Fox Theatre
6508 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
6508 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
20 people
favorited this theater
Showing 126 - 150 of 152 comments
Great William, you’re right, the main feature is “Razors Edge” and it was made in 1946….
I actually figured out the second feature… it was “Housekeepers Daughter” from 1939, with Joan Bennett and Adolph Menjou … I guess that feature was in a second run at the time… it’s a good guess the postcard view is from 1946 or 1947.
The main feature playing at the Admiral Theatre was “The Razor’s Edge”.
Hey, thanks Joe… I appreciate that. Odd that they named it the “Vine” when it’s not on Vine Street and there has been confusion between the Hollywood Playhouse and Ricardo Montalban which are on Vine Street for years. I found another website about the Hollywood Playhouse that talks about the CBS Radio shows held at the Playhouse, which were actually performed at the Montalban (then called the CBS Radio Theater).
There is a website that has two photos of the Iris.
Hollywoodphotographs.com
Christian:
The theater marquee in the postcard view is that of the Admiral (now called the Vine) at 6321 Hollywood Boulevard.
Hi Ken Roe,
I found an interesting photo for you. Above, you wrote “In 1913, the Idyl Hour Theatre was re-located to 6415 Hollywood Blvd and the name changed to Iris Theatre (This location would put it just slightly East of the current Warner Theatre (Pacific 1-2-3) on what is currently an empty piece of land)…. I wonder if the low building just beyond the Warner Theatre building is the former first 1913 built Iris Theatre?”
I actually found a photo, TAKEN FROM A POSTCARD CIRCA 1948, which I have posted below, apparently taken from where the Warners Theater building is… and behold, a theater marquee! I can’t make out the text on it, however… can you? Is this our “mystery theater” at 6415 Hollywood Blvd. in a later incarnation? When I first saw this card, I thought the marquee was the Warners, but realized it looks nothing like the square shaped marquees of the Warner and looks to be lower to the street, as well.
ALSO… I also wonder why the large letters “P U I” are backwards on the oblong mirror-like sign at the extreme left?
Here is the photo… http://www.rchristiananderson.com/hollyvine.jpg
Thats a great postcard view. I wonder if the low building just beyond the Warner Theatre building is the former first 1913 built Iris Theatre? It’s an empty plot of land there nowadays so perhaps we will never know.
KenRoe, YES, it most certainly was carried out, and I put a picture postcard view on my website so you can see it! The view is from 1956, and this is how I remember the theater… the IRIS is on the right side…..
View link
The view also shows the Warners Cinerama Theater on the left side…. which is shown on cinema treasures at /theaters/18/
Elie Samaha… to paraphrase Cindy Adams, only in Hollywood, kids, only in Hollywood. Considering the recent $77.1 million Intermedia judgement against him for inflating production budgets and, with few exceptions, the junk he produced in the deal his company, Franchise Pictures, had with Warner Bros., it’s amazing he still has any kind of positive reputation in town, but if you’re slick or slimy enough, sometimes you find a way to hold on, I suppose…
Christian;
Many thanks for posting the ‘artist’s sketch pic (was this scheme ever carried out I wonder?) and also the 1934 photo of the S. Charles Lee? re-construction of the facade (I have never seen this one before). Your input is very much appreciated.
Here is a brief resume of the history of the Fox (former Iris Theatre);
It was built for theatre owner P. Tabor who had previously operated Hollywood’s first movie theatre, the Idyl Hour Theatre, built in 1911 at 6265 Hollywood Blvd.
In 1913, the Idyl Hour Theatre was re-located to 6415 Hollywood Blvd and the name changed to Iris Theatre (This location would put it just slightly East of the current Warner Theatre (Pacific 1-2-3)on what is currently an empty piece of land).
In 1918 a new Iris Theatre was constructed on the other side of Hollywood Blvd at #6508 (the current site today). It was designed in a formal Romanesque style by architect Frank Meline & Co- Designers and Builders, the entire structure was built of brick and it had a seating capacity of 814 on a single floor.
The first major change to the theatre came in 1934 when S.Charles Lee? (according to William’s post on here on Nov 11 2003) re-built the frontage (as seen in the photo you posted) and possibly did some re-modelling in the auditorium (strangely this is not mentioned in the Maggie Valentine book on S. Charles Lee ‘The Show Starts on the Sidewalk’). The only work Lee did in Hollywood in in that period according to the book is the newly built Vogue Theatre on Hollywood Blvd in 1934-35. But then there are several innacuraccies in that book, so this needs further investigation.
The Iris Theatre was re-named the Fox Theatre in the mid-1950’s when the former Music Box Theatre/Fox changed its name to Pix. This could tie-in with Artist’s sketch of 1955 which you posted. If this new treatment was carried out on the facade, then it didn’t last too long, as the current rendition we see today was possibly from the 1968 renovation.
The Fox was operated in its later years by Fox West Coast Theatres, National General Theatres and finally Mann Theatres. I have a copy of the LA Times, December 1983 when they did an article reviewing the movie theaters of Los Angeles. I quote; ‘The Fox, Hollywood – The screen is poorly matted. Its picture is cut off at top and bottom – and as for cleanliness – it’s a garbage dump’.
I have a year of closing for the Fox Theatre as 1994.
Here is a great photo showing the IRIS only a few days before it’s grand opening on July 31, 1934.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics40/00039934.jpg
I used to go to the IRIS Theater as a child with my mom. It had a spectacular marquee. The facade was remodelled in 1955. An artists sketch and caption was published in the Herald Examinar Newspaper at the time… it read…
“Artist’s sketch of the Fox Iris Theater at 6508 Hollywood Blvd. on February 11, 1955, to open soon with lavish movieland premiere fanfare. The 816-seat showcase has been remodeled at a cost of $100,000.”
The artist’s sketch (now owned by the L.A. Public Library) is located here….
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics49/00044348.jpg
This and the Vogue theatre have had their leases taken over by club owner and film producer Elie Samaha, and he is not interested in reopening them as theatres, sad to say.
Joe:
I have a small photo of the original Franke Meline designed formal Romanesque brick facade of the Iris Theater from a trade magazine of the early 1920’s. The current building was errected in 1918. E-mail me and I will send you a copy.
I remember seeing this theater when it was still the Iris, and still sporting the splendid neon marquee, and the simple, elegant facade which was its perfect backdrop, provided by Lee’s excellent design. I’ve never seen a picture of the theater as it originally looked, but the Lee design was so good that I’m sure I’d forgive the owners for making the change. Not so with the Fox remodel of the 1960s. The skinny, plain and yet oddly fussy bogus arches, and the bland plastic marquee, are typical of the weak designs of that decade. Very few of the theater renovations in the 1960s were in any way forgivable. There was just no energy in them.
I have heard that, in 1953, the young Carol Burnett worked the ticket booth of the Iris, after a stint as an usherette at the Warner theater up the Boulevard. I’ll bet she could tell some interesting stories about the place.
The Fox Theatre is a very simple theatre. It has been remodeled a few times over the years. It is just four walls, the theatre was earthquake retrofitted so the building is up to code for that. It was a medium sized theatre and no stage area.
They are looking to lease the theatre. There was a sign on the marquee as of last November 1st.
It would be nice to see this place used for something besides a warehouse.
if anyone has a direct contact with the owner/leasee please contact me at , I’m involved with a business opportunity and I need space for this . Thanks
How does this theater look like inside? Is it big? Is there a stage area?
Can you change the city location from Los Angeles to Hollywood? It the only theatre on Hollywood Blvd. listed in Los Angeles not Hollywood.
The Fox Theatre seated 647 people. (not the 175 in the above post)
The theatre is located at 6508 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood.
The Iris Theatre opened in 1918, it was designed by architect Frank Molline. S. Charles Lee gave the theatre a sleek art modere look along with a new neon marquee in the late 1930’s. During this time the Iris showed first run Warner movies. In 1968 the Iris was renovated again for $250,000 and its name changed to the Fox. It reopened with the movie “The Killing of Sister George”. The ads for the theatre boasted a new facade, expended lobby, marble walls and comfortable form chairs. The theatre closed in 1991. Today there is a available sign on it’s marquee. The trouble with that is all that is left inside is a shell of the former theatre. Mann Theatres the last chain to operate the theatre. Gutted it for use as a warehouse for equipment for the chain.
I worked there as a local 150 union projectionist for the first six months of 1985. We ran Dune (70mm) , Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom, 2010 and others. This was the smallest theatre I ever worked in that ran 70mm using the cheaply built Norelco DP-75 with all those plastic pieces. Seated 175 with a screen measuring 15x30.
The comment below about the lights. The lights are still on a timer, so sometimes they go on when someone goes into the theatre. Mann theatres closed the Fox afew years back. Mann theatres had been using the Fox as a warehouse for the company. All the seats are gone and all the booth equipment has been removed. Mann theatres closed the Fox because it was cheaper to use it as a warehouse than a theatre. So it would be expensive to reopen this theatre.