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X Theatre

5959 Hollywood Blvd.   Los Angeles, CA 90028  | map |
 

A fine 1979 shot looking east on Hollywood Blvd. Thanks to Michel Bouchet for posting it on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.  

This was a building that was converted into a twin theatre by Carlos Tobalina, who also ran the "Fabulous Mayan" downtown. Usually the shows were porn but frequently Tobalina ran regular Hollywood double features in one auditorium. Initially (in the 70s) the two sides were called the Adam and Eve Theatres.


A 1971 ad in the Times with Charlton Heston in "The Omega Man" on the Adam side and an only mildly titillating double feature on the other. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting this.  
 
Status: The building was demolished in August 2016.  
 

More exterior views:


The building was initially the Holly Food Mart, opening c.1937. In the 50s it was the headquarters for Peterson Publishing, putting out such titles as Motor Trend and Hot Rod. This c.1938 Herman Schultheis photo is in the collection of the Los Angeles Public Library. 

Thanks to Linda Hammonds for information about the building's past in a post on the SoCal Historic Architecture Facebook page.


A night view of the market. Note the view of the Marcal Theatre, later renamed the World, on the left. It's another Herman Schultheis photo from the Los Angeles Public Library.  

More views by Mr. Schultheis of the building as a market that are in the LAPL collection: searchlights at grand opening | produce and gawkers | MC at opening | another sidewalk shot | night facade from across the street |


The building was the headquarters of the publishing firm Trend Inc. in the 50s and 60s. Thanks to Steve Horton for finding this photo.



A fine 1971 look east on Hollywood Blvd. at the World Theatre -- and the X Theatre beyond, here with the two halves of the X called the Adam and Eve. The photo is from the amazing Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection, their #T-057-1.



A 1977 view looking west  at the X Theatre and onward down Hollywood Blvd. toward the World Theatre.  Thanks to Brooklyn-based theatre historian Cezar DelValle for the photo. His theatre adventures can be found on his Theatre Talks blog as well as on Facebook.

The photo also has made an appearance on the Facebook pages Photos of Los Angeles and Mid Century Modern.



Looking east across the facade of the World toward the X Theatre c.1978. Thanks to Meredith Jacobson Marciano for the photo on Flickr.



Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this December 1982 view west toward the World Theatre. 



The X at night. It's a January 1983 photo from the American Classic Images collection. 



An October 1986 telephoto view west on Hollywood Blvd. with the X Theatre over on the right. It's a Tony Barnard photo for the L.A. Times appearing on Calisphere. It's also on the UCLA Library site. There's also a second take of the same vista.  The UCLA site has a zoom feature so you can go in and pan around.

The vertical for the Music Box (at this time called the Henry Fonda) is on the left. The Egyptian is down there somewhere. Way down is the El Capitan (with its vertical saying Paramount). On the right beyond the X are the World Theatre hiding behind it (with a blank marquee), the Pantages and the Warner (with Pacific on its vertical).



Again thanks to the Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection, their #T-058-1. This time we get a view west in 1987.  Hard to miss that sign, isn't it?



 The forlorn X Theatre in 2007. Photo: Bill Counter


 
End of the line for the building in 2016. It's a Scott Michaels photo. He has it on Facebook with several other demo views he took. Thanks to Scott for catching the event and also to Kathleen Campbell for spotting his photos and sharing them on the LAHTF Facebook page.
 

The X Theatre in the Movies: 

The cops have arrived for a bust in the Carlos Tobalina film "Refinements in Love" (Hollywood International Pictures, 1971). See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for several more X Theatre shots plus views of the Mayan, the Las Palmas and the World Theatre.    
 


Jodie Foster goes looking in Hollywood for one of her missing teenage friends and we get this shot west with the madly flashing vertical of the Pix in the distance and the X Theatre signage on the right in Adrian Lyne's "Foxes" (United Artists, 1980). The film about drugs, sex and growing up in L.A. also features Cherie Currie, Marilyn Kagan, Kandice Stroh, Scott Baio, Sally Kellerman, Randy Quaid and Lois Smith. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a view of the Ivar Theatre from earlier in the film.



 
We see a lot of Hollywood Blvd. in Robert Vincent O'Neill's "Angel" (New World, 1984) including this distance view looking east toward the X Theatre. Fifteen year old Molly is a high school student by day, a hooker by night. The film stars Donna Wilkes, Cliff Gorman, Dick Shawn and Rory Calhoun. John Diehl is the killer preying on teenage hookers. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a dozen shots from the film.   
 

Craig Wasson sees some familiar moves by actress Melanie Griffith in a trailer for her porno film that he watches on TV in Brian De Palma's "Body Double" (Columbia, 1984). He realizes he's been set up to witness the murder of Melanie's double Deborah Shelton. Thanks to Tommy Bernard for spotting the theatre in the film and getting the screenshot. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a shot of the big "X" in the sky as well as a view of the Callboard Theatre on Melrose. 
 

An entrance view from "The Executioner: Part II" (21st Century Distribution, 1984). James Bryan directed and photographed this hunt for a masked serial killer. Featured are Christopher Mitchum, Aldo Ray, Antoine John Mottet and Renee Harmon. Thanks to Eric Schaefer for the screenshot.

Looking east. That's the entrance to the X1 on this side of the boxoffice. It's another shot from "The Executioner: Part II." Thanks to Eric Schaefer for spotting the many theatres in the film and getting lots of screenshots. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for exterior looks at the Pantages, Hollywood Pacific and Fox plus interior views of the Variety Arts.


This wide-angle shot of the X is in the opening credits of Paul Schrader's "The Canyons" (IFC Films, 2013). Other shots of abandoned theatres are sprinkled throughout. The film, written by Bret Easton Ellis, is a thriller about some sad people on the fringes of the film business and features Lindsey Lohan, James Deen, Nolan Funk and Amanda Brooks. The cinematography was by John Paul DeFazio. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for shots of the Egyptian, Regent, Las Palmas and Fox Inglewood. 

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