Category Archives: Theaters

LAPD Chief Wants More Police; Terrible Traffic – 1913

Posted on April 3, 2013 by

April 3, 1913: That is author L. Frank Baum and composer Louis F. Gottschalk, the team behind “The Tik-Tok Man of Oz,” which was a blockbuster in Los Angeles. The Times said it “is the reigning sensation of the local … Continue reading →

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Posted in 1913, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Stage, Streetcars, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Millennial Moment – Nick Stewart’s Ebony Showcase Theater

Posted on November 28, 2012 by

Nov. 28, 1982: Times staff writer John L. Mitchell profiles Horace “Nick” Stewart, who opened the Ebony Showcase Theater with his wife, Edna, in 1950. Stewart used the money from playing Lightnin’ in the 1950s TV series “The Amos n’ … Continue reading →

Posted in 1982, African Americans, Film, Millennial Moments, Stage, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Philippe de Lacy and ‘Cinerama Holiday’

Posted on October 1, 2012 by

Child stars often face harsh realities as they age. The public doesn’t find them as cute, roles stop coming, and life can become cruel. For every talented child actor that goes on to a successful career as an adult like … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Theaters | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Now Hiring: Douglas Aircraft of Santa Monica

Posted on June 12, 2012 by

June 12, 1942: The Douglas plant in Santa Monica is hiring men – and women! Betty Rowland, the Ball of Fire, is at the Follies Theatre. Lionel Atwill refuses to testify before the Los Angeles County Grand Jury about charges … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, 1942, Art & Artists, Aviation, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Theaters, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – the Egyptian Theatre

Posted on June 4, 2012 by

Photo: Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre Credit: Larry Harnisch/LADailyMirror.com Movie theatre impresario Sid Grauman took Los Angeles by storm in 1917, when he arrived from San Francisco. The Grauman family owned and operated many important film theatres in the city by the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1922, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Theaters | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Black Dahlia and Downtown L.A. at Night, 1946

Posted on March 29, 2012 by

Photo: Man with a slate in footage shot for “Down to Earth.” My friends over at the 1947project have found some process footage that was filmed about April 1946 for the Columbia feature “Down to Earth.” It’s unfortunate that they … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Preservation, Theaters | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

‘Enemy Aliens’ Farms Ideally Located to Sabotage L.A., Times Says

Posted on March 4, 2012 by

March 4, 1942: In what must surely be a classic example of war hysteria, The Times publishes a master map of land owned or leased by “enemy aliens” that constitutes ideal locations to conduct espionage, operate signaling outposts and stage … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Film, Hollywood, Nuestro Pueblo, Theaters, World War II | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Random Shot: Goodbye Whitney Houston

Posted on February 18, 2012 by

The Los Angeles Theatre was lit up with a tribute to Whitney Houston when I went to dinner last night, so I took a picture. Twilight was beautiful in downtown Los Angeles, which was bathed in those minutes of “magic … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Photography, Theaters | Tagged , | 4 Comments

‘Hellzapoppin’ " Opens in Los Angeles

Posted on February 10, 2012 by

Feb. 10, 1942:  The Hawaii Theater at Hollywood and Gower becomes a first-run theater (adios, Charles Foster Kane) with “Hellzapoppin.’ ” The “Congaroos” are “colored performers” who do “snappy dances.” “Stand-ins of the Hollywood stars” sounds like a gag, but … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Theaters, World War II | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Over Protests of Racism, ‘The Clansman’ Opens in Los Angeles

Posted on February 9, 2012 by

Feb. 9, 1915: The Los Angeles premiere of D.W. Griffith’s “The Clansman” (later retitled “The Birth of a Nation”) provokes protests and an attempt to prevent Clune’s Auditorium from showing the film, which was based on Thomas Dixon’s “The Clansman.” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1915, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Theaters | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

FBI Smashes Nazi Spy Ring in Beverly Hills: 3 Sent Coded Letters to Third Reich

Posted on January 29, 2012 by

Jan. 29, 1942: The FBI accuses Dr. Hans Helmut Gros, his wife, Frances, and Albrecht Rudolf Curt Reuter of belonging to a Nazi spy ring. According to allegations, Gros, of 328 N. Maple Drive, sent letters to purported relatives that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – United Artists Theatre

Posted on January 23, 2012 by

Los Angeles and Hollywood have been the Mecca and Medina of movies, where their acolytes came to worship, work and learn in the teens and 1920s.  After making movies, reverent places of worship were required to view them in style. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1926, 1927, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Preservation, Religion, Theaters | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

L.A.’s Garbage Fed to Hogs … Nom Nom Nom!

Posted on January 21, 2012 by

Jan. 21, 1942: Tom Treanor looks at tin recycling for the war effort and notes that garbage in Los Angeles is fed to hogs in Fontana – with a steam shovel. Hogs in the Los Angeles area had been fed … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Animals, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Theaters, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Japanese Americans Held After ‘Hissing Roosevelt’ in Theater

Posted on January 3, 2012 by

Jan. 3, 1942: Manila falls to the Japanese. “The Bare Facts of 1942” opens at the Aztec, 251 S. Main. Movie theater patrons Tombio Ambo and Shigeki Kayama are in custody after Winifred J. Stephens accused them of hissing a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

L.A. Women Are Slackers in Fighting the Axis!

Posted on December 30, 2011 by

Dec. 30, 1941: It seems that local women didn’t get the memo about the being the “Greatest Generation.” They’re a bunch of slackers in the war against the Axis and don’t want to work as air-raid wardens. “Los Angeles women … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tires Put Under War Rationing; Youths Beat Japanese Student

Posted on December 27, 2011 by

Dec. 27, 1941: Tom Treanor says that some Japanese Americans are upset that Chinese Americans are wearing badges to indicate they aren’t Japanese. Mrs. E.J. Horton writes about a “Japanese schoolboy who got mobbed” and Mrs. Dill Nance “says she … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Film, Hollywood, Stage, Theaters, World War II | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Merry Christmas From 1911

Posted on December 25, 2011 by
Posted in 1911, Theaters | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Japanese Sub Sinks Tanker Near Morro Bay

Posted on December 24, 2011 by

Dec. 24, 1941: Japanese submarines attack two U.S. tankers, with explosions that are heard  as far inland as in San Luis Obispo, sinking a 7,272-ton Union Oil ship. Capt. Olaf Eckstrom of Inglewood says a torpedo struck the ship directly … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Religion, Theaters, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

L.A. Christmas Card, 1911

Posted on December 18, 2011 by

Photo: Olive and 5th via Google’s Street View. Notice the vacant lot where Philharmonic Auditorium used to be. Demolition is forever. This truly awesome 1911 Christmas card, showing Philharmonic Auditorium and part of what is now Pershing Square, has been listed … Continue reading →

Posted in 1911, Architecture, Downtown, Preservation, Theaters | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Crowds Line Broadway for Armistice Day Parade, Nov. 12, 1941

Posted on November 12, 2011 by

We just don’t get deep thoughts in comics anymore. Nov. 12, 1941: Crowds line Broadway in downtown Los Angeles for the annual Armistice Day parade, which marked the end of what used to be called the Great War or the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments