Vista Theater Hollywood

Where’s the best place to park when coming here? Deep off into the surrounding neighborhood or is there a lot off Vermont or Sunset?

I see this thread has been inactive for some months, but on the off chance Carl_K (who asked, “Does anyone know the time period when it was a gay porno house?”) still ventures by, my recollection is ‘76-'79 (give-take). A couple posters have mentioned the Vista’s gay porno phase, but I guess Carl_K and I are the only ones who’ll admit to attending it during that period. The men’s room had pics cut from the pages of male nude magazines decoupaged on the wall (I’ll never forget the one at eye level just to the right of the urinal). Haven’t been there since the early '90’s (“Silverlake Life”), prior to the restoration; it was still pretty woebegone.

Two exterior photographs I took of the Vista in June 2009:
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I hear the interior is amazing. Haven’t had the chance to go inside yet, though the inner geek in me wants to try and make it for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”……

Sounds like a unique theatre. It looks unique, too. Are there any photos of the interior?

I think that’s the LAPL photo from 4/20/07.

I saw The Night Porter at the Vista in 1979. Use to go to the Onyx all the time in the 80’s. There was a lady there named Fumico who lived upstairs over the theatre with her mom if I remember correctly. I rented a video at Action Video on Hyperion that showed ED Wood being interviewed in his office above the Vista.

I’ve been seeing pictures at the Vista for about 10 years. It’s by far, my favorite place to catch a flick.
There is a segment that they have always shown right before the feature begins, and still do. It’s basically an animated montage reminding the patrons to buy snacks and to be courteous to one another. Anyone who frequents the Vista will know what I’m talking about. It’s super dated, and the music is amazing. I’m trying to track down the persons/company who created this piece for a personal project. If anyone has any leads, please e-mail me …thanks!

It’s strange that the robbery store appeared twice in the same paper on the same day….I like the yeggs comment.

I just noticed that the Vista is featured in a scene from the 2003 television movie, “Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt.” The movie is posted on YouTube; the Vista shows up in part 6 of 10.

It’s a lovely theater that I hope to see next time I am in LA.

(Dec. 3, 1924 LA Times)
THEATER SAFE ROBBED
V.J. Rosen, manager of Bard’s Theater at 4473 Sunset Boulevard, reported to police yesterday that yeggs had forced the small safe in the office of the theater and had obtained $100.

yegg (yeg)
n. Slang
A thief, especially a burglar or safecracker.

My wife took this picture today when she was driving around on Sunset Boulevard. She probably should have rolled down the car window first, but I give her an A for effort.
http://tinyurl.com/6hd27t

Tif: Prior to the period when Landmark ran the theatre (documented in meheuck’s comment of November 16, 2007, above) I don’t think the Vista presented any premiers- unless they were premiers of porn movies during its long years as a porn house.

I have a vague recollection of the Vista showing Russian movies during the early 1960s, but before that it was operated for ages by Fox-West Coast Theatres as a neighborhood house, and Lou Bard’s circuit which opened the theatre also operated it as a neighborhood house, unlikely to have been chosen as a venue for a big premier.

This .pdf file from the L.A. Library gives a brief history of the Vista and the Bard Circuit, though it makes no mention of any premiers.

I noticed that in a comment of May 22, 2005, above, alaskaman says that he saw the premier of Ed Wood at the Vista. That movie was released in 1994, so there may have been some other premiers after the brief period covered in meheuck’s comment.