pmiller… one question please. I understand the numerous items that are required to update the theater and make it safe and habitable. I did not know a parking structure was part of that upgrade. Is that required by the local government, or can the theater dispense with that kind of expense. There are SO MANY parking lots where classic buildings used to be, and now with the subway running under the boulevard, can’t we dispense with turning every other block into a lot? The Brown Derby, Al Levy’s Tavern, The Hitching Post Theater and even my grandmothers old house at Gower and Selma are all parking lots now.
Thanks so much Don, for the kind words about the theater! I will look further into the group. It’s funny that I remember some of the old theaters had a strange echo-like sound to them… but it’s one of the things that I miss the most in today’s theaters. I wonder if Cinemathque has considered that the classic films just sound all the more authentic with the accoustics the way they were? At least I think so.
The Egyptian has special meaning to me. I was only a few months old early in 1951, when my mom took me there. She went to see a film premier. She has always been a big movie fan. She arrived and realized she HAD to use the ladies room. She found a beautifully dressed red head with another lady sitting in the waiting room outside the door (I wonder if it is still there?). Mom asked the lady if she could me for a few minutes. She knew it would be alright because the lady was a pregnant Lucille Ball. Lucy said “of course” and when my mom came back, chatted with her about her own condition. Lucy said she was so excited about the baby. The baby turned out to be Lucille Arnaz, born later that year… and I wrote to her about 3 years ago. She sent me a reply and said it was a great story and published my letter on her website. Of course, later around the age of 5, 6 and 7… I remember sitting in the theater and looking up at the beautiful sun ornament fully lit and glowing above the curtain. It all stays with you.
The Egyptian is definitely on my list when I visit Hollywood next month. Thank God for this group. At least they are on the right track and have not destroyed anything and the theater may one day be fully restored. Thanks again.
There have been a number of marquees above the entrance to the Egyptian…. here are some great photos to show how dramatically those signs altered the entrance ….
The “other” El Capitan no longer goes by that name. The original El Capitan above was built in 1927 as a live theater. A few years before, the “Hollywood Playhouse” opened on Vine Street also as a live theater (it has always remained a live theater to this day). When the original El Capitan above became a movie palace instead of a live theater, (the late 1930s, if memory serves me) it was renamed the PARAMOUNT. It was around that time the Hollywood Playhouse on Vine Street became the new El Capitan.
Sometime in the 1940s, the Vine Street El Capitan’s name was taken back to be the “Hollywood Playhouse” and has remained that name ever since (except in the 1960s, when it was known as the “Hollywood Palace” because of the TV show which was broadcast from there).
The original El Capitan was renamed it’s original name by Disney when they bought it a few years back. This grand theater was mainly purchased as a venue for DISNEY premiers, which are a regular event these days. The theater is restored and glorious. There are some live events there, some are in conjunction with the films shown there, I am told. Check to see with the theater to be sure.
So when you visit, there will only be ONE El Capitan…. the original. The Hollywood Playhouse on Vine street is mainly for live popular music acts, from what I understand. Fortunately, it has remained largely intact over the decades, although showing it’s age. Neither of these theaters is to be mistaken for the Ricardo Montalban Theater (which they often are) on Vine Steet one block to the south. That was a movie theater in the 1920s, and so it has a link here on cinema treasures at /theaters/9863/
Here is a photo of the El Capitan theater (above) when it was brand new in 1927… notice the Roosevelt Hotel, where the first oscar ceremony took place, under construction a block further…… http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028679.jpg
Here is a photo of the Hollywood Playhouse, which for a while was called the El Capitan (I believe the 1930s)… but today is a live music venue…. http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014702.jpg
This is as much as I know. Hope it solves the confusion. Perhaps someone can go into greater detail on these 2 great theaters? Both have a great history.
Another link some of you might enjoy is the LIVE Web Cameras at the theater which are on-line at the following link. Both cameras are placed in the forecourt so you can view the tourists viewing the names of the stars, or if you time it just right, witness a gala premier in action as the stars arrive. One camera is mounted right above the front door….
I found a marvelous photo of a pre-1938 Music Box Theater when it was the home of the Lux Radio Broadcasts prior to moving to the CBS Radio Playhouse on Vine Street (now the Ricardo Montalban Theater)…..
Joe, You are most likely correct. The CBS “Columbia Square” building on Sunset Blvd. is probably the place. It is interesting that the Lux Broadcasts I have somehow stop after 1955.
Paul, I do have a fairly good list of programs that the LUX Radio Theater broadcast from the theater from about 1938-1953 on Monday nights. Among the shows I have is “Sunset Blvd.” broadcast with Gloria Swanson and William Holden in 1951, a year after the movie became a hit. The stars who performed live on that stage during those years was a real “whos-who” of Hollywood history, including Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Bob Hope, Cary Grant, Rita Hayworth, Barbara Stanwyck and hundreds of others.
I also have a couple of brochures from the theater from the late 60s. I will see what I come up with. The problem with a lot of the theater’s history was a fire which destroyed the Hollywood Public Library in the 1980’s. The library held much of the theater’s historic records.
I have recordings of old LUX radio shows recorded at the “Music Box” from 1935 until this theater began broadcasting from l938. There is a broadcast from 1940 of “Dark Victory” with Warner Brothers star Bette Davis and co-star Spencer Tracy from MGM. In radio, the stars from different studios could do radio plays together, apparently… so the performance is first rate. Does anyone know where the last Lux Radio Broadcasts were made in 1954 and 1955, recorded? This was 2 years after Huntington Hartford took over the theater and wonder if they were still made here, or perhaps moved back to the Music Box or Vine Street theater?
Hello Edward1, Thanks for the note about Cinamateque. I went back to their website for an hour and had no idea the organization was about preservation and presenting classic film. I had the impression they were about “experimental film making”. At the time I visited the Egyptian, it did not seem there was anyone around who could tell me what the organization was about or doing. I was there around noon, yet the courtyard was so austere, unoccupied and uninviting. Cinemateque seems very worthwhile and I will see if someone can tell me more. Thanks so much for inspiring me to take a second look!
Hi Joe, I have been trying to access the Robert Winter Collection site, but so far, not successful. I think I will write to them instead. I keep getting error messages with their search feature.
Hello Jim .. yes I think most of us on this site understand that THX has vastly improved the sound fidelity of film and understand that Dolby was basically a noise reduction system. The point I was trying to make is that since the THX system has superior lower frequency capability (as well having improved the entire sound spectrum), then it makes sense that the old “Sensurround” system in theaters is indeed obsolete. To put it another way, a film like “Earthquake” or “Rollercoaster” made in the old “Sensurround” system can be played in a theater once more with the same (or more accurately, far better) effect than the old “Sunsurround” system ever could… thus the old “Sensurround” system as it was installed in theaters is now obsolete since I would imagine a modern THX system could replicate the effect.
As for Hollywood using “gimmicks” and “tricks”… all I can say is that it is part of show business and whether 3-D glasses, Sensurround, Smell-o-rama, or Cinemascope, it brought them into the movie palaces and in my book, it is part of the lore of the classic cinemas.
Aerial photo of the area in 1936 showing the theater (upper left) and a Ralphs Market at the lower right….. are any of these buildings still there from that time?
The Lux Theater was originally called the ROSE Theater, then the REX Theater, and finally the LUX Theater. It was torn down after 1964. Here is a photo from that year …… that is sad!
Here is a great photo of the Criterion in 1930 with a marquee advertising a Joan Crawford film called “PAID”…. the “greatest amazing role of her career!”…
I saw “Annie” and Dawn Wells in “Chapter Two” in 1979 or 1980. I was also got a grand tour from the theater manager, who was gracious (and obviously very proud) to show me around. At the time there were gold leaf stars around the top of the stage they were in the process of restoring, and the ones they completed looked fantastic. They were wanting the auditorium to look it’s best because Lillian Gish was coming to give a lecture. Lillian was born only about 60 miles west of Columbus in Springfield.
It is truly one of the most magnificent theaters in this country. The details are truly breathtaking. I was struck by the stained glass around the central dome in the theater, the thick lush velvet curtains I remember in theaters in Hollywood, where I was raised, and the colored glass in the chandleliers in the lobby. Any details of these (or photos in color) would be appreciated. Can anyone post links to these?
The following are some truly great photos of the Carthay Circle Theater in the 1920s, when it was first built…. these are in the archives of the Los Angeles Public Library….
In “Disney’s California Adventure Theme Park” in Anaheim, they have built a smaller replica of the Carthay Circle Theater that sells gift items…Here is a photo of it…
Hope these are enjoyable to those who loved this late, great theater……
pmiller… one question please. I understand the numerous items that are required to update the theater and make it safe and habitable. I did not know a parking structure was part of that upgrade. Is that required by the local government, or can the theater dispense with that kind of expense. There are SO MANY parking lots where classic buildings used to be, and now with the subway running under the boulevard, can’t we dispense with turning every other block into a lot? The Brown Derby, Al Levy’s Tavern, The Hitching Post Theater and even my grandmothers old house at Gower and Selma are all parking lots now.
Thanks so much Don, for the kind words about the theater! I will look further into the group. It’s funny that I remember some of the old theaters had a strange echo-like sound to them… but it’s one of the things that I miss the most in today’s theaters. I wonder if Cinemathque has considered that the classic films just sound all the more authentic with the accoustics the way they were? At least I think so.
The Egyptian has special meaning to me. I was only a few months old early in 1951, when my mom took me there. She went to see a film premier. She has always been a big movie fan. She arrived and realized she HAD to use the ladies room. She found a beautifully dressed red head with another lady sitting in the waiting room outside the door (I wonder if it is still there?). Mom asked the lady if she could me for a few minutes. She knew it would be alright because the lady was a pregnant Lucille Ball. Lucy said “of course” and when my mom came back, chatted with her about her own condition. Lucy said she was so excited about the baby. The baby turned out to be Lucille Arnaz, born later that year… and I wrote to her about 3 years ago. She sent me a reply and said it was a great story and published my letter on her website. Of course, later around the age of 5, 6 and 7… I remember sitting in the theater and looking up at the beautiful sun ornament fully lit and glowing above the curtain. It all stays with you.
The Egyptian is definitely on my list when I visit Hollywood next month. Thank God for this group. At least they are on the right track and have not destroyed anything and the theater may one day be fully restored. Thanks again.
Here was the original exterior of the theater…
http://sclee.library.ucla.edu/003/16/i0031602.jpg
… and the superb and sweeping “art moderne” auditorium…
http://sclee.library.ucla.edu/003/16/i0031608.jpg
There have been a number of marquees above the entrance to the Egyptian…. here are some great photos to show how dramatically those signs altered the entrance ….
1924 – small vertical sign on right wall…
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014533.jpg
1930 – larger vertical on left wall and broad electric marquee over entrance to courtyard…
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics39/00039150.jpg
1955 – larger curved neon “wall” in the art-moderne style….
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014528.jpg
1969 – the horizontal neon stripe tubes were removed after the 60s…
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014548.jpg
1989 – the theater had turned into a tri-plex at this time…
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028678.jpg
Sorry, one correction… the Montalban Theater was a movie house in the early 1930s, not 20s.
The “other” El Capitan no longer goes by that name. The original El Capitan above was built in 1927 as a live theater. A few years before, the “Hollywood Playhouse” opened on Vine Street also as a live theater (it has always remained a live theater to this day). When the original El Capitan above became a movie palace instead of a live theater, (the late 1930s, if memory serves me) it was renamed the PARAMOUNT. It was around that time the Hollywood Playhouse on Vine Street became the new El Capitan.
Sometime in the 1940s, the Vine Street El Capitan’s name was taken back to be the “Hollywood Playhouse” and has remained that name ever since (except in the 1960s, when it was known as the “Hollywood Palace” because of the TV show which was broadcast from there).
The original El Capitan was renamed it’s original name by Disney when they bought it a few years back. This grand theater was mainly purchased as a venue for DISNEY premiers, which are a regular event these days. The theater is restored and glorious. There are some live events there, some are in conjunction with the films shown there, I am told. Check to see with the theater to be sure.
So when you visit, there will only be ONE El Capitan…. the original. The Hollywood Playhouse on Vine street is mainly for live popular music acts, from what I understand. Fortunately, it has remained largely intact over the decades, although showing it’s age. Neither of these theaters is to be mistaken for the Ricardo Montalban Theater (which they often are) on Vine Steet one block to the south. That was a movie theater in the 1920s, and so it has a link here on cinema treasures at /theaters/9863/
Here is a photo of the El Capitan theater (above) when it was brand new in 1927… notice the Roosevelt Hotel, where the first oscar ceremony took place, under construction a block further……
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028679.jpg
Here is a photo of the Hollywood Playhouse, which for a while was called the El Capitan (I believe the 1930s)… but today is a live music venue….
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014702.jpg
This is as much as I know. Hope it solves the confusion. Perhaps someone can go into greater detail on these 2 great theaters? Both have a great history.
Another link some of you might enjoy is the LIVE Web Cameras at the theater which are on-line at the following link. Both cameras are placed in the forecourt so you can view the tourists viewing the names of the stars, or if you time it just right, witness a gala premier in action as the stars arrive. One camera is mounted right above the front door….
http://www.manntheatres.com/webcam/
The address for this theater is listed for
Vermont GM Certified Used Cars
233 N. Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Phone:Â (213) 251-1414
Not sure if the theater building is still there and used by the dealership or not.
I found a marvelous photo of a pre-1938 Music Box Theater when it was the home of the Lux Radio Broadcasts prior to moving to the CBS Radio Playhouse on Vine Street (now the Ricardo Montalban Theater)…..
View link
Joe, You are most likely correct. The CBS “Columbia Square” building on Sunset Blvd. is probably the place. It is interesting that the Lux Broadcasts I have somehow stop after 1955.
Paul, I do have a fairly good list of programs that the LUX Radio Theater broadcast from the theater from about 1938-1953 on Monday nights. Among the shows I have is “Sunset Blvd.” broadcast with Gloria Swanson and William Holden in 1951, a year after the movie became a hit. The stars who performed live on that stage during those years was a real “whos-who” of Hollywood history, including Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Bob Hope, Cary Grant, Rita Hayworth, Barbara Stanwyck and hundreds of others.
I also have a couple of brochures from the theater from the late 60s. I will see what I come up with. The problem with a lot of the theater’s history was a fire which destroyed the Hollywood Public Library in the 1980’s. The library held much of the theater’s historic records.
I have recordings of old LUX radio shows recorded at the “Music Box” from 1935 until this theater began broadcasting from l938. There is a broadcast from 1940 of “Dark Victory” with Warner Brothers star Bette Davis and co-star Spencer Tracy from MGM. In radio, the stars from different studios could do radio plays together, apparently… so the performance is first rate. Does anyone know where the last Lux Radio Broadcasts were made in 1954 and 1955, recorded? This was 2 years after Huntington Hartford took over the theater and wonder if they were still made here, or perhaps moved back to the Music Box or Vine Street theater?
I found an older news article about this theater which explains in good detail what will be done with the old theater.
View link
Here is your link Gustavelifting…
View link
Hello Edward1, Thanks for the note about Cinamateque. I went back to their website for an hour and had no idea the organization was about preservation and presenting classic film. I had the impression they were about “experimental film making”. At the time I visited the Egyptian, it did not seem there was anyone around who could tell me what the organization was about or doing. I was there around noon, yet the courtyard was so austere, unoccupied and uninviting. Cinemateque seems very worthwhile and I will see if someone can tell me more. Thanks so much for inspiring me to take a second look!
This theater has it’s own beautifully designed website at…
http://www.ricardomontalbantheatre.org
Hi Joe, I have been trying to access the Robert Winter Collection site, but so far, not successful. I think I will write to them instead. I keep getting error messages with their search feature.
Hello Jim .. yes I think most of us on this site understand that THX has vastly improved the sound fidelity of film and understand that Dolby was basically a noise reduction system. The point I was trying to make is that since the THX system has superior lower frequency capability (as well having improved the entire sound spectrum), then it makes sense that the old “Sensurround” system in theaters is indeed obsolete. To put it another way, a film like “Earthquake” or “Rollercoaster” made in the old “Sensurround” system can be played in a theater once more with the same (or more accurately, far better) effect than the old “Sunsurround” system ever could… thus the old “Sensurround” system as it was installed in theaters is now obsolete since I would imagine a modern THX system could replicate the effect.
As for Hollywood using “gimmicks” and “tricks”… all I can say is that it is part of show business and whether 3-D glasses, Sensurround, Smell-o-rama, or Cinemascope, it brought them into the movie palaces and in my book, it is part of the lore of the classic cinemas.
Some additional photos are here….
Aerial photo of the area in 1936 showing the theater (upper left) and a Ralphs Market at the lower right….. are any of these buildings still there from that time?
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics47/00043060.jpg
Other photos showing the interior in the early 30s….
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015722.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015718.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015720.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015717.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015719.jpg
Here is a photo of the premier of “A Millionaire for Christy” in 1951.
The man being interviewed is the famed theater manager Charles Skouras.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015730.jpg
Among the stars who attended were Bette Davis, Ronald Reagan and Nancy, among others.
Here is a photo of the theater exterior that same night….
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028685.jpg
Here is the marquee from 1964….
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015374.jpg
The Lux Theater was originally called the ROSE Theater, then the REX Theater, and finally the LUX Theater. It was torn down after 1964. Here is a photo from that year …… that is sad!
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015373.jpg
Here is a great photo of the Criterion in 1930 with a marquee advertising a Joan Crawford film called “PAID”…. the “greatest amazing role of her career!”…
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028666.jpg
I found a few great photos of this theatre soon after it’s opening….. pretty spectacular…. notice the subdued marquee of the time…
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015482.jpg
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028646.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015479.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015478.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics08/00013718.jpg
Here are some more recent shots….
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028720.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015480.jpg
I saw “Annie” and Dawn Wells in “Chapter Two” in 1979 or 1980. I was also got a grand tour from the theater manager, who was gracious (and obviously very proud) to show me around. At the time there were gold leaf stars around the top of the stage they were in the process of restoring, and the ones they completed looked fantastic. They were wanting the auditorium to look it’s best because Lillian Gish was coming to give a lecture. Lillian was born only about 60 miles west of Columbus in Springfield.
It is truly one of the most magnificent theaters in this country. The details are truly breathtaking. I was struck by the stained glass around the central dome in the theater, the thick lush velvet curtains I remember in theaters in Hollywood, where I was raised, and the colored glass in the chandleliers in the lobby. Any details of these (or photos in color) would be appreciated. Can anyone post links to these?
The following are some truly great photos of the Carthay Circle Theater in the 1920s, when it was first built…. these are in the archives of the Los Angeles Public Library….
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014954.jpg
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028672.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014957.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014953.jpg
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028671.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014947.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015269.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014956.jpg
These photos are from the 1930s and 1940s …..
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028674.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014958.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014960.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014942.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015270.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014944.jpg
In “Disney’s California Adventure Theme Park” in Anaheim, they have built a smaller replica of the Carthay Circle Theater that sells gift items…Here is a photo of it…
Hope these are enjoyable to those who loved this late, great theater……