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Located on Main Street, the California Theatre was one of a number of venues that made up the first theatre district in Downtown Los Angeles in the 1900s-1910s. By the 1920s, larger capacity movie palaces were being built on Broadway, and the Main Street operations began to decline. The California opened at the tail end of Main Street's heyday on 12/24/1918. From at least 1930-1950s, the California showed Spanish-language, Mexican-made features. Latinos and African-Americans were prohibited from walking on Broadway during the pre-World War II era, so Main Street became a place for these groups to go. In its last years of existence, it was part of the pornographic Pussycat Theatre chain; it closed as such in 01/1988.

The auditorium of the California seated 1,650 patrons. The theatre housed the KNX radio station beginning in 1922. In its last years, the roof began to leak, and squatters used the building as a "shooting gallery" for drug use.

Marquee and lobby were altered; in the 1920s, a large neon sign with a curving palm tree on its left side spelled out the name "California."

Cleveland Wrecking Company demolished the California Theatre beginning on the week of 09/05/1990. It has been replaced by a retail building called, "8th and Main."

PCAD id: 2652