"There (for ten to fifty cents a ticket) the public could enjoy entertainment of the most wonderful variety. It wasn't just the movies. Pit orchestras performed Gilbert and Sullivan -- or Beethoven. Opera singers trilling arias shared the stage with acrobats; ballets followed circus animals; elaborate "moving tableaux" gave way to daring stunts. What tantalized audiences most, though, was something new -- the femme fatale."   --John Buntin, L.A. NOIR (writing about LA's Broadway in the 1920s and 1930s.)

From every corner and mountaintop, folks converge onto Broadway to meet others, eat food, and make money.

In the first part of the 20th century, numerous theaters existed on this street for our cinematic pleasure. 

But in the age of DVD - compounded by a weak economy where people don't have the time or the money to purchase movie tix - the theaters have transformed into bustling bazaars for trinkets and discount items.

One can only imagine the red-carpeted premieres and the culture that used to be. In its heyday people could always catch the latest Hollywood flick on Broadway.

Today it is still a crossroads but with a predominantly Latino character. It is the Latino Street.

I bought a DVD on dog fighting and some baseball caps when I visited recently. Senoritas stand on the street and entice you into the stores.

Walking around at night I notice that, other than the homeless and the people at the bus stop, the street feels empty. Gentrification has started, especially since the crackdown on Skid Row located a few blocks to the east. Some bars brighten up the scene if you look hard enough.

Louis Bardel

The Rialto has become one of the many discount shops that clutter the strip.


The Tower



United Artists




A doctored version of the Los Angeles



The Roxie

The Cameo


The Mayan


Close-up of the Mayan's intricately decorated facade




The Palace and a long view of Broadway looking south



The Orpheum