Los Angeles' Historic Theaters Take Center Stage
They say all the world's a stage, and in Los Angeles, that feels particularly true. For fans of movies, theater, or live music, there are venues for every form of entertainment, many of which date from the early part of the last century. The city’s historic theaters, from neighborhood movie theaters to grand performance halls, were documented by SurveyLA—the Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey, a 10-year project out of the city’s Office of Historic Resources. (SurveyLA was one of the winners of the 2017 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Awards, which you may have read about in the Fall 2017 issue of Preservation magazine.)
Here is a small tour of just some of the city’s old theaters.
photo by: Michael Li/Flickr/CC BY-NC 2.0
Designed by noted theater architect S. Charles Lee, Westwood’s Fox Bruin Theater opened in 1937 and remains a notable example of Streamline Moderne architecture.
photo by: Steve Boland/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Thousands of people lined up outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (now TCL Chinese Theatre) in Hollywood for its grand opening on May 18, 1927. Master showman Sid Grauman commissioned the theater and worked with architect Raymond Kennedy to design its iconic features, including the 90-foot-tall pagoda-shaped roof. The theater has remained in continuous operation and has undergone several restorations. Millions of people visit the theater each year to see the handprints and footprints of celebrities in the concrete of the forecourt.
photo by: Ron Gilbert/Flickr/CC BY-ND 2.0
The El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood opened as a playhouse in 1926, featuring a Spanish Baroque Revival design. It was later converted into a movie theater, eventually closing in 1988. The following year, Walt Disney Studios and Pacific Theatres joined forces to complete a major two-year rehabilitation of the building. Today, it’s where many of Walt Disney Studios’ film premiers are held.
photo by: Juan Monroy/Flickr/CC BY-NC 2.0
Union Theater at Hoover and West 24th streets was built in the 1910s as a neighborhood movie theater. It later became home to silent film actress Louise Glaum’s drama school, then went back to serving as a movie theater, then became offices for a local tile layers union, who turned the building into office space. Today, what’s known as the Velaslavasay Panorama is an exhibition hall, theater, garden, and events space run by artist Sara Velas, who presents 360-degree panoramic exhibitions, a popular form of pre-cinema entertainment.
photo by: Blaise Nutter
Considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the country, the Wiltern Theatre and its adjoining Pellissier Building (a 12-story, steel-reinforced concrete office tower) in Koreatown features a distinctive blue-green glazed terra cotta tile, narrow vertical windows, and vertical neon signs. Opened in 1931 as Warner Brothers’ Western Theatre, it was saved from a demolition threat after closing its doors in 1979, rehabilitated extensively, and today is a live entertainment venue.
photo by: Justin Higuchi/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
Combining Art Deco and Streamline Moderne styles, the El Rey Theatre in the city’s Miracle Mile neighborhood was designed by Clifford A. Balch and opened in 1936 as a single-screen movie theater. In the 1980s, it became a dance club, and since 1994, it has functioned as a live music venue.
photo by: Kansas Sebastian/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Westlake Theatre near MacArthur Park opened in 1926 as a venue for both vaudeville shows and motion pictures. Most recently used as a swap meet, the theater was sold in March of 2018 to a buyer who has expressed interest in restoring the space, which still has its original Renaissance-style murals, decorative wood moldings, and large rooftop sign intact.
photo by: Thomas Hawk/Flickr/CC BY-NC 2.0
Built in the years before World War II, the Nuart Theatre was extensively renovated in 2006 and today is a haven for indie film fans, who flock to the Westside theater for movie screenings, film festivals, and Q&A sessions with filmmakers and actors.
photo by: David Wilson/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
This Spanish Gothic-style movie palace opened in 1927 as the flagship theater for the United Artists Theatre Circuit, which was formed to showcase first-run productions by United Artists, the studio formed by Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith. After a series of ownership changes, the building was converted into an Ace Hotel in 2012. The theater—including its three-story grand lobby, open balcony and mezzanine, and vaulted ceiling—was restored and reopened in 2014 as an event and performance space.
photo by: Blaise Nutter
When it opened in 1925, the Highland Theatre in the city’s Highland Park neighborhood had a stage for vaudeville acts, an orchestra pit, a second-story balcony, and large ceiling frescos. Many of those original elements are still there, though hidden from the public eye. It was briefly closed in the 1970s, remodeled as a triplex theater in the 1980s, and today continues to show first-run feature films.
photo by: Bruce Monroe/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
Built for Sid Grauman, the Million Dollar Theatre opened in downtown Los Angeles in 1918 with the premier of "The Silent Man." The 12-story building was designed by Albert C. Martin Sr., and the theater space was designed by William Lee Woollett. When it opened, it was one of the earliest and largest movie palaces in the country. Throughout the years, it’s served as a church, a special events space, and a filming location; today the building is leased by a fashion startup.
