The historic Los Angeles Theater is a golden-age movie palace in the famous theater district, a six-block section of Broadway in downtown LA. At one point in time, the district had up to twelve operating movie houses built between 1910 and 1932, and many of these theaters will be highlighted in the next few posts in this series.
According to Cinema Treasures, the theater had its grand opening on January 30 1931, and had Charlie Chaplin's City Lights as the inaugural attraction.
It was fashioned after Versailles in France, with mirrors, marble columns and Trompe L'oeil murals.
The marquee below is not the original; I'm not sure when this was constructed.
The marquee promotes the LA Conservancy, which is a non-profit organization made up of cultural preservationists. They sponsor an annual classic film series held every summer called LAST REMAINING SEATS. The week I visited (in July 2008) they were showing Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. I didn't have time to catch the show, so I can't say that I've been inside.
However someone posted a neat video on Y-tube with some awesome shots of the interior. What an incredible theater! And what a turnout for the screening!! check it out here:
More pics here:
Stopping by to greet you and thank you for the work done here. I am a movie fan, never miss a movie, never mind the year of production. Your blog is a bless for my soul.
ReplyDeleteGreat thank you
Dear MyMovies,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words, and for reading my posts. I try to have a little bit of everything here, but the one thing in common is that all the movies (and movie theaters) are those I consider gems.
Kind Regards,
Tom