El Capitan Theatre

It would be even more interesting if that site was working…

Thanks for the info, gentleman.

Ken: The Hollywood branch of Barker Bros. furniture store may have been an original tenant of the El Capitan building. Barker Bros. was L.A.’s major furniture emporium, founded about 1880 and closed in 1992. Their huge main store on 7th Street downtown was built in the 1920’s, but the company was always one of the city’s most progressive and may have planted a branch in Hollywood in that same period. I know that by the 1940’s, they had branches in many suburban shopping districts considerably less affluent than Hollywood.

So what about the furniture? The public wants to know…

It opened as a playhouse with the name El Capitan, was later renamed the Paramount, and then the original name was restored by the Disney Company with their 1990’s renovation.

Was it the Paramount until Disney took it over, and Disney renamed it the EL Capitan?

I’m a little confused by this photo. I understand that Loew’s ran the theater for a while, but did they sell furniture out of the building as well? By the way, the El Capitan was where Richard Nixon broadcast his Checkers speech in 1952:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics03/00011400.jpg

And thanks to Disney to doing the phenominal refurbishment job. I was so impressed when I went inside to see a movie at the El Capitan some years ago. Disney also did a great job on the New Amsterdam Theater in New York.

Between Earl Carrol and the Aquarius, that building was Frank Sennes' Moulin Rouge. They used to tape Queen For A Day there.

The Paramount was a gorgeous theater in the 50s and 60s. The first thing I consciously remember seeing there was Pardners with Martin and Lewis – afterwards, my parents took me to C.C. Brown’s for a sundae. I saw Vertigo there, and The Music Man and Dr. Dolittle and tons of others.

The organ is superb. It bears little tonal resemblence to its Fox days. The obvious reason for this is the size difference/accoustic environment of the two theatres—FOX 4700 seats vs. the El Cap at around 1500.

The crew taking care of the organ at the El Cap. did a wonderful job of bringing the organ’s voices together for a fine Wurlitzer ensemble.

If in the area, the El Cap and the organ are a MUST SEE-MUST HEAR. The organ will be presented in a short concert for people attending the Los Angeles Theatre Organ Society (LATOS) “Wurlitzer Weekend” early Saturday morning January 14, 2006 with organist Jelani Eddington at the console.

Is there a photo of this theatre’s restored organ? I just learned of its prior theatre location in SF through the book, Cinema Treasures and while visiting the CT Fox Theatre link.

BillH;
That’s why we need more theater restoration.

With all due appreciation for the El Capitan’s fine restoration by Disney, does anyone else besides me remember how elegant the Hollywood Paramount interior was back in the 50s, before the series of increasingly gaudy renovations? It was my favorite movie theatre growing up in LA at that time (even more than the Chinese across the street, which was also much nicer inside then than it is now – with the original salmon-colored seats and gold-embroidered screen curtain). I still have fond memories of seeing such classics at the Paramount as Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Gigi (reserved seat engagement), The Nun’s Story, Sayonara, and a host of others. In its way, it was every bit as beautiful as the El Capitan is now and made every film seem a little better and more memorable.

Does anyone know of interior photos of the Paramount Hollywood from this time? I don’t believe it was part of a chain then. The marquee and exterior were also simpler and less glitzy than they became through various unfortunate transformations in the 60s, each seemingly uglier and more tasteless than the one before.