Merced Theatre

Ezra Kysor designed this in the same year he designed the Pico House next door, and made it taller on purpose — the second floor had to clear a stage and its scenery, so the roofline steps up above the hotel. William Abbot named it for his wife, Maria Merced Garcia, whose family had been in the pueblo for decades. The first performance was a melodrama in January 1871. Wood's Opera House opened four doors south in 1876, smallpox came the same year, and the last curtain fell on New Year's Day 1877.

What the plaque says

The Merced Theatre was built in 1870 and is one of the oldest structures erected in Los Angeles for the presentation of dramatic performances. It served as the center of theatrical activity in the city from 1871 to 1876. The theatre was built by William Abbot, the son of Swiss immigrants who settled in Los Angeles in 1854. In 1858, he married the woman for whom he would name the theatre, Maria Merced Garcia, the daughter of Jose Antonio Garcia and Maria Guadalupe Uribe, who were long-time residents of the Los Angeles pueblo. The theatre was designed by Ezra F. Kysor, the architect of the Pico House. Similar to the Pico House, Kysor used the Italianate style, but made the building more ornate. The theatre was located on the second floor of the three-story building. The ceiling of the second story is higher than that of the Pico House next door, an adjustment to allow for the stage, scenery and props. Thus, the building itself rises somewhat above the Pico House. Construction was completed in December, 1870 and the first performance, a melodrama entitled "Fanchon the Little Cricket," opened on January 30, 1871. Performances were mainly given in English, although some productions were presented in Spanish. Ticket prices ranged from 50 cents in the balcony to $1.00 for "parquette chairs." The opening of Wood's Opera House in 1876, which was located only four doors south of the Merced, as well as a smallpox epidemic which struck the area that same year led to the decline of the Merced Theatre. The last performance was given on New Year's Day, 1877.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Colorado Street Bridge — 7.6 mi
  Beaux-Arts concrete arches curving 150 feet above the Arroyo Seco, opened in 1913 and later a link in Route 66.
• Mission San Gabriel Arcangel — 8.1 mi
  The fourth Alta California mission, built on Tongva land with Tongva labor, rebuilt after arson and now telling that story straight.
• Santa Monica Pier — 15 mi
  Where the Mother Road runs out of continent, and where the End of the Trail sign gives the drive somewhere to finish.

More markers nearby

• Pico House (Hotel) — steps away
• Old Plaza Firehouse — steps away
• Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles — steps away
• Los Angeles Plaza — steps away