Academy Theatre
4667 Melrose Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90029
4667 Melrose Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90029
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You’re right.
Jimmy, this page is about the Academy Theatre on Melrose Avenue, which I think was probably closed by 1947. If you lived around 91st and Avalon, you most likely saw The Wizard of Oz at the Academy Theatre on Manchester Boulevard. Here is its Cinema Treasures page.
I saw the Wizard of Oz there in the 50’s growing up at 91st and Avalon. We stayed to see the movie over and over. They had great matinees there and cartoon festivals. Many Saturdays all you had to bring was a can of food for the poor and you could watch cartoons all day long.
The L.A. County assessor’s office gives an original construction date of 1933 for the main building on this lot, with an effective construction date of 1947. A smaller adjacent building was built in 1971. Live Search bird’s eye view indicates that the newer building is east of the theater building. The whole parcel is given the address of 4665 Melrose.
The theater building is only 5,060 sq. ft., and it has a corner of the back cut out, so I’m guessing the auditorium was only about 40' wide and no more than 100' deep. It was just a small neighborhood house, probably with no more than 300-400 seats.
If the original building still exists, it’s an Aamco shop. The address of the building is 4665. The next building over is a liquor store, which is 4671.