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Today’s pictures come from a 1927 “Scientific American” feature on New York City’s legendary Roxy Theatre (1927-1960); depicting a few of the industrial caliber support features that went in to running the massive venue (the 5,920 seat Roxy even had a “completely equipped” hospital!).         

The celebrity prints immortalized at Grauman’s Chinese have been a Hollywood landmark and “must see” tourist stop for nearly a century. However, unbeknownst to most, the Chinese isn’t the only theatre in Hollywood where notables have left their mark in concrete. A little over a mile away, there stands another collection of forecourt prints, which [...]

Today’s unique picture captures Grauman’s Chinese Theatre doorman (circa 1949), Joseph Lockard Martin Jr. Better known by his stage name, Lock Martin, the 7’1” – 7’7” (accounts vary on his height) actor worked in various public relations/promotional roles and appeared in a handful of movies, before being hired as Grauman’s doorman in the late 1940’s; [...]

Earlier this month, the inevitable came to pass, as the Edwards Tustin Marketplace 6 closed after twenty-two years of service. Opened in the Summer of 1990, the Tustin 6 was once part of a highly popular entertainment hub, featuring Tower Records and Bookstar. However, the theatre’s glory days proved short lived, with the construction of [...]

This month marked the forty-fifth anniversary of the long gone Fountain Valley Drive In.      While grand opening boasts of “world’s largest” and “most spectacular” were typically exaggerated exhibitor hype (check out the Westminister 4 for a humorous example), Fountain Valley truly lived up to the marketing spin.

Regency Theatres has taken over operation of the former Edwards Westminster 10 and will mark the transition with a grand reopening celebration this weekend, 6/22 – 6/24. The twenty year old theatre, located on the former site of Edwards Cinema West (66’-91’), had been in decline for quite some time and, while not facing any [...]

On this day in 1933, Richard Hollingshead (along with Willie Warren Smith, Edward Ellis, and Oliver Willets) opened the world’s first drive-in theater, in Camden, New Jersey. Built for $30,000, the aptly named “Drive-In Theatre”, featured inclined slots for 400 cars and a “60 foot talkie screen”; unlike later drive-ins, sound was produced via large [...]

In recognition of the 85th anniversary of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (May 18, 1927), I wanted to share a couple of pictures from the grand opening dedication/“King of Kings” premiere program.      As with the Grauman’s Egyptian program, I will be posting a PDF file of the full program soon.

The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation conducted another one of their fascinating “All About” tours this past weekend; covering Grauman’s Chinese this time around. Among the numerous non public areas featured was the theatre’s subterranean level. While presently serving as a standard basement (storage and support system duties), prior to the theatre’s late 50’s “Windjammer”/Cinemiracle [...]

The excellent Orange County history site O.C. History Roundup currently features a post about the 1979 destruction of downtown Anaheim, including several pictures of the Anaheim Fox Theatre’s demolition. The post and pictures can be viewed here.