway to believe.'

But by the time of a career-retrospective feature (Times, October 27 1929, which says he has been retired ‘a few’ years) there is no mention of him having built anything after his ‘new’ Broadway, next door to the May Company (ie at 833).

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on October 29, 2007 at 10:25 am

Here is a 1928 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/238hkn

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on October 28, 2007 at 8:14 pm

This is the second Kinemacolor ad I’ve seen in 1911. They even changed the name of Tally’s to promote the process:
http://tinyurl.com/yuaqoe

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on October 26, 2007 at 12:46 pm

That’s funny. Stella D'Oro means star of gold in Italian. The cookie lost the apostrophe along the way, apparently.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on October 26, 2007 at 12:25 pm

She has a star on the walk of fame, apparently. That must be one of those “who the heck is that?” stars.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on October 26, 2007 at 10:59 am

Marie Doro pulled a Garbo in the late twenties and has remained obscure until now, when she suddenly runs the risk of becoming a star on the Internet.

vokoban
vokoban on October 26, 2007 at 10:43 am

from imdb:

Marie Doro
Date of Birth
25 May 1882, Duncannon, Pennsylvania, USA

Date of Death
9 October 1956, New York, New York, USA. (heart ailment)

Birth Name
Marie K. Steward

Spouse
Elliott Dexter (1915 – ?) (divorced)

Trivia

Stage actress.

She had portrayed the role of Oliver Twist on stage before she appeared in the movie of the same name, in a critically successful production.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on October 26, 2007 at 9:57 am

Here is an LA Times ad from January 1915:
http://tinyurl.com/ynowvq

vokoban
vokoban on August 29, 2007 at 1:45 pm

These ads go on and peter out in 1919. The search feature seems to be whacked out on CT right now but I don’t find any other Arrow theaters besides the Linda Lea. Here’s the last time this Arrow appears:

(July 17, 1919)
The local meeting will be held in Hamburger’s Arrow Theater. Rabbi Moses Rosenthal, of Temple Sinai, will be chairman at the Los Angeles services.

vokoban
vokoban on August 29, 2007 at 1:29 pm

(Sept. 24, 1911)
LARGEST DEPARTMENT STORE WEST OF CHICAGO
Hamburger's
GRACE MORENO TO SING IN OUR ARROW THEATRE
Her rendering of the latest catchy songs will be a delightful addition to the regular programme of high-class motion pictures. The pictures shown here you will not see elsewhere and they portray deep heart interest, patriotism and rollicking comedy in a way that is both thrilling and enjoyable.
General Admission…..5c
(Fifth Floor)

vokoban
vokoban on August 29, 2007 at 1:22 pm

This is most likely a different theater if its on the 5th floor of Hamburger’s. I wonder if it’s still there?

(Nov. 26, 1910)
LARGEST DEPARTMENT STORE WEST OF CHICAGO
Hamburger's
A programme of Especial Interest to Children In the Arrow Theater
When they have seen Santa and the Clown bring them to the fifth floor to the Arrow Theater. The programme Saturday will especially charm them. General admission 5c. box seats 10c.