Pages about the Pantages Theatre: Pantages overview | street views 1929 to 1954 | street views 1955 to present | ticket lobby | entrance vestibule | main lobby | main lounges | main floor inner lobby | balcony lobby and lounge areas | vintage auditorium views | recent auditorium views | backstage | booth | support areas |
1929 - A detail Scott extracted from the Equitable building shot. He notes that the signage on the construction fence says that the Wm. Simpson Construction Co. was building the theatre. The billboard farther in the distance advises us that the property is part of the Bartlett Tract. Thanks, Scott!
1929 - Here we get an October 1 Mott Studios look at the steel framing rising for the Pantages from the Tom B'hend and Preston Kaufmann Collection, part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick Library Digital Collection.
1930 - A nice shot of the crowd gathering for the June 4 opening. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. They also have a boxoffice view taken opening week.
The inaugural film was Marion Davies in "The Florodora Girl." The stage
portion of the program was the Fanchon & Marco "Rose Garden Idea"
and Slim Martin leading the Pantages orchestra. This opening film ran all of 8 days. It was replaced on June 12 with Edward Everett Horton in "Once a Gentleman" along with Gene Morgan in the F & M "Romance Idea."
1930 - A look at the marquee with the theatre running "The Texan" with Gary Cooper and Fay Wray. The Mott Studios photo is in the California State Library's set # 001407754.
Note how different the changeable neon marquee letters look in the daytime with the appearance of dark letters against a lighter background. And, this is fun: note the I-beam sticking out from the facade above the marquee. Evidently the vertical sign had problems and it was taken off the building for repairs. Neon sign veteran Brian M. Currie notes that one of the
sign contractors was QRS Sign Co. Also see an ad for the manufacturers
of the vertical and the changeable neon letters, Metlox Corporation of Manhattan Beach.
1930 - A detail of the changeable neon letters from the previous Mott Studios photo.
"The Texan" opened June 19 along with the Fanchon & Marco "Seeing Double Idea." The show beginning June 26 was Nancy Carroll in "The Devil's Holiday" and the F & M "Country Club Idea."
1930 - A fine Los Angeles Public Library photo of the Pantages signage during the run of "True To The Navy" with Clara Bow and Fredric March. It was a May release. Note the spidery neon design on the vertical between the letters. The letters are in a font called Hobo.
1930 - Maurice Chevalier and Claudette Colbert in "The Big Pond," a May release. The Mott Studios photo is in the California State Library's set # 001407754. There's a cropped version in the McAvoy/Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection, their #T-041-15. Bob Foreman notes that the photo also makes an appearance in Volume 2 (1930) of "American Theatres of Today" by R.W. Seton and B.F. Betts. The two volume work was reissued in 2009 as a single volume by the Theatre Historical Society. It's available on Amazon.
1930 - A detail of the original treatment of the top of the vertical from the Mott Studios "The Big Pond" photo. Note that it's incandescent bulbs, not neon, inside the letters.
1930 - A Mott Studios view from the California State Library collection nicely showing off the signage. It's in the Library's set # 001453758. Look at the changeable neon letters on the marquee: "The Exquisite Star -- The Smartest Picture - Norma Shearer 'Let Us Be Gay.'" It was an August release.
1930 - A detail of the animated top of the sign from the Mott Studios "Let Us Be Gay" photo. Note that cute star they've added on the top of the tower behind. The top would be replaced with a much simpler version around 1936 and an "RKO" after that circuit got the house in 1949. Later it would say "Pacific's" after their acquisition in 1968.
More 1930 Mott Studios photos: The California State Library has about 200, although organized randomly and with many duplicates. Scroll down to the bottom of the vintage auditorium views page for a list of their sets that have Pantages photos.
1930 - In this Los Angeles Public Library photo the theatre is playing "Tom Sawyer" with Jackie Coogan, a December release. It's also in the McAvoy/Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection.
1931 - The first known color image of the theatre, a frame from "Round About Hollywood."
The seven minute short also offers views of the Warner and the Chinese. It's on Internet
Archive from a print released by the UK firm Wardour Films done in the two-color Cinecolor process.
1930s - A lovely noirish look west toward the Pantages. The photo is included in the Angel City Press book "Spectacular Illumination: Neon Los Angeles 1925-1965" by Tom Zimmerman with J. Eric Lynxwiler.
Chris Nichols discussed the book and included this photo and other Hollywood views with his August 2016 Los Angeles magazine article "These Photos Will Transport You to a Neon-Soaked 1930s Hollywood."
1936 - The banner was out for "These Three," a March release starring Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon and Joel McCrea. It's a California Historical Society photo appearing on the USC Digital Library website.
1936 - The May opening of James Whale's film of "Show Boat" before the marquee has been turned on. It's a Life Magazine photo on Google/Life Images where you can browse the Life Photo Archive. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor BifRayRock for finding this image and the two below for his Noirish post #40314.
1936 - The marquee lit for the "Show Boat" opening. It's a Life Magazine photo on Google Images.
1936 - A Life Magazine view from the sidelines at the "Show Boat" premiere. It's on Google/Life Images where you can browse the Life Photo Archive. Thanks to BifRayRock!
1936 - A Los Angeles Public Library view looking west. It looks like neon tubing may have been added along the sides of the vertical and note the work in progress at the top. The end panel of the marquee gives us no titles -- just advice that they're running two features with matinee and evening screenings. The photo also appears in the McAvoy/Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection, their #HB-181.
1937 - A Herman Schultheis photo of the end of the marquee showing off the changeable neon letters in the font called Hobo. The movie is "100 Men and a Girl," a September release. The photo is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
c.1937 - Looking east from Ivar. It's a Herman Schultheis photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Thanks to Scott Collette for locating it for a Forgotten Los Angeles Facebook post that included several other Hollywood Christmas shots by Mr. Schultheis.
1939 - A look toward Vine from the Dick Whittington Studio. The Pantages has a banner out for the February release "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man" with W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. The photo is in the USC Digital Library collection.
1939 - A sweet view of the August world premiere for John M. Stahl's "When Tomorrow Comes" starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer. Note those great Hobo font changeable neon letters. Thanks to the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation for sharing the photo, one acquired from Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives. A version of it has also been seen on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page as a post by Ken McIntyre. It's also in the AMPAS Tom B'hend - Preston Kaufmann Collection.
1939 - The "When Tomorrow Comes" premiere from across the street. The photo was discovered by Ken McIntyre for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. See a wider view from this angle on the Historic Hollywood Photographs website, their PRM-005-3.
1943 - A Maynard Parker view from the Huntington Library. Note the new font of milk glass letters. They're again in the Hobo font but this is a set of white letters with a black background. The show is Deanna Durbin in "The Amazing Mrs. Holliday." Head to the larger view on the Huntington site and then you can zoom in for details. The awning on the space later occupied by the Frolic Room is seen here with lettering that says "Cafe."
1943 - A detail of the signage from the Maynard Parker photo.
1943 - A closer look at the interesting pattern on the metal background between the letters.
1943 - The Pantages running "White Savage" with Maria Montez. It's a photo from the collection of Hollywood Heritage, one of many items on display at the organization's DeLongpre Annex, 6411 Hollywood Blvd.
1944 - A view with the theatre running Abbott & Costello film "In Society," an August release. It's a photo in the collection of Hollywood Heritage. Richard Adkins, president of the organization, notes that the photo was previously in the collection of ABC, once headquartered on Vine St. It was one of a number of items they were going to put in the trash that he rescued when he worked there.
On the left note the Hitching Post with the banner proclaiming it an "All Western Theatre." This one also appears in the McAvoy family's Historic Hollywood Photographs collection as their
#HB-245, included as one of 226 photos in their gallery Hollywood Boulevard 1941-1990.
1946 - A wonderful uncredited Los Angeles Public Library view looking west with the Pantages playing "The Jolson Story." The film played from November 7 until December 24. Note the Hitching Post Theatre on the left.
1947 - A view east toward the Pantages from the Blackstock Negative Collection of the Los Angeles Public Library. The theatre was running Disney's "Song of the South," a film that opened January 30.
1949 - L.A. Mayor Fletcher Bowron and his wife are cruising Hollywood Blvd. during the Hollywood Christmas Parade in this Los Angeles Public Library photo. "All The King's Men" had its Los Angeles premiere at the Pantages on November 16.
1949 - At the Pantages it's "Bride For Sale," a film that opened December 22 starring Claudette Colbert, George Brent and Robert Young. The Hitching Post, over on the left, has given up on westerns and is running "The Facts of Love." Thanks to Martin Pal for including the photo with many other interesting Hollywood views in his Noirish Los Angeles post #50025. It's a photo from the collection of Eric Lynxwiler that he's shared on Flickr. Thanks, Eric!
1950 - Another June 27 shot by Loomis Dean. In this one we get a view of the Paris Theatre, the former Hitching Post, across the street. It's on Google's Life Photo collection. The Pantages was running "China Sky," a 1945 release with Randolph Scott, Ellen Drew and Anthony Quinn. The co-feature was "Valley of the Sun," a 1942 picture with Lucille Ball and James Craig. The reissue program had opened June 22 at both the Pantages and the Hillstreet.
1951 - The 23rd Academy Awards in March. Thanks to Jonathan Raines for spotting the shot in the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library.
1952 - The Academy Awards, a Herald Examiner photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The caption: "This was the scene of excitement outside Hollywood's Pantages Theater for the 24th annual Academy Awards presentation on March 22, 1952, as cars brought the film stars to the entrance. The sidewalks, special bleachers and entry were bulging with fans, including the usual battalion of autograph hunters." Thanks to Eitan Alexander for spotting the photo in the LAPL collection.
1952 - A streetcar shot looking east discovered by Ken McIntyre. It's on Photos of Los Angeles.
1952 - An October 21 photo with the end panel saying "Willie and Joe," the two main characters in "Back To the Front," a film starring Tom Ewell, Harvey Lembeck and Mari Blanchard. It opened at the Pantages, Hillstreet and El Rey on October 15. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the shot for a post for the the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. When Wide World Photos sent it out it was with this copy:
"Caution! Watch Release Date! Wide World B12173 Please Credit - For use Sunday, Nov. 2, with Gene Handsacker's Hollywood AP-N story on Hollywood Boulevard -- A FAMOUS STREET INTERSECTION -- Here is one of the world's most famous intersections -- Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif., loking east. Though so well known, it is strictly average in make-up. A department store, a drugstore, a luggage shop, and a restaurant occupy its four corners. Further along the street, on the left, is the Pantages Theater, where many movie premieres are held."
1953 - A shot of model Vikki Dougan at Hollywood and Vine. It was part of a shoot by Ralph Crane for Life magazine. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Martin Pal for the find. He has this and others from the shoot on his Noirish post #39847. Martin calls our attention to the star motif they were using on the crosswalks at the time.
1953 - Another photo from the Ralph Crane / Life shoot. Ms. Dougan was big on backless dresses. Martin Pal comments that many suggest she was perhaps the inspiration for Jessica Rabbit in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."
1953 - A great view of the RKO Pantages running "It Came From Outer Space" in 3-D on the new "wide vision" screen. Also on the bill is a Nat King Cole short in 3-D. The photo has popped up on several different blogs as well as on the now defunct 3D Expo Facebook page. Jack Theakson notes that the photo was taken opening day, May 27.
1954 - A fine shot of Red Car #5145. The Pantages was running "Human Desire" with Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Broderick Crawford. The co-feature was "The Black Dakotas," a western with Gary Merrill and Wanda Hendrix. Bruce Kimmel notes that this bill opened September 16. Many thanks to transit historian Sean Ault for locating the photo.
Glen Norman comments: "Pacific Electric ended its Hollywood Blvd. service September 26, 1954. This photo may very well be a railfan's farewell shot." See the PE Hollywood Line article from the Electric Railway Historical Association.
1954 - Adding final touches to the signage for the "A Star is Born" premiere. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for the photo added as a comment on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles.
1954 - The September 29 premiere of "A Star is Born" with Judy Garland and James Mason. The photo on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles is from Eitan Alexander.
1954 - Another Loomis Dean/Getty Images view of the "A Star is Born" premiere. Note the added yellow neon on the vertical. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post about "A Star Is Born" for shots of the Chinese and Shrine Auditorium from the film. Also see the post for the 2015 film "Life," about a Life magazine photographer. The 1954 "A Star Is Born" premiere at the Pantages was re-created for the film.
1954 - A terrific Christmas view of the Pantages from the Richard Wojcik collection on the Facebook page for the non-public group Mid Century Modern Los Angeles.
Pages about the Pantages Theatre:
| Pantages overview | back to top - street views 1929 to 1954 | street views 1955 to present | ticket lobby | entrance vestibule | main lobby | main lounges | main floor inner lobby | balcony lobby and lounge areas | vintage auditorium views | recent auditorium views | backstage | booth | support areas |
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The speakeasy did exist at some point. I saw it. It was in the basement, and was later used as the storeroom for Bernard Luggage on Vine Street. I worked, briefly, as a stock boy for them in the early sixties. At the time, the murals could still be seen behind the stacks of American Tourister luggage. Yes, there was even a door with a peephole. Sadly, a lot of Hollywood history was destroyed in those days.
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