Tally's New Broadway

Not to be confused with Tally's Broadway.

Tally's New Broadway

The building c. 1909
Address	554 South Broadway, Los Angeles
Coordinates	34°02′49″N118°15′06″W / 34.0469°N 118.2517°W / 34.0469; -118.2517
Owner	Alfred Morganstern Thomas Lincoln Tally
Type	originally vaudeville, later movies
Capacity	600 later reduced to 500
Screens	1
Construction
Opened	December 8, 1903
Closed	1909 or 1910
Demolished	1910 (theater) 1920 (building)
Architect	Robert Rowan

Tally's New Broadway, previously Broadway Theatre and Garnet or Garnett Theatre, was a vaudeville and movie theater located at 554 South Broadway, on the corner of 6th and Broadway, in downtown Los Angeles. In 1916, Moving Picture World called it "the first real motion picture theater in Los Angeles." ^[1]

History

Built by Robert Rowan for San Francisco lawyer Alfred Morganstern, Tally's New Broadway opened as Broadway Theatre on December 8, 1903, one day later than scheduled. The theatre, which housed vaudeville, was the first of eight proposed by Morganstern and upon opening became one of twelve theaters in the Graumann circuit. Its capacity at opening was 600. ^{[2] [3]}

In 1905, the theater was renamed Garnet Theatre. Admission was $0.10 ($3.50 in 2024). ^[4]

Thomas Lincoln Tally became associated with the theater in March 1905 ^[1] and by 1906, he had bought it and renamed it Tally's New Broadway. ^[5] Tally began showing motion pictures in the theater and also reduced the theater's capacity to 500, which was still considered "very large." ^[1]

Tally owned and operated this theater until 1909, at which point he opened Tally's Broadway elsewhere on Broadway. ^[1] This theater was demolished May 1910, at which point the building was occupied by its neighbor Silverwood's. ^[6] The building was demolished in 1920. ^[7]

Architecture and design

Tally's New Broadway was built of staff and featured a Moorish design. Outside, the theater's facade contained hundreds of incandescent lights. Inside, the auditorium was 37x55 feet, the stage 37x22 feet, and there was a five-foot pitch on the main floor from the rear to front. The interior was decorated in bright colors. ^[2]

References

1. "Los Angeles, Studio Center, Has Pioneering Exhibitors". Moving Picture World and View Photographer . 29: 416. July 15, 1916.
2. "Another Theater on South Broadway". Los Angeles Times . December 6, 1903.
3. "Broadway Theater". Los Angeles Times . December 7, 1903.
4. "The Garnet Theater". Los Angeles Times . December 23, 1905.
5. Olsson, Jan (2008). Los Angeles Before Hollywood: Journalism and American Film Culture, 1905-1915. National Library of Sweden. p. 121. ISBN   9789188468062.
6. "New Show on Broadway, so Says F. B. Silverwood". Los Angeles Herald . May 4, 1910. p. 5.
7. "Magnificent Pile That Now Graces Broadway Corner". Los Angeles Times . August 31, 1920. p. 9.