Skip to main content

Image / Golden Gate Theater

Have a question about this item?

Item information. View source record on contributor's website.

Title
Golden Gate Theater
Alternative Title
Los Angeles County Building Survey Photo Collection;
Creator
Zimmerman, Tom
Contributor
Photographs taken for Historic American Buildings Survey or the Historic Landscapes Survey: documentation is on file
Date Created and/or Issued
2011
Publication Information
Heritage Documentation Programs (U.S.).; Historic American Buildings Survey
Contributing Institution
Los Angeles Public Library
Collection
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Rights Information
Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Description
Title supplied by cataloger.; HABS documentation available at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ca/ca3900/ca3948/data/ca3948data.pdf
Located at 5176 East Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles, the Golden Gate Theater was built in 1927, designed by William and Clifford A. Balch, whose other notable contributions include the El Rey Theater on Wilshire Boulevard and the Fox Theater in Pomona. The Golden Gate Theater was designed as a playhouse and movie theater and was built in the Spanish Baroque Revival Churrigueresque-style replicating the entrance to the University of Salamanca in Spain. Originally, the theater was accessed by entrances into the courtyard of the historic Vega Building, an L-shaped retail and apartment building, which surrounded the theater. Damage from the 1987 Whittier earthquake caused the Vega Building to be deemed unsafe and later demolished, and left the 1,500 seat Golden Gate Theater vacant. Many battles followed over the preservation and re-development of the historic site. It is one of a few neighborhood movie palaces left in Southern California and is the only building in East Los Angeles listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 2012, the building was re-opened and adapted for use as a CVS retail pharmacy.
View of the Golden Gate Theater south elevation looking north. The building's south side is relatively spare in decoration compared to the facade because originally the Vega Building would have been wrapped around the theater and the back and side exteriors not easily visible.
Type
image
Format
1 negative :safety ;13 x 10 cm.
Photographic safety negatives
Identifier
00111518
Los Angeles County Building Survey Collection;
GPC_b97_f2_i7
CARL0005242431
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/175
Subject
Golden Gate Theater (East Los Angeles, Calif.)
Motion picture theaters--California--East Los Angeles
Theaters--California--East Los Angeles
Auditoriums--California--East Los Angeles
Architecture--California--East Los Angeles--Spanish influences
Historic buildings--California--East Los Angeles
Electric lines--Poles and towers
Trees--California--East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles (Calif.)
Historic American Buildings Survey Collection photographs
Heritage Documentation Programs Collection photographs
Balch, William G
Balch, Clifford A

About the collections in Calisphere

Learn more about the collections in Calisphere. View our statement on digital primary resources.

Copyright, permissions, and use

If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.

Share your story

Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.

Explore related content on Calisphere: