X 1 & 2 Theatres

5959 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Unfavorite 12 people favorited this theater

Showing 26 - 46 of 46 comments

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on January 25, 2007 at 11:58 am

All three theatres were very close together, but I don’t think they were all open at the same time. I’m pretty sure the Hawaii closed a few years before the building the X 1&2 was in was converted into a theatre. I can’t remember what was in that building before.

shatter
shatter on January 25, 2007 at 5:37 am

So Left to right on Hollywood Blvd, there was the World, X1&X2 and the Hawaii, all on the same block? amazing. Now this area is a total eyesore. It’s hard to imagine people flocking to this part of Hollywood blvd. for one theater let alone three.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on January 24, 2007 at 2:44 pm

shatter: The World was in the dark building at far left, beyond the parking lot you can see in the first of the three pictures hollywood90038 linked to above. If you look at the third of the three pictures, you can see a corner of the building where the Hawaii Theatre was located, just past another parking lot east of the Florentine Gardens.

shatter
shatter on January 24, 2007 at 11:11 am

where exactly was the World theater in relation to the X1&2?

turnkey
turnkey on July 5, 2006 at 12:52 pm

I used to go to this theater back when Johnny Legend and Eric Caiden of Hollywood Book and Poster ran it as the “Hawaiian Gardens” in the early ‘90s, for about 6 months or so. I was under the impression (I think Johnny told me this) that the people from Florentine Gardens owned it. They would share the parking lot. There were some amazing double and triple, and maybe even quadruple bills — strange exploitation films like “Switchblade Sisters” and “Let me Die a Woman.” It was a pleasure to attend this theater every weekend. Unfortunately not enough filmgoers were into this and I think it folded after a few months. The manager was some nutcase named Dale who gave Johnny a hard time and had no apprectiation for either the films or the fans. Once, I started asking him a question and before I uttered three words he said, “no, no…no, NO!”…JERK.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on November 28, 2005 at 3:19 pm

It’s the Republicans, Robert.

RobertR
RobertR on March 15, 2005 at 10:50 am

I wonder why my above introduction was edited after all this time?

TomWillett
TomWillett on February 11, 2005 at 1:45 pm

Thanks, Christian,

I took the picture. I am the webmaster for http://www.myhollywoodstar.com I used to go to that theater in the 1980s when they had double features. I also worked outside the building as an movie extra. That was probably an episode of Hollywood Beat.

I worked with Johnny Legend in Bug Buster. There is a scene with the band, Trailer Park Trash. That is Johnny and Melba Toast on vocals. Johnny on sax. Myself on keyboard and a drummer.

I believe that theater is near the Free Clinic. It has been empty for a long time.

Tom Willett

trooperboots
trooperboots on February 2, 2005 at 12:18 am

I found a great current photo of this theater….

http://www.myhollywoodstar.com/Emptyshowx.jpg

William
William on January 21, 2005 at 12:35 pm

The theatre just west of this would have been a better choice for a revival house. The old World Theatre (formerly the Marcal Theatre) on Hollywood Blvd..

RobertR
RobertR on January 21, 2005 at 11:59 am

View link

This picture shows the X in it’s glory days

RobertR
RobertR on December 13, 2004 at 7:58 am

This would make a good revival house.

RobertR
RobertR on December 6, 2004 at 6:28 pm

What condition is this place on the inside?

meheuck
meheuck on November 29, 2004 at 4:47 pm

I’ve always heard Johnny Legend and others refer to this theatre as the “Hawaiian Gardens” (which always threw me because this place is nowhere near the actual L.A. suburb of Hawaiian Gardens). I suppose that was a tie-in to the popular Florentine Gardens nightclub next door.
Now that there is a dustup involving the city wanting to seize the Florentine Gardens property for a new fire station, does anyone know if that would include this building as well?

RobertR
RobertR on October 19, 2004 at 12:35 pm

The giant X was almost a landmark, a symbol of the crazy 70’s when porn co-existed beside studioe releases.

br91975
br91975 on October 19, 2004 at 12:23 pm

Any idea what condition the X 1 & 2’s interior (and, for that matter, the exterior) is in?

RobertR
RobertR on October 19, 2004 at 10:22 am

Yes, is the giant X still there?

GaryParks
GaryParks on October 16, 2004 at 12:55 pm

Is this the theatre which had a huge neon “X” outside?

meheuck
meheuck on October 11, 2004 at 5:20 am

In the early ‘90’s, cult musician/wrestling promoter/Andy Kaufman collaborator Johnny Legend presented movie events on one of the screens of the X, which I believe was renamed the Hawaiian Gardens to tie in with the Florentine Gardens nightclub that was next door. Legend says that at least once, the manager of the place got violent with him, which explains why his movie nights did not go on for very long.
At last look, the building is still standing, if someone felt brave enough to give it another go. No clue on who owns the property though.

MagicLantern
MagicLantern on October 8, 2004 at 9:58 pm

This theatre is located at 5959 Hollywood Boulevard.

scottfavareille
scottfavareille on October 8, 2004 at 7:58 am

Exterior of theater and ticket booth can be seen in the 1981 film Exhausted(which PT Anderson used as his inspiration for the 1997 film Boogie Nights). Carlos Tobalina also ran the Mayan theater as an XXX house in the 1970’s.