5959 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028 | map |
Opened: July 1970 as a twin called the Adam and Eve Theatres. The original operator was New York-based Joseph Harris. The building, dating from the 1930s, had originally been a market.
Architect: A.B. Sedgley was the designer of the original building.
Seating: 295 on each side.
An item that appeared in the July 19, 1970 issue of the L.A. Times. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a thread about various adult theatres on the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group.
A November 29, 1970 ad from the L.A. Times that was located by Ken McIntyre.
Triple features! It's a March 1971 ad that was spotted by Ken.
Usually the
shows were porn but frequently there were regular Hollywood features in one auditorium.
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.
"West Side Story" playing the Eve in February 1971.
Carlos
Tobalina took it over in 1974. Christopher Crouch notes that he bought the building for $200,000. On November
11 it became the X Theatre. His initial offering was "Sexual Ecstasy of the Macumba." Tobalina also ran the Las Palmas Theatre and the "Fabulous Mayan" downtown. He died in 1989 and the family sold off most of his holdings but held onto the Mayan.
In 1992 the complex was rebranded as the Hawaiiian Gardens Theatre for an exploitation film series presented by Johnny Legend and Eric Caiden. Caiden ran the Hollywood Book and Poster Co. Earlier this duo had been operating the former Pussycat Theatre at 6656 Hollywood Blvd. They rebranded that one as the "All New World Famous Ritz Theatre."
A February 1992 showing of "Psycho Sexualis," Mondo Mod" and "Manhattan Go-Go Girl Massacre."
The February 1992 "Gore-A-Thon" featuring "Kung Fu Cannibals," "Monster from Green Hell," "Blood Feast," a Monsterama preview show and "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers" -- all on the "Big, Big Screen." Thanks to Ron Strong for sharing this ad from his collection that he got from Fred Olen Ray. He comments: "This was seemingly associated with the Dukey Flyswatter (Michael David Sonye) and his Horror Punk/Heavy Metal band 'The Haunted Garage.' I did not attend the screening, but heard from Fred that the band did perform after the screenings." Ron curates the Bijou Memories site.
A March 1992 event involving a screening of "Over Hollywood" and "The Wonderful Weird World of Ed Wood, Jr."
A May 1992 screening of Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating these Hawaiian Gardens items.
Closing: 1992 was the end. Evidently the Hawaiian Gardens era lasted only about six months.
Status: The auditorium was demolished in August 2016. The facade survived until March 2017.
More exterior views:
c.1938 - The building was initially the Holly Food Mart, opening sometime around 1937. In the 50s it was the headquarters for Peterson Publishing, putting out such titles as Motor Trend and Hot Rod. This Herman Schultheis photo is in the collection of the Los Angeles Public Library.
Thanks to Carol Momson for information about the building's past in a post for the SoCal Historic Architecture private Facebook group.
c.1938 - 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 |
c.1960? - The building was the headquarters of the publishing firm Trend Inc. in the 50s and 60s. Thanks to Steve Horton for finding this photo.
1971 - A fine 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 McAvoy/Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection, their #T-057-1.
1977 - A view looking west at the X 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 appearances on the private Facebook groups Photos of Los Angeles and Mid Century Modern.
c.1978 - Looking east across the facade of the World toward the X Theatre. Thanks to Meredith Jacobson Marciano for sharing her photo on Flickr.
1979 - In this fine shot we're looking east on Hollywood Blvd. Thanks to Michel Bouchet for sharing it on a now-vanished Facebook post.
1983 - Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this view west toward the World Theatre that was taken in January.
1983 - The X at night. It's another January photo from the American Classic Images collection.
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).
1987 - Again thanks to the McAvoy/Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection. This shot is their #T-058-1. Hard to miss that sign, isn't it?
2007 - The forlorn X Theatre. Photo: Bill Counter
2008 - A photo by Ken McIntyre. Thanks to Ken for sharing this as part of a thread about various adult
theatres on the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group.
2016 - End of the line for the auditorium. Thanks to Scott Michaels for sharing his photo in a now-vanished post on Facebook.
2017 - The facade survived until March. Thanks to Christopher Crouch for sharing this photo he took in January as a post on Cinema Treasures.
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.
Scott Favrille notes that the exterior and boxoffice are seen in Julia St. Vincent's documentary biopic "Exhausted: John C. Holmes, the Real Story" (Image Entertainment, 1981). He adds that Paul Thomas Anderson used that film as his inspiration for "Boogie Nights."
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.
Nearby: The World Theatre | Hawaii Theatre
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