Los Angeles Theatres

Navigating Your Tour of Historic Los Angeles Theatres

On a Mobile Device: If you're missing the right column navigation bar or links at the top you can go to the bottom of any page and click on "View Web Version." Still can't find what you're looking for? Send me an email at counterb@gmail.com. See you at the movies! -- Bill Counter

Downtown L.A. Historic Theatres

The survey page gives a rundown on the 20 major surviving theatre buildings in the Downtown Theatre District. There are links to pages about each of them for more detail. You might also want to consult alphabetical rundowns on pages for Hill St. and farther west, the Broadway Theatres, Spring St. Theatres and Main St. and farther east. Those pages give you more detail, including discussions about all the theatres that have vanished. In addition, there's a downtown alphabetical theatre list with alternate names and a theatre list by address.

Historic Hollywood Theatres

Hollywood wasn't just about the movies. Starting in the mid 20s it was also a center for legitimate theatre and musical revues at four newly built playhouses. You'll find an alphabetical list of the theatres in the district on the Hollywood Theatres overview page that includes a bit of data on each and links to pages for more details. Down below this list there's also an alternate name directory. Also of possible interest is a separate page with a list of theatres by street address.

Westside Theatres

The Westside started booming with retail and housing in the mid 20s and the theatres followed. Many theatres along Wilshire Blvd., in Beverly Hills, and in other neighborhoods became prime venues for everything from small foreign films to major roadshows. It's a huge territory. The Westside Theatres overview page gives you both a list by neighborhood as well as a survey arranged alphabetically. Also see the list of Westside Theatres: by street address and the Westside Theatres: alphabetical list page which includes alternate names.

Westwood and Brentwood

Westwood Village was the third significant theatre district to evolve in Los Angeles, after Downtown and Hollywood. With the construction of the UCLA campus beginning in the late 20s there was a chance to develop a unique shopping and entertainment district for faculty and students. By the 1970's the area had evolved so that Westwood had the largest concentration of first run screens of any neighborhood in Los Angeles. The Westwood and Brentwood Theatres overview page will give you a tour of the area.

Theatres Along the Coast

Santa Monica had a vibrant theatrical life even in the days when it was a small town isolated from the rest of Los Angeles. And that's just the beginning. The Along the Coast section will give you links to discussion of theatres in Ocean Park, Venice, Hermosa Beach, San Pedro, Long Beach and other communities.

[more] L.A. Movie Palaces

This section fills in all the other areas of Los Angeles County. Hundreds of terrific theatres were being built by the studios and independents all over the L.A. area in the 20s and into the 30s. You'll find coverage of theatres north and east of Downtown as well as in Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, the San Gabriel Valley, Pomona, Whittier, Long Beach and many other far flung locations. Some of those listings have been upgraded and appear on this site, many other links will take you to pages on an older site hosted on Google. The index page has links to all these theatres organized by area.

Searching by theatre name

If you don't find it in the right hand column, head for the Main Alphabetical List, which also includes the various alternate names each venue has used. This list includes those pages recently updated for this site (in bold face) as well as the write ups on an older website. For a narrower focus you'll also find separate lists for Westside and Downtown. As well, there are lists by name on the 10 survey pages for more limited areas like Pasadena, North of Downtown, Long Beach, etc. that are listed on the [more] Los Angeles Movie Palaces page.

Searching by address

If you know an address or street head to either the Main Theatre List by Address, the San Fernando Valley List by Address, the San Gabriel Valley, Pomona and Whittier List by Address or the Long Beach List. If what you're looking for isn't there, you should find a link to take you to a more localized list by address for Downtown, Westside, Hollywood, etc. Also see the survey pages for more limited areas that are listed on the [more] Los Angeles Movie Palaces page.

1927 - Exotic destinations: Grauman's Chinese | Mayan Theatre |

1948 - 1951 - Skouras-ized older theatres: California - Huntington Park | El Portal | Fox Westwood Village | Mesa Theatre |

Mann 6 Culver Plaza / Culver Plaza Theatres

9919 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 | map |

More Culver City pages: Culver City Theatre 1915-1923 | Meralta Theatre 1924-1943, 1945-1983 | City Hall Theatre / Culver City Theatre 1943-1947 | Culver / Kirk Douglas Theatre 1947 - present | Pacific 12 / Arclight / Amazon's Culver Theatre 2003 - present |

Opened: February 14, 1991 as the Mann 6 Theatres Culver Plaza. Thanks to Bob Meza for this 2001 photo, one he shared on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre. The building was on the north side of the street between Dunn Dr. and Hughes Ave. It was just a block west and on the other side of the street from the Culver Theatre, now called the Kirk Douglas.

A February 15, 1991 ad. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org

At least one of the larger houses was equipped for 70mm but evidently there were never any 70mm bookings. Russ Jones notes that two of the larger theatres were THX certified.

Seating: 1,470 seats in six auditoria. 1 - 147 seats, 2 - 176 seats, 3 - 173 seats, 4 - 396 seats, 5 - 380 seats, 6 - 199 seats. Thanks to Bill Gabel for the breakdown. Russ Jones notes that all of the theatres were upstairs, on top of the retail and restaurant spaces along the front and east end of the building.

Architect: Unknown

After Mann dropped the location in May 2007 it was run as an independent called the Culver Plaza Theatres. Michael Snider comments: "It became a second run house, and considering the large senior population in the area it fulfilled a real need as such."

Closed: December 2011

Status: It was demolished beginning in August 2012. There's now a new condo and retail building on the site.

Interior views:

The lobby mural. Thanks to Mark Cambbell for this September 2008 photo as well as others appearing here that he shared on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre.

A snack bar view. Photo: Mark Campbell - Cinema Tour - 2008

One of the auditoria. Photo: Mark Campbell - Cinema Tour - 2007

One of the other screens. Photo: Mark Campbell - Cinema Tour - 2007

Yet another auditorium shot. Photo: Mark Campbell - Cinema Tour - 2008

More exterior views:

2003 - Thanks to Mark Smith for sharing this photo from his collection.

2006 - Another shot from the collection of Mark Smith.

c.2007 - The east end of the building at the corner of Washington and Duquesne. Photo: Mark Smith

2007 - Looking east. Photo: Mark Campbell - Cinema Tour

2009 - Photo: Mark Smith

2010 - Photo: Mark Smith

2011 - A gloomy June view east on Washington. On the right that's the Culver/Kirk Douglas Theatre on the other side of Duquesne Ave. Image: Google Maps

2011 - The back of the building. At the right we're looking south on Dunn Dr. toward the theatre entrance on the corner. Photo: Google Maps

2011 - A December 18 post-closing view taken by T N Jones that appears on Flickr.

2011 - A marquee detail. Thanks to T N Jones for sharing it on Flickr.

2012 - An entrance shot in August after demolition was underway. Thanks to Mark Smith for sharing his photo.

2012 - The corner later in August. Image: Google Maps

2012 - The vista south on Dunn Dr. in August. Image: Google Maps

2012 - A closer look at the back of the building in August. Image: Google Maps

2012 - A September view north. On the right it's Hughes/Duquesne Ave. The entrance to what had been basement parking is mid-block, just in front of that car. Image: Google Maps

2012 - The east end of the building in September. Image: Google Maps

2022 - Looking east across Dunn Dr. at the corner that had been the theatre entrance. Image: Google Maps

More information: See the pages about the theatre on Cinema Treasures, Cinema Tour and the 70mm in Los Angeles section of the site From Script To DVD.

The new LACMA Theatre

5905 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036 | map |

Opening: 2025. The new building will contain a theatre that's intended to be a replacement for LCMA's Bing Theatre, demolished in 2020.

Seating: It's projected to be about 300.

Architect: Peter Zumthor. See the museum's "Building LACMA" page.

A rendering from Atelier Peter Zumthor.

The rendering is one of several that make an appearance in "More progress for LACMA's David Geffen Galleries," Steven Sharp's April 2024 article for Urbanize. Some of his comments:

"The project, which began work in 2020, was the subject of contention at the time due to a decision by museum leadership to replace the museum's original buildings designed by William Pereira. In their place stands a new two-story structure which bridges across Wilshire Boulevard and will feature gallery space, a new theater, classrooms, restaurant space, a shop, event space, and other back-of house functions. Peter Zumthor designed the building with an amorphous footprint, with a largely concrete exterior and glass wrapping the upper gallery. The museum intends to use this space to display works such as sculptures, tiles, and ceramics which can be shown safely in natural light.

"The David Geffen Galleries, consisting of 350,000 square feet of total space and 110,000 square feet of gallery space, will actually be smaller than the buildings they replaced, which accounted for roughly 393,000 square feet of total floor area - including 120,000 square feet of galleries. LACMA has argued that the difference is accounted for by the relocation of art storage and office space to off-site locations. Likewise, the museum has pointed out that the museum's overall footprint will be 220,000 square feet after completion of the new project - up from 130,000 square feet in 2007."

Website: Film at LACMA

2024 - A view from the west in early April. Photo Bill Counter

2024 - From the street in April. Photo Bill Counter

2024 - Crossing Wilshire. Photo Bill Counter - April

2024 - A Hunter Kerhart photo. This view as well as the two below were featured in a Facebook post from Urbanize. These images, as well as many more, were featured in Steven Sharp's April 13 Urbanize article "More progress for LACMA's David Geffen Galleries." See more about Hunter's work on his website: HunterKerhart.com

2024 - Looking toward downtown. Photo: Hunter Kerhart

2024 - An April view west toward the Academy Museum. Photo: Hunter Kerhart

Pacific's Century Drive-In

3560 W. Century Blvd. Inglewood, CA 90303 | map |

Opened: June 30, 1949 with Kirk Douglas in "Champion" along with "The Big Cat," starring Lon McCallister and Peggy Ann Garner. This Pacific Theatres operation was located on the south side of the street between Crenshaw Blvd. and Hawthorne Blvd.

Thanks to Bill Gabel for locating the 1949 trade magazine photo. At the time of the shot they were running "Edward My Son" with Spencer Tracy and Deborah Kerr. The co-feature was "Not Wanted," a film about an unwanted pregnancy starring Sally Forrest and Keefe Brasselle. Both were June releases.

A June 30, 1949 opening night ad. Thanks to Comfortably Cool for locating it for a post on Cinema Treasures.

Architects: William Glenn Balch and Louis L. Bryan of the firm of Balch & Bryan.

Capacity: 1,100 cars originally. It was 918 as a Cinerama operation.

Cars at the boxoffice. It's an undated photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

Intermission time in 1949. It's a photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

A 1964 view to the north by Howard D. Kelly that's in the Kelly-Holiday Mid-Century Aerial Collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. Also see a 1961 shot.

Cinerama at the Century: They ran 3-strip Cinerama films from April 17 to June 30, 1964.

Looking northwest after the installation of the Cinerama screen in 1964. At the left it's the snackbar building. The jacked-up van farther forward housed the three Cinerama machines. The smaller structure even closer to the screen was the normal projection booth. It's a photo by Howard D. Kelly that's in the Kelly-Holiday Mid-Century Aerial Collection at the Los Angeles Public Library.

A detail from the May 1964 photo above. That's the Hollywood Park track in the distance.

Screen size was 62' by 180' with a 30 foot deep curve. The bottom was 25 feet above the ground. The throw was 310 feet. The lamps were Ashcraft Core-Lite, lenses were by Bosch and Lomb, sound was by RCA. A separate dubber wasn't used. The center machine had an RCA mag head on top. These special Cinerama prints for the B machine had two mag stripes, as had been done for mono backup in Cinemiracle installations. The sound was on one stripe, the second was just for balance in the film gate.

An ad from April 12, 1964, while the Cinerama installation was underway. Thanks to Greenbriar Picture Shows for including this ad and the one below on their "Cinerama Out Of Doors" page.

"This Is Cinerama" opened April 17, 1964 for a three week run.

On the marquee: "This Is Cinerama." It's a photo looking east by Howard D. Kelly that's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

A May 1964 view to the southeast by Howard D. Kelly. It's in the Kelly-Holiday Mid-Century Aerial Collection at in the Los Angeles Public Library.

Looking to the northeast. It's a photo by Howard D. Kelly in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Also see a slightly different view to the northeast.

A May 6 ad for "Seven Wonders of the World" and "McLintock!" This program ran for five weeks. Thanks to Roland Lataille for locating the ad for the Century Drive-In page on his site InCinerama. See the page for several additional ones.

"3rd Smash Week!" Thanks to Greenbriar Picture shows for locating the ad.

"Many more drive-ins are to be converted," said Bill Forman, head of both Pacific Theatres and Cinerama, Inc. This story about the Cinerama installation appeared in the June 8, 1964 issue of Boxoffice:

Thanks to Roland Lataille for sharing the Boxoffice story on the Century Drive-In page on his site InCinerama.

A June 10 ad for "South Seas Adventure" and "The Wackiest Ship in the Army." This was the last of the Cinerama presentations. June 30, 1964 was the closing day. Thanks to Roland Lataille for locating the ad.

The Cinerama screen was later removed. The Century got twinned in 1973.

Closing: It was demolished in the 1984.

Status: It's now the site of a Costco and other development. The new SoFi Stadium is across the road.

More information: See the InCinerama page about the Century. Cinema Treasures also has a page about the theatre.

Check out Brian D. Zachel's post about the theatre on the Cinema Treasures Facebook page for many interesting comments.

At least two other drive-ins ran three-strip. See Roland Lataille's pages on the Super 50 Drive-In in Ballston Lake, New York (running "Windjammer" from July 6 to July 27, 1960) and the Twin Drive-In in Cincinnati (running "Windjammer from July 20 to August 8, 1960).

The truck for "Windjammer" at the Twin in Cincinnati. Thanks to Roland for locating this item that appeared in the July 18, 1960 issue of Boxoffice.

A few drive-ins ran 70mm. The Twin Drive-In in Cincinnati evidently ran "Around the World in 80 Days" in 70mm in August 1959. See Roland's page on the Mann's France Avenue Drive-In in Minneapolis, one that advertised as being Cinerama equipped when it opened in 1966.