Verdugo Views: How the ‘Alexander’ roared to life in the ‘20s

When the Alexander Theatre opened in 1925, Glendale was a growing, thriving town in the midst of the Roaring ‘20s. Memories of the Great War had faded and prosperity was back. Just about everyone had electricity and telephones; plus, autos were affordable and roads were being built. Women had the right to vote, flappers were wearing knee-length dresses and bobbing their hair, and motion pictures were all the rage.

By the beginning of the decade, Glendale was growing rapidly: Residential areas were developing and some 300 businesses were established. Few buildings were higher than two stories until the three-story Pendroy Dry Goods went up on Brand Boulevard in 1922. The six-story Security Trust and Savings Bank was erected two years later.

Jensen’s Arcade opened in 1921 on South Brand. The Egyptian Village Cafe, on the second floor, was a great place for lunch. And women could have their hair done at Palace Grand Ladies’ Shop in the same building. New hotels, including the six-story Hotel Glendale at Glendale Avenue and Broadway, attracted tourists.

The Glendale Police Division established a five-man motorcycle squad in 1923 and began issuing an average of 450 tickets a month. Plus, the city transitioned from a volunteer firefighting force to a professional one, with stations throughout the city by 1922.

Glendale’s entries in the annual Tournament of Roses parade were gaining prestige. L. W. Chobe designed the first of 10 prize-winning floats in 1920. His 1923 Peacock float so impressed Sid Grauman, owner of the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, that he called the Glendale Chamber of Commerce on New Year’s Day and asked to display the float. It remained at his theater for two full weeks. A year later, City Council members — inspired by the float — incorporated the peacock into their new city flag.

The well-established Pacific Electric, which had played a huge part in Glendale’s growth, added buses to its schedule around 1923 to compete with other bus lines, as well as the many autos flooding the streets.

A new airport, later to become Grand Central, welcomed barnstorming pilots and flying physician Thomas C. Young, widely known in the early ’20s for giving local newlyweds a flight in his plane, the “Honeymoon Special.”

One of our city’s most famous residents, Yankee great “Casey” Stengel, moved here in 1924. Forest Lawn held its first Easter sunrise service the year before, drawing hundreds to the top of Adams Hill. City fathers allocated $10,000 for a park, first called Patterson, now Fremont Park.

Land for the Oakmont Country Club was purchased at the beginning of the decade. Glendale High moved from Harvard Street to Broadway and Verdugo Road in 1923, and Marion Morrison, aka John Wayne, graduated two years later. Isabella Verdugo, of the founding family, was married in an elaborate ceremony at the old Verdugo Adobe in 1924.

Emil O. Kiefer and John M. Eyerick established a mortuary in 1922; the Glendale Symphony Orchestra began two years later and the La Crescenta Woman’s Club opened their clubhouse the following year.

So, when the Alexander opened on Sept. 4, 1925 at 216 North Brand Blvd., it was in the heart of a bustling, high-rise city. Inspired by the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and named for Alexander Langley, son of an official in the Langley chain, it was one of the largest and earliest of the many extravagantly designed movie houses then going up all over the area.

—

To the Readers:

Much of this information is from “Glendale, A Pictorial History,” published in 2006 by the Glendale Historical Society. The book is available for purchase. Check the group’s website for more information, glendalehistorical.org/merchandise

--

Celebrate the Alex’s 90th year with a stroll down the red carpet at 7 p.m. on Sept. 4.

See the relighting of the theater’s iconic neon tower and spire, dance to live music and support the Alex90 campaign to restore and improve the Alex Theatre.

For reservations or more information about the event, call (818) 243-2611 or go to AlexTheatre.org.

--

KATHERINE YAMADA can be reached at katherineyamada@gmail.com or by mail at Verdugo Views, c/o News-Press, 202 W. First St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Please include your name, address and phone number.