The Desert Theatre

Initially run by movie producer Robert L. Lippert this 710 seat theatre opened in 1941 under the Lippert Organization (which had 183 movie theatres). That opening date is suspect. I found a 1938 photograph of the theatre. It was showing "The Rains Came" while a summer storm was causing Fargo St. to flood. This creates more suspicion since "The Rains Came" was released September 15, 1939.

This heavily remuddled structure was originally designed in the Spanish Renaissance style. Hard to believe from this angle. Although the building, now, is just a shell it had been remodeled to lease as office space. In 2011 it was up for sale with an asking price of $335,000.

Robert L. Lippert produced 246 features for both Lippert Pictures and major studios. He is known for “The Last Man on Earth” (1964, with Vincent Price, American International), “The Fly” (1958, with Vincent Price, 20th Century-Fox), “The Curse of the Fly” (1965, with Brian Donlevy, 20th Century-Fox), “The Quatermass Xperiment” (1955, with Brian Donlevy, Hammer Films), “I Shot Jesse James” (1949, with Preston Foster, Screen Guild Productions) and “The Earth Dies Screaming” (1964, 20th Century-Fox).

45-291 Fargo St., Indio, California