11th Hour at the Pantages

Second Street Jazz

Although the stage now holds boxes of electronics instead of actors, the theater itself is not gone 

by Denise Reich

Having just celebrated its 100-year anniversary, one of Downtown's oldest theaters faces a precarious future

On September 26, 2010, the Arcade Theater, the oldest surviving venue in the Broadway Theater District, turned 100. There was little fanfare for the occasion. Most of the customers who shopped at the electronics store housed in the Arcade’s lobby probably had no idea that beyond the closed door at the back of the showroom, rested an ancient vaudeville auditorium. The theater’s past is rich; its present is anonymous, and its future is uncertain.

The Arcade was built in 1910. Originally named the Pantages Theater, the structure was designed by architects Octavius Morgan and J.A. Walls. It was Alexander Pantages’ first Los Angeles foothold, and the 33rd venue in his growing vaudeville empire. As part of the Pantages Circuit, the theater screened Pathe and Biograph silent films and showcased a vast array of live variety acts. Colorful vaudeville actress Sophie Tucker performed on opening night. Stan Laurel, Theodore Hardeen and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle all graced the Pantages’ stage. There were acrobats and cyclists; boxers and comedians, trained dogs and monkeys.

Quite inadvertently, a small advance toward the humane treatment of performing animals occurred at the Pantages. When an actor was openly cruel to a horse during a November 1910 show, horrified audience members immediately walked out and called the SPCA. The performer, an alumnus of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, was arrested and fined $100.

The Pantages’ run as the flagship theater of the Circuit was short. In 1920, Alexander Pantages turned his attention to a larger and far more extravagant theater on Hill St. and 7th. By the mid-20s the Broadway Pantages had been sold to the Dalton brothers and renamed for them; by the late 20s it had become the Arcade Theater. The building was renovated in 1928 by S. Charles Lee, who also designed the Los Angeles and Tower Theaters.

There were brief forays into burlesque in the early ë30s and newsreel broadcasts during World War II. As the 20th century wore on, the Arcade became a second-run, B-movie venue. During the final years of its life as a cinema, the property was operated by Metropolitan Theatres.

The Arcade enjoyed a brief moment of recognition in March 1991, when it was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. However, the honor did little to keep the theater alive and the Arcade quietly closed to the public in November 1992. Few people seemed to notice. An article about the closure in a local newspaper was a grand total of three sentences long. The only reason given for the Arcade’s demise was a “decrease in the number of Downtown moviegoers.”

The Arcade’s future has been in flux ever since. In the early 1990s the theater and its neighbors, the 1910 Cameo and the 1931 Roxie, were acquired by Downtown Management. A plan to demolish all three buildings was soundly defeated by preservationists and community officials. Since then, the Arcade’s lobby has been divvied up into retail space, and the auditorium has been re-purposed as a stockroom.

Although the stage now holds boxes of electronics instead of actors, the theater itself is not gone. Recent photos reveal that seats remain in the balcony and rigging is extant in the wings. The gold paint on the proscenium arch has not flaked away, and the walls are still shocking red. One clue to the theater’s origin is visible from the street: above the dingy marquee, the word PANTAGES can clearly be seen on the building’s facade.

Neither the L.A. Conservancy nor the Bringing Back Broadway Initiative have forgotten the Arcade. Both groups mention the theater on their websites and in their literature. The Conservancy’s Saturday morning Broadway walking tours used to be permitted to visit the interior of the Arcade, but the privilege was abruptly revoked in mid-2010.

Will the Arcade live or die? A 2005 study from the National Preservation Partners suggested several artistic and culturally oriented uses for the space, including combining it with the Cameo and Roxie. Thus far, no concrete plans for the Arcade’s future have been revealed. “Unfortunately, we are not aware of any plans on the part of the private owner to restore this theater and return it to entertainment use,” said Rick Coca, spokesperson for the Bringing Back Broadway Initiative. “I can tell you that we would like to see and support the restoration of all of our theaters on Broadway.”

While it waits for a new direction, the Arcade remains off-limits. Only time will tell if the little theater will be able, once again, to make a triumphant comeback.

 

Arcade Theater: 534 S. Broadway, between 5th and 6th Streets. Tours of the theater district, including the Arcade Theater exterior, are available from the Los Angeles Conservancy (www.laconservancy.org) (213) 623-2489.

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