226 / 6524 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028 | map |
Opened: The Idyl Hour was opened by a Mr. P. Tabor as Hollywood's first movie theatre in late 1910 or early 1911. When Hollywood was a separate city they had regulations specifying no theatres but in 1910 when it became part of Los Angeles there were some new opportunities.
Opened: The Idyl Hour was opened by a Mr. P. Tabor as Hollywood's first movie theatre in late 1910 or early 1911. When Hollywood was a separate city they had regulations specifying no theatres but in 1910 when it became part of Los Angeles there were some new opportunities.
Seating: 250
The first city directory listing is evidently the one in the 1912 edition showing the Idle Hour (yes, with that spelling) at 226 W. Hollywood Blvd. This was the numbering before the addresses got changed to the L.A. system.
The location is on the south side of the street directly opposite Hudson Ave., which dead ends at Hollywood Blvd. The block for this location is bounded on the west by Schrader Blvd. and on the east by Wilcox Ave.
The first city directory listing is evidently the one in the 1912 edition showing the Idle Hour (yes, with that spelling) at 226 W. Hollywood Blvd. This was the numbering before the addresses got changed to the L.A. system.
The location is on the south side of the street directly opposite Hudson Ave., which dead ends at Hollywood Blvd. The block for this location is bounded on the west by Schrader Blvd. and on the east by Wilcox Ave.
"A Special Treat" in January 1912. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
This 1912 City Briefs column from the Hollywood Citizen-News was half ads and half local gossip. Included were three ads for the Idyl Hour. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
The owner was already trying to sell the place in 1912. You could have had it for $800. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the ad for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
The owner was already trying to sell the place in 1912. You could have had it for $800. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the ad for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
The Idyl Hour business was renamed the Acme Theatre in 1912. And not just with new management but with the "Entire" new management of a Mr. C.E. Stanley. Thanks to Mike Rivest for finding this ad that appeared in the June 7 issue of the Hollywood Citizen-News. Maybe Mr. Stanley decided the business wasn't for him and it soon
reverted to its earlier name and owner. There's no listing of any sort
for him in the 1912 or 1913 L.A. city directories.
It's still the Idle Hour (with that spelling) in the 1913 directory but with the new
numbering system in place the address had become 6524 Hollywood Blvd. O.F. Stowe is listed as the proprietor in 1913. They also got some competition in 1913 when the district's second theatre, the Hollywood Theatre, opened on the south side of the street just east of Highland Ave.
The theatre is indicated as "Moving Pictures" at 6524 in this detail from plate 15 of the Sanborn Real Estate Map that was published in January 1913. It's in the Library of Congress collection. Hudson Ave. is on the left and Wilcox on the right. There's also 1907 Sanborn Map of Hollywood appearing both on the Library of Congress site as well as on the website of Historic Map Works.
In the 1914 city directory it's listed with the 6524 address but the business had been renamed the Iris Theatre. Thanks to Hollywood historian April Clemmer for spotting the 1913 and 1914 directory listings. Discussion of the theatre is one element of her superb Old Hollywood Walking Tour.
In the 1914 city directory it's listed with the 6524 address but the business had been renamed the Iris Theatre. Thanks to Hollywood historian April Clemmer for spotting the 1913 and 1914 directory listings. Discussion of the theatre is one element of her superb Old Hollywood Walking Tour.
In 1914 the theatre was operated by a Mr. Alexander. Ken McIntyre located this April 17 news item:
"Mr. F.R. Alexander, manager of the Iris Theater, has returned from a week's stay in San Francisco where he was called by the death of his brother."
A photo of the theatre in 1914. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a Facebook post on Ken's Movie Page. He located it on Worthpoint. The seller's copy from when the photo was on eBay noted that the 6524 address is readable above the entrance. Although 1912 had been penciled on the back, he determined that the posters are for 1914 releases.
Two moves: The Iris moved in late 1914 or early 1915 to a storefront at 6417 Hollywood Blvd. That's on the north side of the street just east of the present Warner Theatre. See the separate page about that Iris Theatre location
Two moves: The Iris moved in late 1914 or early 1915 to a storefront at 6417 Hollywood Blvd. That's on the north side of the street just east of the present Warner Theatre. See the separate page about that Iris Theatre location
In 1918 the Iris moved yet again to a purpose built structure on the south
side of the street at 6508 Hollywood Blvd. See the page on that venue, in 1968 renamed the Fox Theatre.
Status: The City Planning Department's ZIMAS database gives a 1915 date for the building currently on the 6524 Hollywood Blvd. site. But that date could just be the occasion of a big remodel and the building now there is perhaps the one that once housed the theatre.
The first location of the Idyl Hour/Iris Theatre at 6524 Hollywood Blvd., now occupied by Stage Hollywood. It's unknown if this building housed the theatre or was constructed later. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
A wider view looking east from the first Idyl Hour/Iris location toward the third location, the theatre later renamed the Fox. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
Status: The City Planning Department's ZIMAS database gives a 1915 date for the building currently on the 6524 Hollywood Blvd. site. But that date could just be the occasion of a big remodel and the building now there is perhaps the one that once housed the theatre.
The first location of the Idyl Hour/Iris Theatre at 6524 Hollywood Blvd., now occupied by Stage Hollywood. It's unknown if this building housed the theatre or was constructed later. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
A wider view looking east from the first Idyl Hour/Iris location toward the third location, the theatre later renamed the Fox. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
Alternate stories: The 1910 or 1911 opening date for the Idyl Hour comes from the great Bruce Torrence book "Hollywood: The 1st Hundred Years." But he has an address for it directly across on the north side of the street at
6525 Hollywood Blvd. He mentions the later move down near the Warner but doesn't include the 6524 address, the location that we have three city directory listings for.
Gregory Paul Williams in his lovely book "The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History" says it opened in 1910. He spells it Idle Hour and puts it in a storefront at the N.E. Corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Hudson (basically the same location as Torrence's address). Williams, perhaps following Mr. Torrence, also does not mention the 6524 address. These two accounts are the only data points to surface supporting a location on the north side of the street at Hollywood and Hudson.
A third story about the initial location of the theatre is on the Cinema Treasures page that they have re-titled Acme Theatre. Ken Roe says it was on the NE corner of Hollywood and Vine, near the current Pantages location. He doesn't list a source.
This is the building on the N.E. corner of Hollywood and Hudson that Bruce Torrence and Gregory Paul Williams assert was the initial site of the Idyl Hour. Torrence's 6525 address would put it the vicinity of the center storefront of the current building. The easy assumption is that whatever was on this corner in 1910 has been demolished as ZIMAS gives 1920 as the year of construction. But parts of an earlier building may remain as it does appear to be a mashup of construction over different periods. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010
Much later, the entrance to the Studio / Holly Theatre was at 6523 Hollywood Blvd., in the storefront to the right with the green awning. It was retail space in the building before the theatre conversion in 1931 and it's retail once again. The building just to the east (6507-6521 Hollywood Blvd.) evidently dates from 1921.
Gregory Paul Williams in his lovely book "The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History" says it opened in 1910. He spells it Idle Hour and puts it in a storefront at the N.E. Corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Hudson (basically the same location as Torrence's address). Williams, perhaps following Mr. Torrence, also does not mention the 6524 address. These two accounts are the only data points to surface supporting a location on the north side of the street at Hollywood and Hudson.
A third story about the initial location of the theatre is on the Cinema Treasures page that they have re-titled Acme Theatre. Ken Roe says it was on the NE corner of Hollywood and Vine, near the current Pantages location. He doesn't list a source.
This is the building on the N.E. corner of Hollywood and Hudson that Bruce Torrence and Gregory Paul Williams assert was the initial site of the Idyl Hour. Torrence's 6525 address would put it the vicinity of the center storefront of the current building. The easy assumption is that whatever was on this corner in 1910 has been demolished as ZIMAS gives 1920 as the year of construction. But parts of an earlier building may remain as it does appear to be a mashup of construction over different periods. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010
Much later, the entrance to the Studio / Holly Theatre was at 6523 Hollywood Blvd., in the storefront to the right with the green awning. It was retail space in the building before the theatre conversion in 1931 and it's retail once again. The building just to the east (6507-6521 Hollywood Blvd.) evidently dates from 1921.
Notes on the Hollywood Blvd. street renumbering: In the old system (in 1912 and earlier city directories) the dividing point was Cahuenga Blvd. East of Cahuenga was E. Hollywood Blvd., west of Cahuenga was W. Hollywood Blvd. In both new and old systems even numbers were on the south side of the street, odd numbers on the north.
A building near the theatre at 214 W. Hollywood Blvd. housing many tenants in 1911 (including a certain Ella M. Main) got listed as 6512 Hollywood Blvd. in 1913. Hollywood National Bank, listed in 1911 as at 100 E. Hollywood Blvd. was listed in 1913 as 6400 Hollywood Blvd. The Hollywood Library, listed at 133 E. Hollywood Blvd. in 1911, was listed as at Hollywood and Ivar in 1913 and at 6357 Hollywood Blvd. in 1915.
More information: See the page about that second Iris Theatre location at 6417 Hollywood Blvd., just east of the present Warner Theatre. Also check out the page about the third location, the Iris/Fox Theatre at 6508 Hollywood Blvd., a new building constructed for the operation in 1918.
Cinema Treasures has page on the Acme which they're saying was at 6265 Hollywood Blvd.
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