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Overview
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2008 Theatres |
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Los Angeles Theatre (1931) 615 South Broadway The most lavish and last built of Broadway’s great movie palaces, the Los Angeles was designed by legendary theatre architect S. Charles Lee. It was constructed in 1931 at an estimated cost of more than one million dollars. Patterned after the celebrated Fox theatre in San Francisco, the Los Angeles recalls the glories of the French Baroque. The façade rises five stories, decorated with huge columns and accented with urns, angels, and vines. Its majestic lobby features mirrors, fluted columns, sparkling chandeliers, finely detailed plaster ornament, and a sunburst motif alluding to France’s “Sun King,” Louis XIV. A grand central staircase leads to a crystal fountain. In addition to its lavish decor, the Los Angeles originally boasted a number of unusual amenities. These included an electric indicator to monitor available seats, soundproof “crying rooms” (for parents with crying children) above the loge, a staffed playroom in the basement, and a glamorous ladies’ lounge featuring sixteen private compartments, each finished in a different marble. In the walnut-paneled basement lounge, a periscope-like system of prisms relayed the featured film from the auditorium to a secondary screen, allowing patrons to watch the film while socializing. The Los Angeles has undergone a number of incremental improvements in recent years and is a popular filming and special-event location. |
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Million Dollar Theatre (1918) 307 South Broadway The Million Dollar was designed by Albert C. Martin, one of the most important architects in Los Angeles at the time and founder of one of the city’s most prominent architectural firms. Created for theatre impresario Sid Grauman as his first Los Angeles venue, the Million Dollar was one of the earliest and largest movie palaces in the country, boasting 2,345 seats. The theatre’s exterior features the ornate Churrigueresque architectural style, with terra-cotta bison heads, longhorn skulls, and allegorical figures representing the arts. The ornate Spanish Baroque auditorium was designed by noted theatre architect William Woollett. The massive balcony was a feat of engineering, supported by the world’s first reinforced concrete girder, developed because of a shortage of structural steel during World War I. When the theatre opened in 1918, it featured an innovation called the prologue: a live costumed stage review presented before the feature film, often with a theme similar to the film or live appearances by film stars. In the 1940s, the theatre hosted jazz and big band stars such as Billie Holiday, Artie Shaw, and Lionel Hampton. In the 1950s, the Million Dollar became the first theatre on Broadway to feature Spanish-language variety shows (variedades), including headline acts from Mexico City and Latin America. The theatre served as a leading Latino entertainment venue for decades , featuring variedades and Mexican film premieres. After serving as a church, the Million Dollar was closed to the public. It recently underwent renovation and structural improvements and will soon reopen for performances and special events. |
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Orpheum Theatre (1926) 842 South Broadway This theatre was the fourth and final home of the famed Orpheum vaudeville circuit in Los Angeles. Its Beaux Arts exterior leads to a grand French interior with gold-leaf decoration, silk wall panels, marble pilasters, and enormous chandeliers. The downstairs lounge is more restrained, with rich paneling, a mock fireplace, and a Spanish tile floor. The theatre’s original Mighty Wurlitzer organ is the last remaining theatre organ on Broadway. The Orpheum has played host to some of the most venerable names in show business, including burlesque queen Sally Rand, a young Judy Garland (as Francis Gumm), the Marx Brothers, Eddie Cantor, Will Rogers, Sophie Tucker, and jazz greats Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. The 1960s brought a completely new dimension to the theatre – “rock and roll” – with performers such as Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, and Little Stevie Wonder. In 2001, the Orpheum closed its doors as a first-run movie house and underwent a $3 million renovation under the supervision of Steve Needleman of ANJAC, whose family has owned the building since 1964. The project upgraded production capabilities and audience amenities while cleaning and restoring the theatre’s historic elements. The Orpheum now serves as a popular event venue and filming location, with live/work spaces in the building’s upper floors.
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Theatre photos courtesy of Berger/Conser Photography, from the book The Last Remaining Seats: Movie Palaces of Tinseltown. |
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