Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality
"This is looking east on Bellevue Drive near S. Raymond Avenue in Pasadena."
originally posted by 3940dxer/David
So what is this very impressive building on the right? |
OK, I did a little more digging. The Pasadena Grand Opera House that we see in the cycleway photo opened on February 13, 1889 with seating for 1000-1500. By 1890 attendance declined, amid complaints about lack of heat and concerns about being too far from the center of town. By 1891 the operating company was bankrupt.
The venture was bought by our friend Thaddeus Lowe in 1891. The theater was remodeled (including a new heating system) and he had an office set up on the first floor for sale of tickets to his Mt. Lowe Scenic Railway. He also had an appliance showroom in the building.
Lowe eventually lost the building to foreclosure. It then had a number of different owners and was at one point called the Auditorium, featuring hotel accommodations and a restaurant. The Opera House was demolished sometime around 1926.
The "very impressive" Royal Laundry Building (which is on the National Register of Historic Places) took its place in '27 and is the one in the "now" photo. The Laundry closed in the 1980s, leaving the buildings empty, but a partnership acquired the property in 1995 and converted it to office space. Disney Store is the current tenant. Here's the original (preserved) entrance, around the corner on Raymond St.
http://you-are-here.com/mural/unexcelled.jpg
P.S. I really love those old "in the round" drive ins. Do any survive in L.A.?