"If you ever need a reminder that the City of Los Angeles worships entertainment, come here . . . the cathedrals and duomos of Europe were dedicated to the man upstairs, the Los Angeles Theatre is a no-less-resplendent celebration of something greater.”
Indeed the breathtaking Los Angeles Theatre, the city’s namesake venue, and perhaps the most spectacular and elaborate Baroque theatre in the cou
ntry, was the last and most extravagant of the ornate movie palaces built on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles which opened on January 30th 1931. Charles Lee in French Baroque-inspired décor, it is the last great movie palace built downtown on Broadway. Gumbiner ensured the success of his new theatre by making it as lavish and innovative as possible, with architect S. Charles Lee delivering the latest innovations in theater design: a working fountain in the lobby, a children’s playroom, a full restaurant and ballroom, crying rooms where mothers could take their children, a radio broadcast studio, equipment for widescreen films, electric seat indicators for the ushers, even a periscope and prism system to relay the film image down into the basement lounges. It’s rumored that Charlie Chaplin contributed to financing the completion of the theater so that his new film, City Lights, could premiere on schedule—an event that brought on a once-in-a- lifetime photo op in which the comic genius appeared side by side with Albert Einstein in the Los Angeles’ grand lobby. That moment is eternally depicted for patrons in an oversized photo reproduction hung near the Los Angeles Theatre’s front entrance. And thanks to preservationist and philanthropist Ezat Delijani’s 1987 favor to then mayor Tom Bradley to save it from the wrecking ball, the experience of walking into the Los Angeles Theatre is, still, just as awe inspiring, magnificent, and unlike anything else in all of Los Angeles. Meticulously preserved with its stunning Baroque architecture, monumental, free-standing columned facade, grand chandeliers, seating on multiple levels, concert lighting system, flowing staircases, grand ballroom, elegant facilities and amenities, balustrades and red carpet intact, plus it’s technical upgrades. They just don’t make theatres like this anymore. The incomparable Los Angeles Theatre is now available for concerts, weddings, and special events. Please direct special event and concert inquiries to:
Ed Baney/Annette Zilinskas
Programming/Events Director
Broadway Theatre Group:
Palace, Los Angeles, Tower Theatres
ph: 213-488-2009
email: [email protected]
General info: 213-488-2009 or 213-488-2010
Theatre Manager and Location Filming:
Edward Baney
office: 213-629-2939
The Los Angeles Theatre
Quick Specs:
Seating capacity: 1937
Main Auditorium: 1305
Mezzanine: 276
Balcony: 356
Total: 1937
Sound Reinforcement:
various
Lighting:
Full Concert Lighting Package with LED, incandescent lighting, multiple trussing, and wired for DMX dimming and control. Trussing:
1 x 40' on stage truss
2 x additional 40' trusses available in house. Power:
800 amps/3 phase on stage
200 amps stage right
600 amps stage left. Stage:
60’ wide at proscenium
25’ deep from smoke pocket to back wall.
20’ extension from smoke pocket to center edge of curved thrust stage.
32’ height at proscenium
68’ height of gridiron
To view a more extensive history of the Los Angeles, please see the excellent web archive by Bill Counter:
https://sites.google.com/site/downtownlosangelestheatres/los_angeles_theatre
also on FB:
https://www.facebook.com/losangelestheatres
And these other great historical resources:
Los Angeles Historical Theatre Foundation
http://www.lahtf.org
LA Conservancy
https://www.laconservancy.org
Cinema Treasures
http://cinematreasures.org
