Roxie Theatre
{{Short description|Historic movie theater in Los Angeles}}
{{about|the theater in Los Angeles|the theater in San Francisco|Roxie Theater}}
{{For|other people and places named Roxy|Roxy (disambiguation)|Roxy Theatre (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Roxie Theatre
| nrhp_type = cp
| nocat = yes
| partof = Broadway Theater and Commercial District
| partof_refnum = 79000484
| designated_nrhp_type = May 9, 1979{{cite web|title=California SP Broadway Theater and Commercial District|publisher=United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service|url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858983|date=May 9, 1979}}
| image = Roxie Theater-1.jpg
| image_size = 175px
| caption = The building in 2014
| location = 518 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California
| coordinates = {{coord|34.0476|-118.2509|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Los Angeles
| map_caption = Location of building in Los Angeles County
| built = 1931
| architect = John M. Cooper
| architecture = Art Deco
| designated_other1 = LAHCM
| designated_other1_number = 526
| designated_other1_date = March 20, 1991{{Cite web |title=Historical Cultural Monuments List |url=https://planning.lacity.org/odocument/24f6fce7-f73d-4bca-87bc-c77ed3fc5d4f/Historical_Cultural_Monuments_List.pdf |publisher=City of Los Angeles |access-date=October 24, 2024 |language=en-US}}
}}
Roxie Theatre is a historic former movie theater in the Broadway Theater District of Los Angeles, California. The venue opened in 1931 as the last theater to be built on Broadway. Architect John M. Cooper's Art Deco design of the Roxie remained the only theater of that style in the downtown neighborhood. In 1978, Metropolitan Theatres converted the space into a Spanish-language filmhouse. Following the Roxie's closure in 1989, the lobby was converted into retail space whereas the auditorium was left intact.{{cite web |title=Roxie Theatre |url=https://www.laconservancy.org/learn/historic-places/roxie-theatre/ |website=Los Angeles Conservancy |access-date=February 4, 2024}}{{cite web |title=Roxie Theatre in Los Angeles, CA |url=https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/500 |website=Cinema Treasures |access-date=February 4, 2024}}
History
The site of the Roxie previously hosted Quinn's Superba Theatre from 1914 to 1922 and a coffee shop from 1923 to 1931. The prior building was razed and replaced by architect John M. Cooper's design, making the Roxie the last theater to be built on Broadway and the only one in the downtown section of the city built in the Art Deco style.{{cite web |title=Quinn's Superba Theatre in Los Angeles, CA |url=https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/1964 |website=Cinema Treasures |access-date=February 4, 2024}} Construction began in June 1931 at a cost of {{USD|100000}}. The J. M. Cooper Company served as the general contractor.{{cite news |title=Downtown Theater to be Erected |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380412818/ |access-date=February 4, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 21, 1931 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}} The Roxie opened on November 25, 1931, with screenings of Honor of the Family and the Laurel and Hardy film Come Clean.
On August 4, 1943, 37-year-old Roxie Theatre manager Harry R. Metzger died of a heart attack while operating the box office.{{cite news |title=Harry Metzger Dies Suddenly |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/700622653/ |access-date=February 4, 2024 |work=Evening Vanguard |date=August 5, 1943 |location=Venice, California |page=1}} On December 24, 1954, a woman committed suicide in the Roxie auditorium during a showtime. Authorities were unable to identify the body but noted that the woman had a Canadian dollar and a receipt from a cafe.{{cite news |title=Woman Kills Self in Movie Theater |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/385614780/ |access-date=February 4, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 25, 1954 |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}} On June 27, 1958, Roxie usher Richard A. Studeny held theater manager Robert Brandtjen at gunpoint and fled with $1,200. Studeny turned himself in to police in Florida in December 1958.{{cite news |title=Surrender in Florida Ends Holdup Hunt |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/381245361/ |access-date=February 4, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 14, 1958 |page=29 |via=Newspapers.com}}
On January 29, 1978, Metropolitan Theatres converted the Roxie programming to Spanish-language films. The Roxie Theatre permanently closed in the summer of 1989. The auditorium was left intact while the lobby was converted into retail space. In the years since the theater's closure, the auditorium has fallen into disrepair, including water damage.
Architecture
Architect John M. Cooper designed the Roxie Theatre in the Art Deco style. The facade prominently features a central stepped gable with a vertical sign tower spelling "Roxie" atop it, as well as chevrons and other geometric forms. A colorful terrazzo design on the ground of the building's entrance gained particular notoriety.
Cooper designed the 1,600-seat auditorium in a long, narrow orientation to optimize amplified sound. Although the Roxie was purpose-built for movies, the theater house features a small stage, rigging, and a proscenium arch for live productions.
The Roxie's grandiose design required over {{convert|35|miles}} of electrical wire for its lighting system, {{convert|15000|lbs}} of sheet metal, and 120,000 bags of cement. The theater also included a 31-motor ventilation system.{{cite news |title=Theater Nears Completion |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/678111353/ |access-date=February 4, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Evening Post-Record |date=November 7, 1931 |page=11 |via=Newspapers.com}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{LABTCD}}
{{Downtown Los Angeles}}
{{Movie theaters in Los Angeles}}
Category:1931 establishments in California
Category:1989 disestablishments in California
Category:Art Deco architecture in California
Category:Art Deco cinemas and movie theaters
Category:Broadway (Los Angeles)
Category:Former cinemas and movie theaters in Los Angeles
Category:Theatres completed in 1931
Category:Historic district contributing properties in California
Category:Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles
Category:1930s architecture in the United States