Hawaii Theatre

The seating capacity of the Hawaii Theatre was given as 1,106, all on one level.

In the late 1940's/early 1950's it was listed under the name; Hawaii Music Hall.

The Hawaii was one of the most spectacular atmospheric houses I have ever visited. On one side of the screen was a volcano, and on the other was a waterfall. When the movie started, the action stopped but resuemed at intermission. As a child growing up in Hollywood, I remember being fascinated by the animation on the walls.

I only ever saw the Hawaii a couple of times while it was still open, and regret never having had the chance to go a movie there. I had heard about it many years before I ever began to go to Hollywood, when I was only five or six years old. My older sister had been allowed to go to the Hawaii, with the family of one of her school friends. She described the waterfall and other atmospheric effects, and the general splendor of the theatre, unlike anything in our dull suburban neighborhood, and I was very envious. That she had gotten to see a Disney movie that I much desired to see became almost incidental, so lavish was the theatre I imagined from her description.

I wonder if the place has been much changed by the Salvation Army? I can't really imagine them maintaining the waterfall and volcano effects, despite their respective potential to serve as metaphors for baptism and the fires of Hell. I don't think that the Salvation Army is quite that theatrical an institution.

I somehow doubt that the Salvation Army would have kept the mural above the marquee either, unless they tried to palm it off as Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden.

If they did let the mural represent the Garden of Eden, then I suppose Hollywood Boulevard itself could symbolize the Serpent.

I saw the Mummy's Tomb here in 1942.They fixed the inside to give
a scary effect for the movie. They had a person dressd like the Mummy
walk up the isle slow dragging is leg during the movie whem it was
dark. It worked alots of kids headed out to the lobby.Also saw hellzapoppin there in 1941

Here is a photo of the interior. Note the right side of the stage is the volcano which was animated with red glowing crater and white smoke which rose towards the ceiling.

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014687.jpg

The original artists conception art....

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics49/00044369.jpg

Architect Clarence Smale collaborated with theater designer Carl G. Moeller on the Hawaii. It was built for the Times-Mirror Company.

Is this the theatre on Hollywood Blvd that has an army jeep parked just outside the entrance, about where the ticket booth would be? I used to live in West Hollywood and would pass it often wondering what the jeep was for.

This theatre is located next to the Florentine Gardens on Hollywood Blvd.

An expanded shot of the above photo:

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014692.jpg

From the LA Library:

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics29/00049371.jpg

Here a few more photos of the interior from the LA Library:

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014688.jpg

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014690.jpg

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014691.jpg

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014689.jpg

A family story says my uncle Jack Quinn was the contractor who built the Hawaii. I saw "Conquest of Space" there in 1954 and I remember the seats rocked back, which I syncronized to the rocketship taking off, of course.

Does anyone know how the animation was created on either side of this theater? As a boy, I remember a waterfall on the left side of the screen and a volcano on the right side were animated before and between features. My guess is there were projectors over the paintings. I remember being fascinated by them as I enjoyed my Charms lime flavor giant lollypops and Necco Wafers.

...........THIS SHOULD BE RE-BUILT!

Re: the LA Library photo. They called them "Safety Zones!"
Diana Ellis

Hi, my name's Tim and I'm doing a PhD in 1940s horror films and horror spectatorship. I know the Hawaii was the place that most of the horror films previewed in the 40s (including a record 13 week holdover for Val Lewton's Cat People in 1943, with RKO using the Hawaii box-office converted into a giant cat's head in a number of ads) and I'm particularly interested in the crowd composition for these horror shows during the war. I see above that 'letsgotothemovies' was in attendance for the Mummy's Tomb in 42, it would be great to get more info or if anyone else has any more anecdotal info, articles or leads on archives I would be really, really grateful to hear from you either through this or my email: T.Snelson@uea.ac.uk I have a little stuff from LA Times but i'm in the UK so it is difficult at the mo for me to get over to look at archives etc, hopefully next year.

Check this out
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/ChmnofBrd/Movie%20Theatres/Hawaii.jpg

Thanks Robert that's great. Nice one

The one and only Steven McQueen in ...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/lablob.jpg

This was the same theater that briefly became the "Hawaiian Gardens" theater in the early 90s for a few months, right? Does anyone else recall this "grindhouse" setup that Eric Caiden of Hollywood book and poster fame and Johnny Legend did? I think I still have flyers for these shows (which they now do once a month at the New Beverly theater on Beverly near La Brea)...If it's the same one, then, man, I have memories of it being a total dump...at least by the early '90s. Can anyone confirm?

This theatre has been the Salvation Army's Hollywood location for a long time. See I remember Eric doing the shows at the former X-Theatres during the 90's. The former X-Theatre was just sitting there closed at the time Eric did those shows and was a real dump from being used as a adult theatre.

If you look over at X 1 & 2 for info on the Hawaiian Gardens Theatre.

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/8436/

I see. I didn't realize the two theaters (Hawaii, X1 & X2) were so close together. Thanks, William. From the outside they don't look that different!

I think this is the theater with the jeep in front, but can't be sure. I drove by here the other week, and am a bit mixed up with some of the ones I have seen. Anyone have a current photo of it?

The LA Times noted this on July 28, 1963:

It had a mixed history in its 23 years. And last week it closed its doors as a movie house. The Salvation Army had taken over the property at 5941 Hollywood Blvd. and the Hawaii Theater ceased to be.

This is from the Times, dated 5/5/40:

Hawaii Theater to Open Tomorrow in Film City
Structure Introduces Numerous Unique Innovations in Design and Construction CINEMA STRUCTURE OF UNIQUE CHARM READY HAWAII THEATER TO OPEN TOMORROW IN FILM CITY

Ready for its formal dedication tomorrow night is Hollywood's new $250,000 Hawaii Theater, unique in architectural design and structural innovations.

You may have heard of this film that was advertised in the January 1942 LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2o3pma

Here is a 1940 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/3xl6yq

Vivacious Lady with Ginger Rogers and James Stewart was released in August of 1938.

Convoy with Clive Brook was released in the United States on January 3, 1941, but had been released on September 28, 1940 in the United Kingdom. Though the theatre's marquee boasts that both features are Academy Award Winners, I can't find anything on the Internet about which awards either film won.

If Convoy won an Oscar as a 1940 release, then the earliest possible date on this photo would be February 28, 1941. If it won as a 1941 release, then the earliest possible date for the photo would be February 27, 1942.

In any case, these movies seem an odd pairing, award winners or not. I wonder if the Hawaii was having trouble getting bookings at the time? And what's the deal with the bagpipers and other folk perched atop the marquee?

The films did not win any awards. The copy on the marquee boasts "2 Academy Winners together" , It's Ginger Rogers and James Stewart. They both win Best Acting awards the year before for "Kitty Foyle" and "The Philadelphia Story".

Also, Vivacious Lady was nominated for two Academy Awards. Best Cinematography and Best Sound. I don't know if it won either award.

I couldn't figure out if those were people or statues, or if it was a permanent display, or just a promotion for the movies. Convoy was about the British Navy, so maybe they're supposed to be sailors.

Ah, so the actors had won the awards for movies the theatre wasn't showing. I hadn't thought of that. So the marquee blurb might have been one of those ploys by a desperate theatre manager trying to find some way to attract audiences to a two-year-old re-release double billed with a newer release so unpromising that it has actually been placed below the older feature on the marquee.

Here's a classic ad for one of the most notorious American films of all time, which opened at the Hawaii and three other Music Hall cinemas on April 3, 1946: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/4musichalls.jpg

The Downtown engagement was at the Music Hall which was the Tower Theatre and the other Hollywood engagement was at Studio or listed here as the Holly Theatre in Hollywood.

Music Hall Theaters makes its first appearance in Film Daily Year Books in the 1947 edition. It was apparently a recently formed subsidiary of Blumenfeld Theaters, which had its HQ in San Francisco and operated mostly in Northern California. Joseph Blumenfeld is credited as president of both companies. Prior to the 1947 FDYB, the four Los Angeles cinemas of Music Hall Theaters were included in the listing for Blumenfeld Theaters.

I used Google Maps to pull up a street view of this address. The Salvation Army conducted a very plain renovation of the exterior, in which the mural and marquee were removed.

Here is a photo taken today:
http://tinyurl.com/4l349g

Is the theater preserved inside by this church, or was it redone?

Here's the bottom panel of a newspaper ad from 1958 with the Hawaii as the lead house.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2742/4036178952_10449bd6e5_o.jpg

This theater was shown in a 1953 theater owners' documentary about the financial devastation wrought by the 20% federal tax, plus other encroachments on the box office, such as television.

The doc is called "The Case Against the 20% Federal Admission Tax on Motion Picture Theaters" and is a treasure trove of theaters operating but in imminent trouble, including long looks at their still-open theaters, marquees, etc., and interviews with the owners.

There are also plenty of shots of already-closed theaters; the writing was really on the wall already.

TCM ran this movie on 11/1/09 at about 6am and I stumbled upon it by accident; I don't know when it will screen again but it is well worth seeking out.