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Los Angeles theaters near Washington and Vermont
posted by
Alan Bell
on
August 21, 2006 at 4:51 am
In Los Angeles, there were a half dozen movie theaters near the intersection of Washington and Vermont. I believe the area had something to do with film distribution.
None of the theaters are there now although one or two of the buildings may have been converted to other uses. Does anyone remember any of these theaters or the film business activities in the area?
Comments (4)
The only one I recall in that part of town was the old spanish colonial style Boulevard Theater.
The studios had their film exchanges located in that area at one time, it was called exchange row. The projectionist local was once located in that area also.
That intersection of Washington & Vermont was known as “Film Row” for the LA Exchange Area. That area included Southern California from San Luis Obispo to Mexico, all of the state of Arizona and the southern tip of Nevada which included Las Vegas. I believe the building on the south east corner of Vermont still has the name “Film Row” on the outside of the building. In those days, each company had not only offices there but also a depot that housed all the physical film for their company. If you were an exhibitor, this was the place you had to go to make your film deal and pick up your prints. Many of the exchanges had their own screening rooms for exhibitor screenings.
That intersection also included concession companys, theater trucking lines, theater equipment companies, National Screen Service, art studios and even exhibitors. On the top floor of the Boulevard Theater was the home offices of Fox West Coast Theaters.
I had no idea that there were several theatres in this area. What I recall of the Washington and Vermont area is the large number of mortuary businesses.
I bought my tiny Wurlitzer from the Bresee Bros. and Gilette Mortuary on Washington. The organ came from the Kinema Theatre (after being repo’d from the G.A. Bush Theatre in San Diego)several miles south of this area in what is now Florence-Graham/Huntington Park.