El Portal Theatre
5269 Lankershim Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
91601
5269 Lankershim Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
91601
13 people
favorited this theater
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Saturday, March 19 – 1st Los Angeles Spaghetti Western Festival, screening “Dead Men Don’t Count,” “Gatling Gun” and “A Fistful of Dollars” at the El Portal.
I remember the El Portal from the 50’s and 60’s. It was my Mom’s favorite theatre. Among many others, we kids saw a rerelease of Disney’s Fantasia and we all went to a rerelease of Bambi on my birthday. North Hollywood was a favorite place to go. There was an old wood-floor Woolworth’s right across the street where I’d always order a grilled cheese sandwich and a chocolate malt.
I grew up in North Hollywood during the 50’s. The El Portal was my neighborhood theater. I used to love going there on Saturdays. I miss those days so much. Next to it, on the corner was a diner called Albert Sheetz but it closed. On the other side was a department store called Rathbuns. My parents knew the owners. Nearby was the place where my mom and I used to catch the “red car” into downtown LA. It was really an adventure for me
Here are some photos taken yesterday:
http://tinyurl.com/y8hvbhs
http://tinyurl.com/yl3vs6n
http://tinyurl.com/ybu9w6o
http://tinyurl.com/yhnen7s
A 2009 photo is here.
The zip code for this theatre is 91601.
1982 Day Photo
A good portion of the crime thriller “Hard” (1998) seemed to be set in this theater; the killer used it as his lair and had victims on the stage, in the dressing rooms, etc. The place was nearly gutted at the time, with scaffolding inside. They didn’t show the outside, but they showed the proscenium, exits, asbestos curtain, and other interior details. Near the end of the movie, with the police closing in, one of the cops radios in that they’re at the El Portal on Lankershim, so of course I came to CT and looked it up. Voila!
The R-rated movie, which is about a closeted cop on the trail of this killer, is graphic in its sex and violence, and is currently running on the cable channel Here and is available on Netflix. Buyer beware.
Here is a night shot from 1982:
http://tinyurl.com/ckbk8z
This is a December 2008 photo.
Here is a recent night view of the El Portal.
El Portal Theatre website
Apparently someone listened to this person’s complaint or a deal fell through….
LA Times (July 24, 1977)
PORNO HOUSES MOVE TO SUBURBS
This is a part of a letter to councilman Joel Wachs.
Although I am a resident of Canoga Park, I have many friends in North Hollywood and therefore spend a good deal of my time and leisure there. Certain tragic circumstances have come to my notice in that the old El Portal Theater is being sold and is to be razed shortly and the Guild Theater is to be sold to become a porno house. It would appear that the filth peddlers, being forced out of Hollywood proper, are spreading their disease to the suburbs. Since the only other theater in North Hollywood (the old Lankershim Theater)is also porno, perhaps the City Council should consider making this a “red light district” and bring to the residents the crime, pimping and prostitution that go hand in hand. It seems to me that the theater owners are determined to sell to any get-rich-quick artist who doesn’t give a damn for the residents.
R.A. Simon
Canoga Park
Here’s a movie listing from Aug. 3, 1927:
LANKERSHIM
EL PORTAL
Wed., Thurs.-John Gilbert in “12 Miles Out"
Fri., Sat.–"Chang”
Here is a 2007 close-up view of the El Portal Theater.
This is a recent photo of the El Portal Theater and here is a photo of the ticket booth.
Here is another photo from USC, showing the El Portal in 1937:
http://tinyurl.com/pf7jn
It’s kind of a bummer the way they altered it. But it looks like the building is getting good use, and many decorative elements remain. All in all not a bad situation.
Here is a photo of Lankershim Boulevard in 1926, with the El Portal nearing completion. (From the USC Archives.)
Here is a modern photo of the El Portal Theater.
From the LA Library:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015664.jpg
From the LA Library:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015664.jpg
This is the website for the El Portal Center for the Arts.
a pic
http://ga2so.com/burbank/images/elportal.jpg
You can also see a shot of the marquee in a current State Farms commercial running now.