Dorkel Theatre
1013 E. 7th Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90021
1013 E. 7th Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90021
No one has favorited this theater yet
Showing 13 comments
The 1922 Cahn-Leighton guide’s moving picture theaters section lists a house called the Maryland Theatre at 1015 E. 7th Street with the notation “OB”, meaning out of business. However, the same year’s L.A, City Directory lists the Merryland Theatre at the same address. The 1921 directory did list it as the Maryland, as did the 1920 directory. As it was listed as Merryland in the 1915 directory, I don’t know if Maryland was just an intermittent typo or was an actual aka, even if temporary, for this house.
Picture of the Merryland Theatre in 1930, which had just been bought by the 27 yr old David A Miller.the previous owners having run it into the red,and was still showing silent movies,plus 5 Vaudeville acts once a week: View link
A Merryland Theatre is listed at 1015 E. Seventh Street in the 1915 L.A. City Directory.
No, that’s probably the winner. I hope the ranch was a success.
Breaking news from Boxoffice magazine, January 1938:
Min Orthel is Columbia’s new cashier, replacing M.J. Dodge, who resigned last week to start a chicken ranch in Arcadia.
Hard to imagine a movie theater in this depressing part of downtown. Things must have been very different back then.
Here is the 1930 LA Times ad:
http://tinyurl.com/2erxqx
There’s another reference to the Merryland in 1930, per the LA Times, so it was probably the Merryland first, then changed to Columbia sometime in the thirties, and then lastly the unfortunately named Dorkel Theater, probably in the early forties.
Operated as the Columbia through 1945 at least.
Listed as the Columbia at 1013 E. 7th in the 1939 directory, so that’s another aka.
Listed in the 1942 city directory:
http://tinyurl.com/2p2vzo
The Merryland Theater was advertised in the LA Times on 9/2/23 at 1015 E. 7th Street. This is probably an aka for the Dorkel.
The Dorkel has been replaced by low income housing.