4050 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019
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Opened: May 14, 1924 as an independent operation with D. W. Griffith's "America" featuring Lionel Barrymore. It's on the south side of the street two blocks east of Crenshaw Blvd. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010
Architect: Edward J. Borgmeyer. The murals were by Christian von Schneidau.
Seating: 1,766 -- all on one level.
A great 1927 Forum postcard from Penny Postcards from California's
City of Los Angeles page.
History: Dr. H.B. Breckwedel of the Symphony Theatre
downtown was behind the project. The theatre originally featured
reserved parking (for an additional 10 cents) in its adjacent 500 space
car park. There was a Forum Ballroom, located on the second floor.
Soon it became part of the Warner Bros. empire
and was advertised as the Warner Bros. Forum Theatre. The organ in the
theatre was a 4/37 Kimball. In 1931 Warner Brothers pulled it out and
installed it in their new Warner Bros. Western Theatre, now called the Wiltern.
The
Warner circuit was soon in deep trouble and bailed out of the Wiltern
in mid-1933 but kept the Forum. At the time they also had the Warner Downtown (the former Pantages) and the theatres they had built in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, San Pedro, and Huntington Park. They eventually went back into the Wiltern after it ran for a few years as an independent.
The
Forum building was sold in 1949 to Sherill C. Corwin and Sol Lesser who
then took over the operation from Warner Bros. Corwin was the founder
of Metropolitan Theatres, Lesser had long been involved with Fox West
Coast. Other Warner houses soon got spun off to the newly independent
Stanley-Warner Corp. following the consent decree.
The Forum closed as a film house sometime prior to 1955. That year it was used for recording sessions for the
Pacific Jazz
label that included Chet Baker, Art Pepper, Bill Perkins, Hoagy
Carmichael and other artists. And, as Bruce Kimmel has noted, it also
had a fling as a legit house. In the late 40s it had hosted a musical revue
"My L.A.." In the 50s "Pajama Tops" was one production to play there.
The program cover for "Pajama Tops" with Barbara Eden at the Forum in 1956. It was for sale on
Amazon. Thanks to Arnold Darrow for spotting it.
Cinerama
at the Forum: It was the offices and a test screening house for
Cinerama from March 1961 until 1978. The louvered Cinerama screen installed at the Forum encompassed a 146 degree arc with a size of 34' x 88'.
Sound equipment being installed at the Forum for Cinerama. The photo is from the collection of Cinerama historian Roland Lataille on his
InCinerama.com page devoted to the
Forum Theatre. Thanks, Roland!
The
theatre was used for testing lenses, evaluating prints and as a
shipping depot. It was initially equipped for 3 strip projection and
(later) with 2 Norelco DP70 35/70mm projectors when Cinerama started
working with a 70mm format.
The Forum booth with two Norelco DP70 35/70mm machines as well as Cinerama 3-strip equipment. Thanks to Thomas Hauerslev for the photo in his terrific site
In70mm.com. It's on the page about
DP70s in California.
The first demonstration of 70mm
single strip Cinerama at the Forum was June 6, 1963. The theatre still
retained its 3 strip projection capability with the last screening in
that format on October 17, 1978 -- a private showing of "How The West
Was Won."
Status: It's been a Korean church since the late
70's. The original auditorium ceiling is obscured with a dropped ceiling
and the murals have either been painted over or otherwise covered. A 2006
report from Jeff Bridges on Cinema Treasures:
"The exterior is pretty much intact, but the auditorium is
destroyed. It looks as though a new building was built inside of the
theater, so the original might be above the very strange A-frame ceiling
of the auditorium. I cannot imagine why anyone would spend the money to
construct an A-frame ceiling underneath the huge original ceiling. The
building is massive on the outside and when you see the interior space
now, it feels as though you are in a tiny church. Most of the detail in
the lobby and stairs going up on the sides is still there, although it
has been painted over with white and beige glossy paint. I imagine it
would have been gold originally. There is no sign of any murals left
unless they are behind walls or above the weird ceiling."
A 1924 lobby photo from Architectural Record.
Thanks to Brooklyn-based theatre historian Cezar DelValle for including
it in a post on his
Theatre Talks Tumblr blog.
Cezar is a Brooklyn-based theatre historian. For other interesting material see his other
Theatre Talks blog on Blogspot and visit him on
Facebook. The photo is also in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
A 1924 inner foyer photo from Architectural Record. Thanks to Cezar DelValle for making it available.
A luscious auditorium view from the 1924 Architectural Record article. It's on Cezar DelValle's
Forum Theatre post.
A look across the house appearing in the Arcadia Publishing book "West Adams" by Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, Don Lynch and John G. Kurtz. There's a preview on
Google Books. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Gaylord Wilshire for including the photo in his
Noirish post #4448.
The rear of the Forum's auditorium. It's a photo in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
A view of one of the murals in a 1978 photo by
Tom Zimmerman that's in the
California State Library collection.
A view from a 1924 Architectural Record article. Thanks to Cezar DelValle for including it in the post about the Forum on his
Theatre Talks Tumblr blog.
An early look at the facade before any signage went up. It's a photo in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
A c.1924 aerial view of the Forum Theatre. Note the gas station to the left of the theatre -- and the theatre's "acres of free parking" behind it. It's a
Los Angeles Public Library photo. They also have
another similar shot in their collection.
The Forum's facade from the east
with the beginnings of a marquee.
It's a
Los Angeles Public Library photo.
An early look at the Forum discovered by Ken McIntyre. He has it stashed in one of his
Photobucket albums. Note the row of trees on top.
A view of some sort of filming outside the theatre in 1925. Ken McIntyre located the photo for the Facebook page
Photos of Los Angeles. On the marquee is "The Home Maker" with Alice Joyce and Clive Brook.
A c.1926 look at the Forum. Thanks to Charmaine Zoe for including this photo in her
Vintage Cinemas: California Flickr set of treasures found in various trade magazines.
A lovely 1932 nighttime look at the Forum from the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
A 1938 view of the Forum's new marquee. It's a photo in the Los
Angeles Public Library collection.
A 1955 shot by Brunk for the Herald Examiner from the
USC Digital Library collection. The theatre was being used for a transportation workers union meeting.
Another 1955 Herald Examiner transportation strike photo from the
USC Digital Library collection. Her husband's in the meeting where they're discussing bringing the strike to an and.
A 1958 marquee view from
Jeff Bridges on Flickr. He notes: "This is a snapshot that I found in a term paper at an estate sale. The paper is titled 'A Geographic And Cultural Analysis Of A Metropolitan Area', by Adele H. Mason." The photo also appears on
Cinema Treasures and on the Facebook page
Photos of Los Angeles.
A 1979 photo by William Reagh. It's in the
California State Library collection. It's also in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
A 2002 view of the Forum facade from Cezar Del Valle's
Theatre Talks collection. It's a Betty Sword photo.
The view west along the facade. Photo: Ken McIntyre - 2008
In the colonnade. Photo: Ken McIntyre - 2008
An upper facade detail. Photo: Ken McIntyre - 2008
The east corner. Photo: Ken McIntyre - 2008
The west corner of the facade. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for this and his other photos. You can see more of his 2008 Forum set on Photobucket. If you start at his
first Forum photo you can page through about 16 images of the exterior. Don't miss the Facebook page that Ken curates:
Photos of Los Angeles.
See the
Cinema Treasures
page for lots of historical data and links to additional photos. Bill
Gabel and Ken Roe have contributed an informative history of the
theatre.
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