Here’s a gem of Los Angeles architecture I didn’t know about until yesterday. Imagine this being your local movie house – it almost looks like a medieval church. It opened at 857 S. La Brea Ave (on the corner of 9th St) in 1926 as Chotiner’s La Brea (the Chotiners were brothers), but by 1934 it had been taken over by Fox West Coast Theatres and became known as the Fox La Brea. Since then, it has gone through a number of incarnations, including during the 1960s, when it became the Toho La Brea Theatre and ran Japanese films, which seems at odds with that ornate architecture.
Source: losangelestheatres.blogspot.com
Thanks to Bill C. here’s a close-up of the marquee:
This is roughly how that view looked in November 2021. The theater closed in 1975 and the building currently houses the Iglesia Cristiana Leon De Juda church.
I went several times in the 1960-70’s to see samurai films at the Toho La Brea Theater. There was a Japanese restaurant on the La Brea side of the building where we would have dinner before the movie.
I remember that, too. I only went once to the Toho and kept meaning to go back.
I am glad it is still there but sure wish it would have retained more of the original character that it once had. Looks like somewhere along they messed up the original entrance to the theater.
Why do new owners always feel like taking away original items on buildings such as the decorative things from the top of the building and also the awning in front? They need to LEAVE THINGS ALONE!!!
Martin, if that building could talk! All the classic films that were shown there, including silents in the 1920s. The architecture is a stand-out. At least the building is still around, although the 2021 picture shows it in better shape. There’s a more recent picture of it (Google) and the building looks a lot older. Maybe another paint job!