Music Hall Theatre
9036 Wilshire Boulevard,
Beverly Hills,
CA
90211
9036 Wilshire Boulevard,
Beverly Hills,
CA
90211
11 people
favorited this theater
Originally opened as the Elite Theatre in around 1937, it had a seating capacity of 824 and was designed by architect Wilfred B. Verity. It is just down the street from International Creative Management and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
By 1948 it had been renamed Music Hall Theatre, and it was renovated in 1960 to the plans of architect Arthur J. Drielsma. It was later tripled and renovated in the mid-1990’s. In 2005, the seating capacities in the three auditoriums were;142, 98 and 259. Its Art Deco style appearance has remained to this day and continues to be a local favorite showing independent films. It was threatened with closure in early-2011, but got a least a one year extension on its lease.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 36 comments)
Great news!
Yes,great news,the pictures I saw show a beautiful Theatre.
In response to a suggestion on their Facebook page of having later screenings, Laemmle replied: “Unfortunately, Beverly Hills municipal code prohibits us from starting movies after 10pm.” That’s not a great help when trying to entice younger movie goers.
Plus BH’s parking rules and enforcement are Draconian.
It’s terrific Laemmle got a one year lease reprieve. But I’d bet the landlord is just buying time until the economy turns around to put retail/office space there.
Sad news. Theater to close this weekend.
Really? The Laemmle site shows may bookings for the Music Hall in the Coming Soon portion on thier Website.
Yeah, and they have showtimes extending past the weekend…
My bad… saw a piece on the news about the closing of the Music Hall due to lease issues… seemed like the theater was closing THIS weekend… drove past today and it looks like business as usual.
Renovations described in this 1960 trade article: boxoffice
The Music Hall also has a place in TV history. Betty White’s very first sitcom, 1952’s “Life With Elizabeth”, was produced here.
Architect J. Arthur Drielsma designed the renovation of the Music Hall for Herbert Rosener that is featured in the 1960 Boxoffice article that Tinseltoes linked to earlier. The project involved completely rebuilding the gutted interior as well as redesigning the front.
So far, Laemmle has managed to keep this house open a year beyond its reported closing date. The slack real estate market probably has something to do with that.