Charles Ray placard in front of the Woodley Theater, 1917.
detail
Surprisingly, we have not seen the Woodley Theater on NLA (I checked 3x using two different methods)
Here's the complete photograph. -note the street number "838" on both the left and right sides of the photograph.
ampas_collection
A brief history.
Located at 838 S. Broadway, Los Angeles (you can clearly see the street numbers in the photograph above)
Seating: 900
Opened: September 25, 1913. It's not in the 1914 city directory, but it's in the 1915 and 1917 city directories as the Woodley.
This vaudeville theatre was also known as Woodley's Theatre. Woodley also opened the Optic Theatre on Main St.
In the 1918 and 1919 directories it's called the Riviera. In 1919 it's listed as the Victory.
Mack Sennett bought it in 1920 and after an expensive Spanish style remodel, he reopened it as the Mission in 1921 with "The Mark of Zorro."
The festivities included a personal appearance by Douglas Fairbanks.
Status: Demolished to make way for the Orpheum in 1925.
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Let's take another look at the artful decoration for
'A Dog Catcher's Love'.
detail
It appears the theater used this space above the entrance quite ingeniously.
https://theatretalks.files.wordpress...gue-medium.jpg
"Manager Edward Holland's splendid decoration for "A Royal Rogue", a Sennett-Keystone Comedy." -
Motography, 1917
If you look closely there appears to be a gusher with a car on top in the middle of the 3D skyline.
Manager Holland went all out for
"Teddy At The Throttle" (see Gloria Swanson run over by a train!)
https://theatretalks.files.wordpress...3/02/teddy.jpg
Mr. Holland installed a working boiler which kept twenty pounds of steam all day! The steam was allowed to leak through the injector valve
which created "a very realistic effect". In the 'fire box' there was a piece of red silk blown by an electric fan.
"Why Let Newspapers Kill The Billboards?"
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater
The Woodley is advertising a Mack Sennett Film "Her Circus Knight" along with "Sapho" with Pauline Frederick. Both were March 1917 releases.
Lastly, here's a wonderful night-time view from the Huntington Archives.
http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/ref/co...coll2/id/14898