Highland Theatre

This theatre is located not far south of Avenue 57, on North Figueroa Street, which used to be Pasadena Avenue until sometime in the 1920's.

This was my neighborhood movie theater when I was a kid--James Bond revivals, Billy Jack, Gone With the Wind...I was really happy to see its rooftop marquee a-blazing in the new version of The Singing Detective.
As Mr. Melnick notes, this neighborhood has been pretty rough and tumble over the years, but now Highland Park has a reputation as an artist's ghetto, and everyone knows that artists are the yuppie shock troops, so perhaps the really beautiful old houses around here will start being rennovated...and maybe this great old theater with it.

My mom lived in Highland Park in 1950 and in September of that year went into labor for me while watching the program. The show on the night of 9-13 was "The Furies" with Barbara Stanwick and "Treasure Island"... there was also a cartoon and a short subject called "In Beaver Valley" by Disney. By 5 a.m. I arrived at U.C. (called L.A. General in those days) Hospital.

I used to go to this theater faithfully every week-end with friends(Hey, Robert Whittle and Joey M...Where are you now?)This theater could have rivaled any theater in Los Angeles or Hollywood at the time. I have not been back to the area in over 35 years, but have many fond memories of growing up on Monte Vista and Ave 52.

Am I the only person in LA on a fixed income? I regularly see first-run films here for $4 in the afternoon. The place is clean. The staff is civil. The neighborhood is unpretentious but safe. The parking is easy. What are you waiting for?

Slightly Moorish in style, this theatre seated 1450 before its triplexing. If you go past the projection rooms (which are nearly always open due to how hot they get) and up the stairs to the second-story bathrooms, there's a doorway leading into what must have been the balcony, which may be used as storage space or some other such.

Thats odd they put no cinemas in the balcony?

The plexing of this theatre was done after Mann Theatres dropped the house. So some of those early plexings in Southern California were done cheaply. Like this theatre, the California Theatre in Huntington Park, Culver Theatre in Culver City and the Academy in Pasadena.

The Highland Theater opened on 5th March 1925 and Norma Shearer made a personal appearance.

The Highland Theatre is a wonderful place to watch a movie. Why spend big bucks at a comercialized movie theatre, when you can enjoy the same movie (& save cash) at the Highland. It's unfortunate that many residents in Highland Park seek entertainment elsewhere. Highland park is a gem community that i believe is slowly starting to be discovered. Be good to your community and your community will be good to you. -Nani

I grew up on Mt. Washington and now live in Highland Park, just a few yards from the Highland. The Highland, as well as the Rialto in South Pasadena, were built for Clyde M. Church, who was a local banker. They were both then set up on lone term leases with a predicessor to the Mann corporation. I know that Church's heirs still own the land under the Highland and I believe they also own the land under the Rialto. I wrote the Los Angeles City Monument nomination for the Highland in 1990 and also participated in the nomination for El Portal, in North Hollywood. When I was 10, several friends and I walked down the hill and went to the Highland to see the James Bond thriller, "Thunderball". That was my first experiance in the original Moorish interior of the theatre. It was very impressive. I was extremely disappointed when the later operators butchered the interior around 1980. At the time of the nomination, the original chandaleir was lying on the upper balcony which is not used at this time. I've heard rumors that it has since been sold. Ah, that someone with both money and vision could restore this wonderful venue.

-Charlie Fisher, Arroyoseco@Hotmail.com, 323-255-2849

With the financial assistance of the Highland Park Heritage Trust, the Highland Theatre¹s magnificent rooftop sign will burn brightly once again, after the replacement of more than 750 incandescent light bulbs. Originally restored and lit in the late 1990¹s through a collaboration of the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Neon Program and the Targeted Neighborhood Initiative Program, the sign is one of only three incandescent bulb signs still in use in the city. Declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1991, the Highland Theatre was constructed in 1924, from a design by the noted theater architect L.A. Smith (he also designed South Pasadena's Rialto.) from 2003 press release by Highland Park Heritage Trust

reneei44:

I went to Monte Vista Elementary from 1963-66.
I grew up in Highland Park from 1960-1966.
I still have fond memories of when I lived in the
area, on Aldama Street above 54th.

pamparizo@hotmail.com

I just drove by today and couln't believe what a gem this place is. It's cheap, it's a historical monument, and it's beautiful. I used to go to a $2 theater in San Diego, but it didn't do so well and mysteriously shut down. I really hope that this place stays charming, low priced, and open! Hopefully, if and when it starts getting more business, the prices won't go up and bum people out. That would suck, so don't do it! Poor people want to watch movies too. Power to the people! We should all boycott pricey theaters and only go to this one. ke ke ke.

More current photo of the Higland Theatre.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/Chuck1231/California%20Theatres/HighlandTheatre5604N.jpg

More photos of this theater can be seen here.

This is another photo of the Highland Theater.

It's fun to see these photos of how it looks now. I grew up in Montecito Heights and this was our closest theater when I was a kid. Looks pretty much the way I remember it, other than being a triplex now.

I still live by this theatre. In the afternoons, the theatre is pretty quiet, and some couples and mostly students out of school will show up (on Tuesday's and Wednesday's is $3 dollars). Unlike huge megaplexes, the people in the audience are a bit loud, always chattering away, but it's not bad. It gives you a very lively experince. Usually on a Weekend night ($6), there will be a large line for a movie, especially huge ones like The Lord of the Rings or Pirates of the Carribean. My only complaint is that it's not keep very clean (sometimes the theatre smells like feet) and the walls are paper thin, so you can hear the movie next door at loud scenes. Still, it's my favorite theatre just because of the great times.

This theatre is only a couple blocks from the Gold Line train stop.

Westsiders, why not have an adventure. Take the train to Highland Park and check out this historic theatre. Pretend it's 1950 and you're taking the Red Cars to Highland Park. Have fun and explore your city.

Here is a story about the Highland from the LA Times dated 9/12/91:

The 67-year-old Highland Theatre, the last of a group of 1920s theaters that once formed the heart of Highland Park, has been designated a historic-cultural monument by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission. Members of the Highland Park Heritage Trust, the historical preservation organization that nominated the Highland as a monument, described it as one of the outstanding examples of Moorish theater architecture in the Los Angeles area.

Designed by theater architect L.A. Smith, the Spanish-style Highland at 5600 N. Figueroa St. features arched openings, decorative tile walls and wrought-iron work on its exterior. The once-elegant interior had an orchestra pit, a working stage for vaudeville acts, large ceiling frescoes, and elaborate moldings in the shape of Spanish arches. If approved by the Los Angeles City Council, the monument designation would mean that any plan to alter or demolish the building could be delayed for up to one year, while preservationists seek a means of saving it.

But while the outer walls of the theater are virtually the same as they were when the structure was built in 1924, the interior had already been substantially altered when it was divided into a triplex theater in 1983. The once-outdoor lobby was enclosed and the original walls in the lobby and in the theater were covered with other material. Today, the balcony, where the frescoes and moldings are still exposed, is filthy and closed to the public. The grand chandelier that once hung over the house is lying on the floor there, covered in dust. The seat cushions have been pulled up and stacked in piles.

But Charlie Fisher, a member of the board of directors of Highland Park Heritage Trust, said the building "is restorable." "The original interior is still there," he said. "Down the road, if economic conditions merit it, you could convert it back."

Greg Akarakian, whose father has owned the theater since 1975, said his family has no plans to restore the theater to its original condition. He said that the historical preservationists who want to save the building have come into the picture too late. "Maybe 10 years ago, they would have had a chance," he said. "If they had shown interest before we remodeled, maybe we could have done something."

But Fisher said the monument designation will preserve the chance that the building could be refurbished in the future. "You don't know what's going to happen in 10 years," he said. "They may be able to convert it back."

In documentation submitted with its nomination, the Heritage Trust said the Highland was the largest and most elegant of a cluster of six theaters that formed the cultural heart of Highland Park. Its opening was a grand occasion, with an appearance by the silent film star Norma Shearer. "This technically was probably the finest building for a theater that Highland Park ever had," said Tom Owen, a local history specialist for the city's Central Library downtown. "This would have been the major point in town for entertainment."

Later though, the theater and others in Highland Park fell on hard times as movie attendance dropped. Gradually, the others closed and, by 1963, the Highland was the only one left. In their struggle to keep the Highland open, the operators briefly showed pornographic films and Spanish-language movies, Akarakian said. The triplex now shows first-run feature films.

For Sale. $2,000,000 on Loopnet.

In the description that Loopnet gives for this theater, it gives the impression that there are four theaters contained inside this building.

"The first floor consists of retail and three movie theaters. The second floor/mezzanine has been converted to a theater of its own, still maintaing its original charm, complete with projection room and original chairs". Is this still a triplex or is it now a quad?

Well when they tri-plexed the house in 1983. They put the three theatres on the ground floor, leaving the balconey alone. So it is a triplex, but to the untrained person it looks like a quad. They have not used the balconey area in years (1983). So it's a triplex.

Thanks William. I guess Loopnet is just using the balcony as a selling point. Its available but not currently being used. That clears up that mystery.

Here is a recent view of the Highland Theater. The marquee looks different.

Here are some March 2008 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/38j7jn
http://tinyurl.com/2vkw6k
http://tinyurl.com/3yo397
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http://tinyurl.com/2qnm6x

It was close to 98 degrees when I took those pictures in March. Frost Belters take note.

I just recently ventured to this theater for the first time specifically to see the theater. I found that the rooftop sign, the still visible Moorish architecture on the side of the building and the stairs that were roped off obviously leading to a former balcony, belie the current state of the theater. The auditorium was very dirty and, yes, you could hear the films from the neighboring auditoriums. And not to be forgotten, was the surly ticket seller. However, the price was amazingly cheap compared to the megaplexes. Indeed it is always refreshing to see theaters with history still in operation but the current state of this theater cannot help but make one sad.

Here is part of an LA Times article dated 9/7/75:

Ex-Porno Theater Reopens

HIGHLAND PARK-The Highland Theater, picketed by residents last year when X-rated films were offered, has reopened under new management pledged to show only family-type films. Arman Akarakian, the new owner, says picketing in November and December convinced him that "Highland Park meant business" and would support the theater if non-pornographic films were shown. Akarakian, who owns another movie house in Huntington Beach, said the theater will offer Spanish-language films every Tuesday night and childrens' matinees on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Hey everybody, local South Pas kid and amateur filmmaker, R.D.Hall, will be premiering him Noir Horror/Gangster movie at the Rialto on May 8th, 2009. The One-Sheet for the film was created by another South Pas/Highland Park kid, local art legend, Jimi(not the tattoo artist)Martinez. Admission is free, as is the popcorn and refreshments. Whoa! Friday night at the movies!!! Lets all go support indie filmmaking...Rialto rocks!!!

Thats the Rialto in South Pasadena.

Darby, it is abusive to post that on every LA theater page.

Sorry Howard...I forget that some of our more obsessive members subsrcibe to several dozen theatres....even if they've never even attended those said theatres....just kidding... but seriously, if I was truly abusive, I would have posted on several dozen thetres, instead of those in the immediate area of the Rialto.

BTW....the show at the Rialto is at 8:30 PM tonight!!!

Interesting film by a young local director, RD Hall. It was nice to sit in there for a couple of hours. Many of those who attended had never been in the Rialto when it was in operation. The insides have been pretty much well preserved. Interseting to note that the film was actually projected digitally from a DVD projector in the balcony, and it was able to achieve the standard aspect ratio. I'd say about 200 people made the show. Cant wait for the next show. I think they should do the same at the Highland once in a while, that is, show indie films now and then.

1982 Photo

1984 Photo

Love the rooftop sigh,nich looking theatre.

March 17, 2010:
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/HighlandTheatreMar17201023.jpg
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Cool photos hollywood90038.