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This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts & Entertainment

Vintage L.A. Gallery: The Ghosts of Movie Houses Past

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We had old movie houses on our minds this week when it was announced yes, the rickety sign for the Rialto Theatre in South Pasadena is going to be able to stay up but that the Alex Theatre in Glendale is in danger of closing.

This gave us a good excuse to do something that we have been meaning to do for a while: put together a gallery of historic movie houses from our Flickr photo pool (special shout-out to Flickr user TooMuchFire). Some of them have been reborn as swap meets and churches, others are candidates for a revival and some just look completely abandoned.

If you're interested in learning more about local theaters' history, we stumbled across this site that looks like a great starting point for references to local historical sites and conservancy groups.

Related:
Road Tripping: An Abandoned Waterpark in the Desert

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