Fox Florence Theatre
1536 E. Florence Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90001
1536 E. Florence Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90001
2 people
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Fox West Coast Theatres
Architects: Simeon Charles Lee
Styles: Spanish Colonial
Nearby Theaters
The Fox Florence Theatre opened April 8, 1932 and was designed by architect S. Charles Lee. The main entrance had a courtyard with a fountain that had fish and a statue in the center. The courtyard had boutiques all around and at the end of the courtyard was the entrance to the theatre, which had four or six very large doors.
To the left and to the right were two spiral staircases. The theatre seemed large, with just over 1,700 seats.
The Fox Florence Theatre closed around 1965 and was torn down around 1968. A Rite-Aid Pharmacy now stands on the site. This theatre looked similar to the Fox Arlington Theatre which still operates today in Santa Barbara.
Contributed by
Joe Lieras
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Recent comments (view all 17 comments)
For some info about the Fox Florence and its architect, see Maggie Valentine’s book “The Show Starts on the Sidewalk: An Architectural History of the Movie Theatre Starring S. Charles Lee.” He did indeed work for a time for Rapp and Rapp.
I am writing an architectural history Masters thesis on California theatres with courtyard entrances, using the Fox Florence, SB’s Arlington, and Palo Alto’s Varsity Theatre as examples. Right now the discussion rests upon the convergence of Spanish Revival style trends and exotic theatre design in CA in the later ‘20s and early '30s, local architectural context, and practical conditions for the use of courtyards (ie to place auditoriums farther back on the lot, works with climate, etc.). Any insights into this seemingly rare typology would be welcomed.
Here is an interior photo:
http://tinyurl.com/2e2cag
Two from the CA State Library on this page:
http://tinyurl.com/2vztln
Here they are:
http://tinyurl.com/2775vu
http://tinyurl.com/2yxuqn
There is a Rite Aid store on the site now.
Opening date was 4/8/32.
Listed as the Fox West Coast in the 1938 city directory.
There was another Florence Theatre, built in 1921 on Moneta Avenue (South Broadway) near 72nd Street. It was listed under that name in a 1924 city directory. I don’t know if it’s on CT under another name or not.
I don’t think it’s listed. Is that one also called the Florencita?
I went to the Fox Florence in the early 1950s and it was located a half block east of Compton Ave on the south side of Florence. There was shops around the courtyard as you went in, but by the 1950s they were closed. I remember they had raffles and I won a toy bow and arrow there. By the late 1950s it was looking run down and the neighborhood changed and TV came in and people stayed home.