Palace Theater (Los Angeles)

History

Beginnings

Downtown Los Angeles's Palace Theatre was originally built as the third home of Los Angeles's Orpheum Circuit. Opened in 1911, the building was designed by G. Albert Lansburgh and Robert Brown Young,{{Cite web |title=Historic Resource - Palace Theater - 634 S Broadway

As the home of Los Angeles's Orpheum Circuit, many notable performers performed here during its early years, including Harry Houdini, Will Rogers, Fred Astaire, and Rita Hayworth. This continued until 1926, when the Orpheum Circuit's fourth home opened a couple blocks away.

Conversion to movies

In 1926, Palace Theater was converted to a silent movie theater Anthony Heinsbergen led an interior remodel, with the original box seats removed and the interior walls plastered and covered with Candelario Rivas-painted murals. These and other alterations lowered the theater's capacity to around 1,000. Fox West Coast Theatres also added an exterior marquee and they opened the theater's upper balcony to all patrons, as previously the theater was segregated, with the upper balcony only available to African Americans.

In the early-1940s, the theater was briefly operated by Sol Lesser's Principal Theaters Corporation, and by 1943 it was known as the New Palace Theatre. The theater was renamed again on January 24, 1947, to Palace Theatre.

Metropolitan Theatres took over the theater in August 1978, after which it began showing Spanish language and grindhouse movies, then mainstream movies with Spanish subtitles. The theater shut down as a movie theater in late-2000.

Historic designation

In 1979, Los Angeles's Broadway Theater and Commercial District was added to the National Register of Historic Places, with Palace Theater listed as a contributing property in the district. In 1989, the building was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #449.

Return to live events

After Palace Theater closed as a movie theater, it remained available for private and special events. Broadway Theatre Group then took over and in 2010 they began a $1 million restoration effort. The theater reopened as a live venue in June 2011, although it does still show the occasional movie.

Architecture and design

Palace Theater was designed after an early Renaissance palazzo in Florence, Italy.), swags, flowers, fairies, and theater masks, all meant to illustrate the spirit of entertainment. The facade also features four sculpted panels that depict song, dance, music, and drama, all done by Domingo Mora, while the building features arched windows and polychrome cornices, spandrels, keys, and friezes that include an array of ornamentation in the form of bells, harps, grape clusters, and masks.

Palace Theatre's interior design is French and features garland-draped columns and pale pastel colors. The building's upper-floors, designed for offices, feature large window openings and long and open floorprints.

Filming location

Many movies have shot at Palace Theatre, including The Frank Sinatra Story, Gypsy, The Glimmer Man, The Big Lebowski, and Dreamgirls, as well in Michael Jackson's Thriller.

References

References

1. (May 9, 1979). "California SP Broadway Theater and Commercial District". [[United States Department of the Interior]] - [[National Park Service]].
2. "Historical Cultural Monuments List". [[Government of Los Angeles.
3. Guzman, Richard. (May 29, 2024). "Last Remaining Seats series revives historic theaters with classic films this summer". [[Los Angeles Daily News]].
4. "Palace Theatre". [[Los Angeles Conservancy]].
5. Lovingood, Marcus. (January 19, 2021). "The Amazing History of the Palace Theater in Downtown Los Angeles". [[Broadway West]].
6. Ken, Roe. "Palace Theatre". [[Cinema Treasures]].
7. (December 6, 2019). "Discover the Historic Theatres on Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles". Discover Los Angeles.