6523 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028 | map |
Opened: July 31, 1931 as an "automatic theatre" called the Studio Theatre in
what had been a 30' x 100' store space across the street from the Iris, the theatre later renamed the Fox. The building, credited to E.B. Rust, dates from 1920 -- or at least there was a major remodel that year.
The photo of "The World's Most Unique Theatre" with their opening attraction on the marquee appears on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection. A cropped version of the photo appeared with "The Features of an Automatic Cinema...," an article by Mr. Lee in the November 21, 1931 issue of Motion Picture Herald. It's on Internet Archive.
The
"automatic" business meant that there were no ticket takers or ushers
and just vending machines in the lobby. This was a project of Howard
Hughes' Hughes-Franklin circuit. The circuit didn't last long but the
theatre survived.
Architect: S. Charles Lee. He also did a 1936 remodel. On Calisphere there are a number of Studio Theatre items from UCLA's S. Charles Lee Papers Collection. Only a small part of the collection has been digitized. At the moment the Calisphere listing for the S. Charles Lee Papers includes 621 photos and drawings.
An early facade rendering by Lee. It's from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection. The sketch also appears in the March 9, 1935 issue of Motion Picture Herald
with an article titled "New Theatres From Old: The Front." The issue is on Internet Archive.
Another early facade sketch. Here Lee envisioned the theatre in the building's center storefront. It actually ended up on the right. Image: UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection via Calisphere
Facade sketches. Image: UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection via Calisphere
A facade color study. Image: UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection via Calisphere
A proposal for signage from the Metlox Corporation, a sign contractor. Image: UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection via Calisphere
One of Lee's designs for the east end of the marquee. Image: UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection via Calisphere
Lee's design for figures in the sidewalk. Image: UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection via Calisphere
An auditorium rendering. Image: UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection via Calisphere
A sketch for a grille. Image: UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection via Calisphere
Another Lee sketch for a grille. Image: UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection via Calisphere
Seating: In 1936 after a remodel the capacity was reported as 500. When the theatre had opened in 1931 the capacity was 303.
A July 31, 1931 opening day ad. Thanks to Comfortably Cool for locating this for a post on Cinema Treasures.
The newly opened theatre got a lot of coverage in Motion Picture Herald. This facade drawing and floorplans appeared with the article "The Unique Studio Theatre" in the August 1, 1931 issue, available on Internet Archive.
The article's authors appeared worried that the "turnstyle" method of admitting patrons, pioneered by Trans-Lux in newsreel theatres in New York would, when applied to a theatre running feature films, degrade the moviegoing experience. It might "create a distinct class of theatre, opposed in many ways to the type that the industry had at great cost and effort ultimately built up."
Among the interesting features of the "world's most unique theatre" were:
"Whispering display cases" -- there were speakers below to give you some audio information about the film being advertised.
Front doors used as display cases for added display area.
A soft drink bar that served both customers in the lobby as well as passers-by on the sidewalk.
An exposed boxoffice counter -- the glass separating the customer from the cashier was slid across only in inclement weather.
An electric eye to open the door automatically for the customer after he had paid.
A remote controlled automatic change machine recessed in the wall.
Vending machines in the lobby -- styled to match the deco lobby. Also a penny scale.
An electric eye operated drinking fountain.
No ushers -- that military style of service was dispensed with. But there was an unobtrusive hostess to offer her services as needed.
The upstairs lounge offered more vending machines -- and a photo booth.
A look at the basement mechanical equipment through a glass panel in the sidewalk.
Floorplans for the main floor and booth level from the August 1, 1931 issue of Motion Picture Herald, available on Internet Archive.
A 1933 ad for the Studio. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
In
1936 the theatre got a remodel that increased its seating capacity and was then called the Colony. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding this Times article appearing that year about a change of operators.
A December 9, 1936 ad on the occasion of the reopening as the Colony. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it.
A 1937 ad in the classifieds for "Hollywood's intimate single feature theater." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.
A 1941 ad located by Ken McIntyre in the Hollywood Citizen-News.
In 1944 it was renamed the Hollywood Music Hall and frequently booked with the three other "Music Hall" theatres: the Music Hall in Beverly Hills, the Hawaii Theatre down the street (then called the Hawaii Music Hall) and the Music Hall downtown (before and after known as the Tower Theatre).
The Music Hall operation was listed in the 1949 film Daily Yearbook as "Music Hall Theatres" with an office at 816 S. Broadway in the Wurlitzer Building, just south of the Rialto Theatre. Sherrill Corwin, also the head of Metropolitan Theatres, was listed as the president/general manager. Also listed as the general manager was Clifford E. Giesseman.
A Music Hall ad from October 15, 1950. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this as well as the item below for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
A story and an ad for "Film Without a Name" and "Girl in a Million" at the Music Hall in 1951.
Later in 1951 the house was renamed the Academy Theatre. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this article appearing in the L.A. Daily News issue of December 5.
A
July 1958 ad for Brigett Bardot in "The Light Across the Street" running with Jean Renoir's
"Only the French Can" that was located by Ken McIntyre. The Coronet Theatre in the ad wasn't the one on La Cienega. It was the house in Alhambra later known as the Capri.
Another renovation in 1961. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this newspaper item.
In the mid-1960s it was operated by Fred Stein's Statewide Theatres. The Statewide sites were taken over by Loew's in November 1967 and they continued to run it as the Academy. In 1970 they renamed it Loew's Holly.
Loew's gave it a remodel with "Mad Mod Decor." Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this June 26, 1970 reopening ad.
Loew's left the Southern California market in 1972 and then it was General Cinema's turn, calling it the Holly Cinema. The Steins were soon back with their new company Century Cinema Circuit for a brief period. When they headed into bankruptcy in late 1974 Seattle-based Sterling Recreation Organization bought some of their assets, including the lease on the Holly.
It was frequently a move-over house from the Paramount/El Capitan which was operated by this same assortment of circuits.
The most renowned booking the theatre had was a 62 week run of "Caligula" starting April 18, 1980. The Times covered it on April 21 with the review by Kevin Thomas mentioning the ticket price in the headline: "A $7.50 Wallow In Roman Decadence." Thomas noted that it was a four-wall deal, at the time thought to be only for two months.
Closing: Pacific Theatres took over operation of the theatre in 1985 when
SRO pulled out of the L.A. market. It closed as a theatre in the summer of 1986.
Status: It was gutted and once again it's retail space. It was a Scientology testing center for several years but is now home to Harold's Chicken & Bar.
Interior views:
A 1931 shot showing the "magic-eye"drinking fountain in the lobby. It's on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection. The photo by H. P. Woodcock also appears in an August 29, 1931 Motion Picture Herald article.
A 1931 upstairs lounge view taken by H.P. Woodcock. showing the photo booth, the "Studio Photo Mill." It appears on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection. A version of the photo with slightly different cropping also appears in the the August 29, 1931 article "The Studio Theatre: Machine Age Cinema," available on Internet Archive.
The only auditorium photo is this one appearing with the August 29, 1931 Motion Picture Herald article "The Studio Theatre: Machine Age Cinema."
"Fresh air the year 'round." A view of the "weather factory" down through a glass panel in the sidewalk. It's a H.P. Woodcock photo on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection. The photo also appears in the Motion Picture Herald article from August 29, 1931.
More exterior views:
1930 - "The Features of an Automatic Cinema...," an article appearing in the November 21, 1931 issue of the Motion Picture Herald (available on Internet Archive), included this photo of the retail space before S. Charles Lee turned it into a theatre. Also see the article's conclusion.
1931 - An entrance view from an August 29 Motion Picture Herald article "The Studio Theatre: Machine Age Cinema" which profiled the newly opened theatre. The four page article included six photos. That "HF" we see see above the boxoffice window stood for the Hughes-Franklin theatre circuit.
1931 - A photo of the Studio appearing in the November 21, 1931 issue of Motion Picture Herald with the article "The Features of an Automatic Cinema as seen in the Studio Theatre" by S. Charles Lee. The continuation of the article is back on page 138 of that issue. The photo also appears as part of a "Hollywood's Sensational Automatic Theatre" collage in UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection indexed on Calisphere.
1931 - The Dec 19, 1931 Motion Picture Herald issue's article "Air Conditioning Small Theatres and its Cost" included this wider view of the Studio Theatre's entrance. The article also included a photo of the "weather factory."
1930s - A look east on Hollywood Blvd. with the Warner in the distance. Both lady and dog are unidentified. Admission at the Studio: 15 cents. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting the photo for a post on the on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. It's one of over 800 images in the great book "The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History" by Gregory Paul Williams, available on Amazon. This photo is on page 192. There's a preview of the book to browse on Google Books.
1935 - The theatre is on the far left in this elegant shot looking east toward Wilcox. It's from a series of five photos of the block by Joseph Carter and Dick Whittington of the Dick Whittington Studios that are in the USC Digital Library collection. The client was the Prudence Yarn Shop in the storefront east of the theatre. Thanks to Alex Rojas for spotting a post of the photos on the website of Martin Turnbull.
1935 - Another photo in the series. One feature they were playing was "Carnival," a February 1935 release with Lee Tracy, Florence Rice, Jimmy Durante and Sally Eilers. There's a poster for another feature in the gloom near the entrance doors. Al Donnelly notes that in another image from this series you can see a
reflection in the yarn shop's window of the Iris Theatre across the street playing "Bride of
Frankenstein."
1937 - On the left the Colony has a banner out for "Two Men and a Girl"
with Deanna Durbin and Adolphe Menjou. The banners at the Warner advise that they're running "It's Love I'm After" and "Alcatraz Island." On the right
we have a banner at the Iris Theatre, later known as the Fox, for "Wee Willie Winkie.' It's a detail from a postcard using a Bob Plunkett photo that's in the Huntington Library collection.
1940 - A lovely look at the theatre as the Colony. Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this one from his collection on Flickr. And thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting it for a post on Photos of Los Angeles. Bruce Kimmel notes that this double bill played the theatre beginning March 31.
1944
- The Colony with the January 1943 release "The Crystal Ball" with
Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland. The co-feature was "In Which We
Serve," a 1942 release with Noël Coward, John Mills, Celia Johnson and Kay Walsh. It's a shot from a short clip from Warner Bros. Entertainment that Ken McIntyre located on the Getty Images site. We also go down the street for a view of the Warner running "Mr. Skeffington" with Bette Davis and Claude Rains.
c.1945 - The theatre in its Music Hall days. The photo was a contribution by Bill Gabel on Cinema Treasures. The main feature was the 1942 release "Commandos Strike at Dawn."
c.1946 - A Frasher Foto Card from the Pomona Library appearing on Calisphere. There's also a zoom version. We're looking east toward what was then the Music Hall Theatre on the left with the Warner beyond. We also get a view of the Iris / Fox on the right.
c.1952 - A lovely vista west along Hollywood Blvd. past the theatre's marquee on the right, here with signage as the Academy. The marquee says it's "available." It's a photo by Harvey Meston that Bill Gable located for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. It later appeared on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. A cropped version is on Getty Images and Photos.com.
1953 - Looking west with the Warner running "This Is Cinerama." Beyond it's the Iris (in 1968 to become the Fox) on the left and the Academy on the right. The California Historical Society photo is in the USC Digital Library collection.
1953 - A detail from the USC image. The Academy is running "The Jazz Singer," this version a February 1953 release with Danny Thomas and Peggy Lee.
1954 - A Christmas shopping expedition. On the left the Academy is seen running William Wellman's "The Track of the Cat," a November release with Robert Mitchum and Teresa Wright. The co-feature was "The Shanghai Story." Bruce Kimmel notes that this program played the week of December 22. Across Wilcox St. the Warner can be seen running "This Is Cinerama," then in its second year. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting the photo when it was for sale online.
1956 - A view of the Academy running "Gervaise" with Maria Schell. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing the photo from his collection.
1959 - A view east on Hollywood Blvd. toward the Academy. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing this from his
collection. The theatre was running "The Wreck of the Mary Deare" with
Gary Cooper and Charlton Heston along with "The House of Intrigue." Down the
street at the Warner it's "South Seas Adventure" in three strip Cinerama.
1960 - A photo discovered by Ken McIntyre for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. They were playing the Russian drama "Ballad of a Soldier." Thanks, Ken!
1963 - There's a nice ride down the street in "Hollywood Blvd 1960 [sic] 'Vintage Los Angeles' on Facebook - Getty Images,"
a 1 minute+ clip on YouTube from Alison Martino. The Academy was running a double bill of "Bye
Bye Birdie" with Ann-Margret and the Bob Hope/Anita Ekberg feature "Call Me Bwana."
The Iris had a reissue
of the 1954 film "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." "How
the West Was Won" was playing at the
Warner. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting the footage. The clip also appears on the Getty Images website where they note that it was shot by Warner Bros.
1966 - A look at the Academy running "Do Not Disturb" with Doris Day and Rod Taylor, a December 1965 release. The co-feature was "Made in Paris," a film with Ann-Margret and Louis Jordan that was out in February 1966. It's a shot from two minutes of footage on YouTube from Kinolibrary that was sent along by Kurt Wahlner. We also get to see the Chinese running "Thunderball" and the Vogue running "Madame X," a March release with Lana Turner.
1966 - Thanks to Warren Beckerman for sending in this view. We're looking west with the theatre, here still called the Academy, running the western "Alvarez Kelly," an October release with William Holden and Richard Widmark.
1966 - Another photo by Mr. Beckerman, here looking east toward the Warner. Thanks, Warren!
1968 - A lovely look west from Wilcox toward the Academy. The footage, also
with views of the Vogue running "The Thomas Crowne Affair" and the Warner running "2001,"
appeared in Episode 4 of Leslie Chilcott's 2020 Epix series "Helter Skelter: An American Myth." Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for spotting the theatres in the footage and getting the screenshot.
1970 - The theatre during its brief tenure as Loew's Holly. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library
1970 - Another "Watermelon Man" view. Thanks to Mark London for this one on the page for the non-public Facebook group Mid Century Modern Los Angeles.
1972 - Thanks to the wonderful Bruce Torrence Hollywood Photographs Collection for this photo taken during the run of "Cabaret," a February release.
1972 - "Hannie Caulder" starred Raquel Welch, Robert Culp and Ernest Borgnine. The co-feature, "The Possession of Joel Delaney," featured Shirley MacLaine and Perry King. Both films were May releases.
Bruce Kimmel comments: "This double bill opened at the Holly on July 14." Thanks to
the McAvoy Historic Hollywood Photographs collection for the image. It's their
#HB-421, included as one of 226 photos in their gallery Hollywood Boulevard 1941-1990.
1973 - Loew's is gone and it's renamed the Holly Cinema in this view looking west. It's another find of Ken McIntyre on Photos of Los Angeles.
c.1980 - The Holly is in the center of this image as we look east toward the Warner, after 1968 called the Hollywood Pacific. Thanks to April Brooks Clemmer for sharing the photo from her collection. Visit her April's Hollywood Facebook page and the website for the Old Hollywood Tours she conducts.
1981 - A "Rich and Famous" shot once posted by Alison Martino on the Facebook page Mid Century Modern Los Angeles. Thanks, Alison!
1981 - A view looking east from Alison Martino on her Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.
1982 - Thanks to the now-vanished website of the American Classic Images collection for this December shot.
1984 - Thanks to former manager Ed Collins for this shot, added as a comment to a post on the LAHTF Facebook page. He also worked for SRO at the Rolling Hills in Torrence, the Paramount down the street (now again called the El Capitan) and the Pasadena Hastings. He comments:
"That's me with the blue suit and tie on the left, standing in front of this theatre, The Holly, back in 1984. I was the manager here for two full years... The movie poster that can be seen in the frame is 'Against All Odds,' starring Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward. That movie was released in March of '84, so we were either showing this movie at that time or possibly promoting it a week early."
2010 - The Holly lobby area used as a Scientology testing center. That's the former entrance with the green awning. Photo: Bill Counter
2010 - The view down Hudson Ave. along the west side of the building. It appears to be a mashup of several earlier structures. Photo: Bill Counter
2010 - The east side of the building. We're looking at the side of the auditorium with Hollywood Blvd. off to the left. Photo: Bill Counter
2010 - A view taken from underneath the marquee of the Fox Theatre on the south side of the street. It was taken while eating a taco at the restaurant that was there at the time in part of the Fox's former lobby space. Photo: Bill Counter
2022 - The building once home to the Holly. Photo: Bill Counter
2022 - A closer look at what had been the entrance. Photo: Bill Counter
2022 - A peek in Harold's Chicken & Bar. Photo: Bill Counter
The Holly in the Movies:
Ann Savage and Tom Neal head east on Hollywood Blvd. in search of a
car dealer in Edgar G. Ulmer's "Detour" (Producers Releasing
Corporation, 1945). Over on the right
it's a bit of the Holly, called the Colony at the time of this 1938 footage they used. On the left the Iris/Fox has "The
Buccaneer" starring Fredric March and Franciska Gaal. The cinematography was by
Benjamin H. Kline. Thanks to Dave Hunter for
spotting the theatres. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for three more shots from this sequence where we also see the Warner and a bit of the vertical of the Pantages.
Toward the end of Richard Fleischer's counterfeiting tale "Trapped"
(Eagle-Lion, 1949) we get a view of the Holly, then called the Hollywood Music Hall. The film stars Lloyd
Bridges, Barbara Payton and John Holt. A real treat
is a finale (including an electrocution) at the Los Angeles Railway's
streetcar barns at 7th and Central. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a couple shots of a nice U-turn in front of the Chinese and a
quick look at the El Capitan, then called the Paramount.
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page for a lively history by former patrons and employees.
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I worked at the Holly c1978 while a student at Hollywood High. Was playing mostly B horror films ("Corpse Grinders", I recall). It was a BIG deal when the got first run of "Force 10 from Navarone" with Harrison Ford and Robert Shaw.
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