From page 45
very important. The first photos of Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were taken at Gilmore Stadium.” The Hollywood Stars’ archrivals were the Los Angeles Angels, who played at Wrigley Field in South Los Angeles. The Stars routinely beat them, winning championships in 1949, 1952 and 1953. Arena said the team had a good run until baseball became so popular that famous East Coast major league teams started scouting Los Angeles as a new home. The Stars folded in 1957, a year before the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to town. Gilmore Field also closed that year when CBS purchased it and built CBS Television City. Gilmore Island even had its own drive-in theater on Third Street near Genesee. It had parking for 650 cars and fans flocked to see the drive-in’s first movie, “Silver River” starring Eroll Flynn. The drive-in was also ahead of its time, offering seating for walk-in guests before it closed in the mid-1970s. Pan Pacific Auditorium was an important destination on Gilmore Island. E.B. Gilmore sold a 13-acre parcel that is now Pan Pacific Park to Clifford and
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Phillip Henderson, well known aviators, in 1935. The theater’s distinctive Streamline Moderne architecture was designed by the Los Angeles Firm of Wurdeman & Beckett. It was built in six short weeks and quickly became a landmark on Beverly Boulevard when it opened in 1937. Pan Pacific Auditorium became a venue for sports, music and trade shows over the years. College basketball and minor league hockey games were played there, and it hosted the Ice Capades and the Harlem Globetrotters. Elvis Presley played two nights at the auditorium in October 1957, Arena said.
“It had 100,000 square feet of unobstructed views. There were no poles to get in the way,” he added. “It was very popular for decades but fell into disrepair in the ‘80s. It had been closed for 17 years when it burned in 1989.” Today, a gymnasium is located in Pan Pacific Park nearby where the theater used to be. The gym’s art deco design is reminiscent of Pan Pacific Auditorium’s design. Arena said the Gilmore Company’s pioneering spirit was the driving force behind the attractions located on Gilmore Island, and the family has never been afraid to take risks. While
attractions like Gilmore Stadium and Gilmore Field eventually passed their prime, they represented firsts in the City of Angels. “A large part of the success was in the attractions that drew people to the area,” Arena said. “They were always trying new things. They built The Dell in the parking lot (north of the Original Farmers Market) and in the 1940s and ‘50s it was a collection of unique specialty shops. New restaurants and shops came to the Farmers Market and it grew into what it is today.” The property that now houses The Grove was leased to developer Rick Caruso and the shopping center opened in 2002. The Grove is run independently by Caruso, but is reminiscent of the attractions that people once flocked to on Gilmore Island. The Gilmore family residence, known as the Gilmore Adobe, is still tucked away on the property. While it is undergoing renovations, the adobe is not open to the public. The crown jewel of Gilmore Island is still the Farmers Market. True to its slogan, “Meet me at Third and Fairfax,” the Market remains a gathering place for Angelenos and visitors from around the world.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press