Broadway Theater District (Los Angeles)

Add links
Coordinates: 34°2′48″N 118°15′4″W / 34.04667°N 118.25111°W / 34.04667; -118.25111
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Broadway Theater District
Los Angeles, California
Coordinates34°2′48″N 118°15′4″W / 34.04667°N 118.25111°W / 34.04667; -118.25111
ArchitectMultiple
Architectural styleEarly Commercial, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Art Deco
NRHP reference No.79000484 [1]
Added to NRHPMay 9, 1979

The Broadway Theater District in the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles is the first and largest historic theater district listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).[2] With twelve movie palaces located along a six-block stretch of Broadway, it is the only large concentration of movie palaces left in the United States. The same six-block stretch of Broadway, and an adjacent section of Seventh Street, was also the city's retail hub for the first half of the twentieth century, lined with large and small department stores and specialty stores.

NRHP refers to the district as the Broadway Theater and Commercial District, while the City of Los Angeles Planning Department refers to the Broadway Theater and Entertainment District.[3]

Highest concentration of movie palaces in the world

Stretching for six blocks from Third to Ninth Streets along South Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles, the district includes 12 movie theaters built between 1910 and 1931. By 1931, the district had the highest concentration of cinemas in the world, with seating capacity for more than 15,000 patrons. Broadway was the hub of L.A.'s entertainment scene – a place where "screen goddesses and guys in fedoras rubbed elbows with Army nurses and aircraft pioneers."[4] In 2006, the Los Angeles Times wrote:

"There was a time, long ago, when the streets of downtown Los Angeles were awash in neon—thanks to a confluence of movie theaters the world had never seen before. Dozens of theaters screened Hollywood's latest fare, played host to star-studded premieres and were filled nightly with thousands of moviegoers. In those days, before World War II, downtown L.A. was the movie capital of the world."[5]

Columnist Jack Smith called it "the only large concentration of vintage movie theaters left in America."[6] Smith recalled growing up a mile from Broadway and spending his Saturdays in the theaters:

"I remember walking into those opulent interiors, surrounded by the glory of the Renaissance, or the age of Baroque, and spending two or three hours in the dream world of the movies. When I came out again the sky blazed; the heat bounced off the sidewalk, traffic sounds filled the street, I was back in the hard reality of the Depression.[6]

Because Broadway has been used as a filming location for decades, many of these theatre marquees can be seen in classic Hollywood films, including Safety Last! (1923), D.O.A. (1950), The Omega Man (1971), Blade Runner (1982), and The Artist (2011).[7][8]

Revitalization by Spanish-language cinema

In the years after World War II, the district began to decline, as first-run movie-goers shifted to the movie palaces in Hollywood, in Westwood Village, and later to suburban multiplexes. After World War II, as Anglo moviegoers moved to the suburbs, many of the Broadway movie palaces became venues for Spanish-language movies and variety shows. In 1988, the Los Angeles Times noted that, without the Hispanic community, "Broadway would be dead."[9] Jack Smith wrote that Broadway had been "rescued and revitalized" by "the Latino renaissance."[6]

Preservation and renovation efforts

The district has been the subject of preservation and restoration efforts since the 1980s. In 1987, the

crystal chandeliers. And then the film started."[4]

Despite preservation efforts, many of the theaters have been converted to other uses, including flea markets and churches. The Broadway movie palaces fell victim to a number of circumstances, including changing demographics and tastes, a downtown location that was perceived as dangerous at night, and high maintenance costs for aging facilities. With the closure of the State Theater in 1998, the Orpheum and the Palace were the only two still screening films.[11]

In 2006, the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Of all of L.A.'s many hidden gems, maybe none is as sparkling nor as hidden as the Broadway theater district downtown."[4] Bemoaning the possible loss of such gems, the same writer noted: "L.A. gave birth to the movies. To lose the astonishing nurseries where the medium grew up would be tragic."[4]

In 2008, the City of Los Angeles launched a $40-million campaign to revitalize the Broadway district, known as the "Bringing Back Broadway" campaign. Some Latino merchants in the district expressed concern that the campaign was an effort to spread the largely Anglo gentrification taking hold in other parts of downtown to an area that has become the city's leading Latino shopping district.[12] A worker at one of the district's bridal shops noted, "On one side, I like the idea. The only thing is that I don't think they want our types of businesses."[12]

Theatres

Surviving theaters on Broadway

The twelve theaters in the Broadway District from north to south are:

Million Dollar Theater
  • Ben-Hur played for six months at the Million Dollar Theater.[10]
Roxie Theatre
  • Roxie Theatre – Movie palace – Located at 518 S. Broadway, the Roxie was built in 1932—the last of the movie palaces built on Broadway. The Roxie had a seating capacity of 1,600 when it opened and was noted for its Art Deco or Zigzag Moderne style, including its stepped roofline, angular grillwork, chevron ornament, and terrazzo sunburst in the sidewalk. The theater's sleek Streamline Moderne ticket booth was removed when the theater was converted to retail use.[2]
  • Cameo Theatre – Nickelodeon – Located at 528 S. Broadway, the Cameo opened in 1910 with a seating capacity of 775. Designed by Alfred Rosenheim in a Renaissance Revival style, the Cameo was originally known as Clune's Broadway. Until it closed in 1991, it was the oldest continuously operating movie theater in California.[2] The Cameo has been converted into a swap meet-type market.[13]
  • Arcade Theater – English-music-hall-style theater – Located at 534 S. Broadway, the Arcade opened in 1910 as a vaudeville house that was part of the Pantages vaudeville circuit. The Arcade was designed by Morgan & Walls in the Beaux Arts style with tripartite vertical division of the facade.[2] Theater has been closed since 1992. Currently used as retail space.
Los Angeles Theatre
  • French Baroque style, and was modeled on San Francisco's Fox Theater. The Los Angeles included the latest technological features when it opened, including an electric monitor of available seats, blue neon floor lights, a restaurant, a children's playroom, soundproof crying rooms, smoking room with built-in cigarette lighters, a walnut-paneled lounge with a secondary screen on which a periscope-like system of prisms relayed the film.[2] The ladies' powder room was lined with mirrors and vanities, and the toilet stalls were each done in a different kind of marble and each toilet bowl of a different pastel shade.[6] In 1988, the Los Angeles Times Dan Sullivan called it "a movie house for the gods, even in its present dusty state".[9] Columnist Jack Smith wrote that the Los Angeles Theater was "palatial beyond the dreams of a prince" with a lobby that suggested "nothing less than the glory of Versailles.".[6] Aerosmith's video for "Jaded" was filmed throughout the theater. It is owned by the Broadway Theatre Group, and continues to be used as a performing arts venue.[14]
    Current capacity: 1,931.
Palace Theater
  • Palace Theatre – Vaudeville theater and movie palace – Located at 630 S. Broadway, the Palace opened in 1911 with a seating capacity of 2,200. It was an Orpheum vaudeville theater from 1911–1926 and is the oldest remaining Orpheum theater in the United States. The structure was designed by G. Albert Lansburgh based on a Florentine early Renaissance palazzo. The brick facade includes multi-colored terra-cotta swags and four panels depicting the muses of vaudeville sculpted by Domingo Mora.[2] It is also owned by the Broadway Theatre Group.[14] Current capacity: 1,068.
State Theater
Tower Theatre
  • Tower Theatre – Movie theater – Located at 802 S. Broadway, the Tower opened in 1927 with a seating capacity of 1,000.[20] It was the first of more than 70 theaters designed by S. Charles Lee, who described the Tower as a "modified French Renaissance" design. It was the first movie theater in Downtown Los Angeles equipped to accommodate talking pictures.[2] It is now owned by the Broadway Theatre Group.[14] The space was refurbished in 2021 for an Apple Store.[21]
Rialto Theater
  • Rialto Theater – Movie theater – Located at 812 S. Broadway, the Rialto opened as Quinn's Rialto, a nickelodeon, in 1917. It was purchased by Sid Grauman in 1919, the year after he opened the Million Dollar Theater. Today the theater is home to an Urban Outfitters store.[22][23][24]
Orpheum Theater
United Artists Theater

Other surviving theaters in the vicinity

Demolished theaters

Some of the demolished theaters in and adjacent to the district were:

Majestic Theatre
  • Majestic Theatre, 845 S. Broadway, opened 1908, 1,600 seats, originally built for Asher Hamburger, architects Edelman & Barnett, interior decoration by Antoon Molkenboernl, demolished 1933, site of a parking lot until the 2010s, now a complex of high-end fashion stores.[31]
  • Mason Theatre, 127 S. Broadway. Opened in 1903 as the Mason Opera House, 1,600 seats. Remodeled in 1924 by Meyer & Holler. Later, as the Mason Theatre, it showed Spanish-language films. Demolished 1955.[32]
  • Paramount Theatre, opened as Grauman’s Metropolitan Theatre, northeast corner of 6th and Hill streets. Opened 1923, closed 1960, demolished 1962. Site of the 16-story International Jewelry Center office building, opened in 1981.[33]
  • RKO Hillstreet Theatre, 801 S. Hill St., southwest corner of 8th and Hill, opened 1922, architect G. Albert Lansburgh, closed 1963, demolished 1965. Now the site is part of the 820 Olive residential and retail complex.[34]

See also

  • List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles
  • Broadway (Los Angeles) - commercial and other buildings contributing to the historic districts
  • Central Business District, Los Angeles (1880-1899)
    - business district of Los Angeles north of 3rd Street before it moved south along Broadway

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sandra A.B. Levis. "Broadway Historic Theater District: A walking tour sponsored by the Los Angeles Conservancy" (PDF). Los Angeles Conservancy.
  3. ^ "Broadway Theater and Entertainment District Design Guide, City of Los Angeles Planning Department, 2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e Dan Turner (June 11, 2006). "Our So-Cal Life: Faded glory on Broadway". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ a b Cara Mia DiMassa (February 17, 2006). "Movie Tradition Fading to Black; Seventy years after its neon heyday, downtown Los Angeles is struggling to keep its last cinematic venue afloat". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Jack Smith (September 30, 1986). "Los Angeles Theater: Flashback to yesteryear ... and a Latino renaissance on Broadway". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ^ Filming locations for "D.O.A." (1950) at IMDb
  8. ^ Filming locations for "The Omega Man" (1971) at IMDb
  9. ^ a b Dan Sullivan (August 21, 1988). "L.A.'s Grand Old Broadway Theaters". Los Angeles Times.
  10. ^ a b c Robert Levine (June 12, 1994). "Silent Screens: Encore for Carter, Old Movie District". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ a b John Regardie (November 2, 1998). "State of Darkness: Another Movie Palace Quits Screening Films". Los Angeles Downtown News.
  12. ^ a b Cara DiMassa (January 28, 2008). "L.A. plans Broadway face-lift". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ^ a b c Kathleen Craughwell (May 26, 1996). "Movies: Broadway West; Bringing the Classics Back Home". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ a b c "About the Broadway Theatre Group". Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  15. ^ a b "State Theatre and Building | Los Angeles Conservancy". www.laconservancy.org. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  16. ISBN 0-7385-0812-8
    .
  17. ^ State Theatre | Broadway Theatre Group
  18. ^ Pool, Bob (January 25, 2014). "Checking out Broadway's old theaters of the superb". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  19. ^ Pennacchio, George (June 25, 2014). "Globe Theatre Marquee on Broadway Relit". KABC-TV. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  20. ISBN 1-57145-794-1
    .
  21. ^ Sharp, Steven (April 3, 2020). "DTLA's Historic Tower Theatre Continues Transformation into Apple Store". Urbanize LA. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  22. ^ Urban Outfitters Coming to Broadway, Taking Over Rialto Theatre in Downtown LA | DTLA RISING
  23. ^ Photos! Inside Urban Outfitters' Rialto Theater Treasure Trove
  24. ^ a b Edelen, Amy (June 30, 2016). "Historic theaters gain new life as retail stores". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  25. ^ Steven Wolf (April 30, 1990). "Televangelist Scott Sets Up Shop On Broadway: United Artists Renovation Complete" (PDF). Downtown News.
  26. ^ "Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre". losangelestheatres.googlepages.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
  27. ^ a b Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre, aka Warrens Theatre at CinemaTreasures.org
  28. ^ Samudio, p. 111
  29. ^ "Historic Los Angeles Theatres – Downtown – Olympic Theatre". Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  30. ^ "History of the Belasco". Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  31. ^ "Majestic Theatre", Cinema Treasures
  32. ^ "Mason Theatre", Cinema Treasures
  33. ^ Paramount/Metropolitan Theatre, Los Angeles Theaters
  34. ^ "RKO Hillstreet Theatre", Cinema Treasures

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Broadway (Los Angeles).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Broadway_Theater_District_(Los_Angeles)&oldid=1203942298"