Vista Theatre

4473 Sunset Dr. Los Angeles, CA 90027  | map |

 

The News: Quentin Tarantino bought the theatre in 2021. Look for a reopening in late 2022 or early 2023 as a first run house running only film, bookings partially to be determined by which releases have distributors willing to strike 35mm prints. And the word is that he'll be installing 70mm capability as well. 

 

Thanks to Alex Rojas for spotting "Quentin Tarantino Buys Vista Theatre," a July 5, 2021 story by Ryan Parker for the Hollywood Reporter. There were similar stories from the L.A. Times, Deadline and Variety. Tarantino also owns the New Beverly. Also see "What happened behind the scenes with Quentin Tarantino's Vista Theatre deal? The owner explains?," Mark Olsen's July 6, 2021 story for the Times. 

 

Quentin has applied for a conditional use permit to sell beer and wine. The plan is to reactivate long-unused storefront space for a cafe and vintage video game arcade. The March 8, 2022 application can be seen on the L.A. City Planning Department website. The site notes it'll be a total of 370 seats (including the theatre? big new recliners?). We'll see. Thanks to Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles Facebook page for sharing the news on a March 9 post. See a set of April 27 construction photos on Facebook that were taken by Sandi Hemmerlein.

Opened: October 9, 1923 as Bard's Hollywood Theatre. The first feature at "Hollywood's Newest Theatre" was "Tips" with Baby Peggy. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.

 

The Lou Bard circuit eventually included Bard's Hill Street (later called the Town), the College Theatre and Bard's 8th St. (later called the Olympic), all downtown. He also had theatres in West Adams, Glendale, Alhambra and Pasadena. By 1930 this one was under new ownership and called the Vista Theatre.

Phone: 323-660-6639       Website: www.vintagecinemas.com/vista

Architect: Lewis A. Smith. It's a cute neighborhood house with an Egyptian flavored interior. Lou Bard loved Egyptian interiors regardless of the exterior look of his theatres. There's a stage about 7' deep, enough for limited vaudeville in the silent era when the screen was mounted on the back wall. There's no fly capability.

Seating: 838 originally, now down to 400 for increased leg room.

Pipe organ: It was a 2 manual 6 rank Wurlitzer Style D, opus #701.  

 

 A 1942 ad that was located by Ken McIntyre. The Hunley was later renamed the Century Theatre.

 

 

 

Forget your matches? The theatre had you covered. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting this as a post by Nessa on Cinema Treasures and sharing it on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 

 

In the early 1960s Shan Sayles was operating the Vista, then a foreign film house branded as the Vista Continental. He also had the Apollo Arts, a house on Hollywood Blvd. near Western later called the Star, and the Paris Theatre on Santa Monica Blvd., the former Carmel. This 1961 article discussed the promotion of Robert Cuzan, the Apollo's manager: 

Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the article for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. Do you care about this Cuzan guy? We also have a photo.

 

After a long slide down from classy neighborhood house, the Vista hit bottom as a porno venue in the mid-1960s. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting this 1965 L.A. Times ad on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.

A 1966 L.A. Times ad for the theatre's clientele of "Rugged Adults." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 

In 1980 it was rescued by Thomas Theatres and reopened as a revival house. Mike Thomas was at the time also running theatres in San Francisco such as the Warfield, the Crest (which he was calling the Electric), and the Strand. He did a big cleanup and restoration project, including rejuvenating the roof sign.

In 1982 Landmark Theatres took over the operation. Lance Alspaugh's 5 Star Theatres (now known as Vintage Cinemas) acquired the business in 1988 and bought the building in 1997. A $1 million project between 1997 and 2000 designed by Ronald Wright included a new Egyptian style boxoffice, a seismic retrofit, work on projection and sound, restoration of paint and plaster, and reseating the theatre. The entrance has celebrity hand and footprints, nicely chronicled on a celebrity handprints page on the Vintage Cinemas website.

Status: Until the March 2020 Covid shutdown it was open and doing well with first runs, moveovers and occasional revivals. The theatre had a Sony 4K digital projector but retained 35mm capability for special showings. Vintage Cinemas, the operator until the mid-2021 sale to Quentin Tarantino, also operates the nearby Los Feliz, a triplex. 

 

The lobby, booth, restrooms and storefronts are being remodeled. A reopening date hasn't been announced. 

The Vista in the Movies: 

A shot of the Vista from inside Stan's Drive-In seen in "The Crooked Web" (Columbia, 1955). Thanks to Jonathan Raines for the screenshot. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more about the film and several additional photos.

We get a look at the Vista as part of a montage displaying many of L.A.'s high culture sites near the opening of "The Swinger" (Paramount, 1966). The film stars Ann-Margret and Tony Franciosa. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for shots of five other theatres seen in the little travelogue.  

The Vista when it was having a fling as a porno house. It's a shot from a Charlie's Angels episode "Catch A Fallen Angel" in 1980. Thanks to Daniel Siwek for posting the photo on Vintage Los Angeles.

Danny DeVito goes to the movies at the Vista in "Throw Momma From the Train" (Orion Pictures, 1987). He's looking for ideas about bumping off mother and enlists Billy Crystal to help. Yes it's a comedy. DeVito directed a cast that also includes Oprah Winfrey, Rob Reiner, Kate Mulgrew and Branford Marsalis. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in the Movies post for two shots inside the theatre.

Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette are fooling around outside the Vista in Tony Scott's "True Romance" (Warner Bros., 1993). It's supposedly a Detroit theatre where they meet during a triple bill of "Street Fighter," "Return of the Street Fighter" and "Sister Street Fighter." See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for six additional shots from the scene at the Vista. The screenplay was by Quentin Tarantino, who now owns the place.

 

In Barry Sonnenfeld's "Get Shorty" (MGM, 1995) we have John Travolta and Rene Russo seeing a film at the Vista. At least it's the Vista inside. For the exteriors, we're at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for that shot.

The Vista in Wes Craven's "Scream 2" (Dimension Films, 1997). The exteriors and lobby shots for this sequence near the beginning of the film were done at the Rialto Theatre in South Pasadena. The film also used the Variety Arts Theatre downtown for scenes near the end of the film. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for shots showing the Rialto and Variety Arts.

 

 

We get a bit of marquee footage in "Dear White People" (Lionsgate, 2014) when there's a gathering of students at their local theatre to protest the inanities of the latest Tyler Perry movie. But other shots in the scene were done elsewhere. The story of four Black students at an Ivy League college stars Tessa Thompson, Tyler James Williams, Kyle Gallner and Teyonah Parris. Justin Simien directed.

The Vista is one of a half dozen theatres to get a marquee shot included in the title sequence of "Entourage" (Warner Bros., 2015). The film, directed by Doug Ellin, stars Kevin Dillon, Jeremy Piven, Adrian Grenier and Kevin Connolly plus many others doing cameos. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more screenshots.  

 

 

 
We get nice a facade view of the Vista in Woody Allen's "Café Society" (Lionsgate, 2016) when Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart take in "The Woman In Red" with Barbara Stanwyck. Earlier Eisenberg checks out the footprints at Grauman's Chinese. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for that shot as well as a view of a New York theatre lobby that Woody is passing off as being in Hollywood. 

 

Brain researcher Julia Brizendine (Whitney Cummings) heads to the Vista to see a silent movie with Kevin (Toby Kebbell), a participant in one of her research studies, in "The Female Brain" (IFC Films, 2018). As a date, it doesn't go well. She just wants quick sex, Kevin's interested in something more. Cummings also directed the film. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a shot outside as well as one in the auditorium.

 

 

Some of the gang in "Summertime" (Good Deed Entertainment, 2021) end up at a burger joint where they're offered the use of a limo by two newly-minted rap stars. Here it's sailing by the Vista while they were running Quentin's "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" in 2019. Carlos Lopez Estrada directed this story of 27 young Angelenos and how their lives intersect on a hot summer day. Much of the material for the "spoken word poetry musical" was written by the young stars of the film. The cinematography is by John Schmidt. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for shots from the film of the film of the Chinese, Arcade, United Artists and Los Angeles theatres.


The lobby:

The snackbar area c.2016. Thanks to the Vista Theatre for the photo. It's one of many fine views of their lovingly maintained theatre that appear on their website's photo tour.

The house left side of the lobby. Thanks to Mike Hume for his 2017 photo. Visit his Historic Theatre Photography site for hundreds of great photos of the theatres he's explored. And, of course, he has a page on the Vista Theatre. 

A peek into the auditorium. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography - 2018

The event the day Mike's photos were taken was the annual meeting of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation. The organization is actively involved in the study and preservation of the vintage theatres in the L.A. area. The group frequently supports events and offers tours of various historic theatres. www.lahtf.org | group Facebook page | official Facebook page

 

The entrance doors. Thanks to John Hough for the 2017 photo on the page about the Vista Theatre on Ornate Theatres.com, the superb site he runs with Mark Mullhall. 

 

 

An April 2022 construction view. Thanks to Sandi Hemmerlein for sharing this and eight other photos in a set on Facebook. 

 

 

A June 2022 view. Thanks to Hollywood Heritage's Richard Adkins for the photo. It's one of six images from his visit that he posted on the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation Facebook page.

The auditorium:

A view from the back of the house. Thanks to Stephen Russo for his 2014 photo. It originally appeared on the LAHTF Facebook page.

The house right wall. Photo: John Hough - Ornate Theatres - 2017

A wall detail. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography - 2018

A view up toward the ceiling at the front of the auditorium. It's a photo from the Vista Theatre website.

A look toward the house left organ grille area from 7-how-7 on Flickr.

The house right front exit. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography - 2018

A look up at the house right organ grille. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography - 2018

A detail of the house right organ grille. It's a 2005 photo by Steven Rood appearing on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre.

A closer look at one of the spooky side wall ladies. Thanks to Sean Ault for his 2017 photo. While waiting for "Blade Runner 2049" to begin he did a little swirl around the auditorium. It's on YouTube.

The view back toward the booth. Photo: John Hough - Ornate Theatres - 2017

Backstage: 

A view across the shallow stage from house right. In the silent days he screen would have been on the back wall, allowing room for vaudeville acts in front. The current screen installation is out in front of the proscenium columns. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography - 2018

A closer look at one of the proscenium columns. Note the recess for a strip light down low on the column. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography - 2018

A peek into the auditorium from the house right organ chamber. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography - 2018

A look across the front part of the attic from above the house left organ chamber. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

Peering back deeper into the attic over the auditorium. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

Up to the booth:

The stairs to the booth back in the house right corner of the auditorium. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography - 2018

Outside the booth, a motor-generator set remaining from the carbon arc era. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography - 2018

A pre-digital booth photo from the Steven Rood collection. It's a Simplex XL machine with an LP Associates xenon lamphouse. The photo is on the Cinema Tour page about the Vista where there are 51 photos to browse, including many more booth views from 2005.

A view between the Simplex XL and the Sony 4K digital unit. Photo: John Hough - Ornate Theatres - 2017

A look over to the left side of the booth. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography - 2018

Looking across the booth. The digital machine is hiding over there on the far side beyond the 35mm projector. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography - 2018

More exterior views:

1930 - A view of the junction of Hollywood and Sunset, looking east. Note the Vista vertical and a bit of the marquee. We also get a bit of the roof sign peeking up at the left. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.

1938 - A Herman Schultheis photo of the Vista from the Los Angeles Public Library. They're running "The Great Waltz."  The Library also has another very similar shot from Mr. Schultheis.

c.1940 - The Vista running a reissue of "Birth of a Nation." Thanks to Gregory May for spotting this one.

A neighborhood note on "Birth of a Nation"- When Griffith was working on the film, he screened it nearby in one of the area's first soundstages. The location, 4212 Sunset Blvd., was constructed c.1910.  The Los Angeles Public Library has a 1927 street view as the Jail Cafe. It was rebuilt in 1961 as a cabaret space and is now the El Cid Restaurant.  Wikipedia has an article about the building's history.  Los Angeles Magazine also ran a piece in 2003.

1951 - A great view of the Vista from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

1966 - A view by Ed Ruscha that's in the Getty collection. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Riichkay for posting it on Noirish post #55437. Nile Hight posted the image on the SoCal Historic Architecture Facebook page but somehow didn't bother to credit it.  

 

There over 70,000 Ruscha items now available for browsing. A few places to start: Sunset Boulevard, 1965-2010, undated (58,167 digitized items) | Hollywood Boulevard, 1973-2005, undated (4,292 digitized items) | Santa Monica Boulevard, 1974 (4,956 digitized items) | Melrose Avenue, 1975 (3,724 digitized items) |  Specifically about Sunset Blvd., see the Getty Research Institute's site "12 Sunsets." Their October 2020 Press Release discusses the project. 

 

 

c.1968 - An Ed Ruscha photo from the Getty Research Institute collection.

 

 

 

1973 - An Ed Ruscha photo from the Getty collection. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Riichkay for posting it on Noirish post #55437.

1970s - Thanks to Martin Pal for spotting this photo, taken while the theatre was still on its porno fling. It's in Martin's Noirish Los Angeles post #28095. 

1980 - A shot taken on the occasion of its reopening as a revival house. It's a photo from the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library.

1980 - A look at the theatre from near its peep show neighbor across the street. Thanks to Joe on Flickr for the photo. "The Tin Drum" was a 1979 release.

1982 - Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this photo taken in December.  

1983 - A January photo from the American Classic Images collection.

1983 - A photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. This one and the 1980 LAPL view above also appear on "Early L.A. Historical Buildings page 3," a section of the Water & Power Associates Museum website.

1983 - Thanks to Meredith Jacobson Marciano for sharing this photo she took. 

c.1985 - An undated Tom LaBonge photo of the Vista playing "Freaks" and "The Haunting." It's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

c.1985 - An undated Roy Hankey photo of the crowd for a showing of "Mildred Pierce." It's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

c.1986 - A Gary Leonard photo of the theatre running "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Salvador."  The photo is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 

 

1991 - It's a Gary Graver photo. Mr. Graver (1938-2006) was a a filmmaker and cinematographer. There's an article about him on Wikipedia.  More of his theatre photos can be seen on You Tube on the compilations "Second Run - part 1" and "Second Run - part 2." Thanks to Sean Graver for use of the photo.  

 

c.1993 - Thanks to Virginia Jacks for sharing this shot of the theatre and her 1966 Charger as a post on the Mid Century Modern Facebook page. 

 

 

2007 - "Across the Universe" -- and the ice cream parlor open next door. Photo: Bill Counter

 

 

2007 - The Egyptian style entrance. No, that boxoffice isn't original. Photo: Bill Counter 

2007 - Thanks to M.V. Jantzen for this lovely view. It's part of his Los Angeles 2007 album on Flickr. 

c.2012 - A lovely sidewalk view looking west from Ken McIntyre. It was a post of his on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles. 

2017 - Thanks to Sean Ault for this shot he took when he went to see "Blade Runner 2049." Even more fun is his short video on YouTube where you can see the neon in action.

2017 - An entrance view taken by John Hough for his website Ornate Theatres. Thanks, John!

2018 - A view east along the facade. That Hollywood Camera Exchange sign in the storefront window was painted for the Woody Allen film "Café Society." Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography

2018 - A peek out along the marquee from a second floor balcony. The upstairs area, once rental apartments, was at the time just used for storage. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography

2018 - The rear of the building, showing off its seismic retrofit work. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography

 

2018 - A night view. Photo: Mike Hume - Historic Theatre Photography

 

 

2018 - A view during the run of "Roma." It's a photo credited to Shutterstock that appeared with the July 2021 Secret Los Angeles article "Quentin Tarantino Acquires..."

2019 - A photo by Franck Bohbot, one in series he's calling "L.A. Confidential." It appears with many other shots from the series in "Neon Dreams: Los Angeles by night - in pictures," a November 2019 spread from the Guardian. Bohbot notes: "At night, everything changes and the neon lights help to create the scene… this could be the LA from the past but also from the future." Thanks, Franck!

2020 - "To be continued..." was the message during the virus shutdown. Photo: Bill Counter - April 26

2020 - An April view from the east. Photo: Bill Counter 

 

 

 

2021 - A bit of maintenance was needed after a year of Covid shutdown. It's a photo Mike Hume took in March.

 

 

2021 - "California has reopened. My beloved local theater hasn't. Why?" was a June Times article by Ryan Faughnder. Vista owner Lance Alspaugh discusses the problems. The "illustration" by Nicole Vas used a Times photo by Jay L. Clendenin. 

 

 

2022 - Still "To Be Continued..." Photo: Bill Counter - March 10

 

 

2022 - An early April view of work beginning. Thanks to Kevin Muldoon for sharing this photo and the one below as comments on a Facebook post about the theatre from Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles. 

 

 

2022 - A closer look from Kevin Muldoon. Thanks!  

 

2022 - The stripped and primed marquee on April 27. The storefront on the right had been an ice cream parlor when it was last used. Thanks to Sandi Hemmerlein for sharing this photo and eight others in a post on Facebook.  

 

 

2022 - The ticket lobby. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - April 27. She notes that the posters in the display cases are all for Tarantino films.

 

 

2022 - The west side of the marquee. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - April 27.  Thanks, Sandi!

More Information: The Cinema Tour page on the Vista has 51 photos by Bob Meza, Steven Rood and Mark Campbell. Also see the Cinema Treasures page on the Vista Theatre.

TJ Edwards and Garan Grey's Cinema Sightlines page on the Vista Theatre has a great photo spread and commentary. Curbed L.A. had a 2015 Bianca Barragan piece "Watch a Brief History of the 1923 Vista Theatre...."

John Hough has some great photos of the theatre on the Vista Theatre page of OrnateTheatres.com, the site he runs with Mark Mulhall. Mike Hume's Historic Theatre Photography site has a terrific page on the Vista Theatre.

The Vista Theatre website has a nice array of photos. There are also over 200 pictures of the theatre on Yelp.

The Laguna Beach Indy had a September 2017 story "Historic Theatre Readies for a Sequel," about Vintage Cinemas taking over the South Coast Cinema, a twin in Laguna beach.

| back to top | Hollywood Theatres: overview and alphabetical lists | Hollywood Theatres: list by address | Westside theatres | Westwood and Brentwood | Along the Coast | Downtown | [more] Los Angeles movie palaces | L.A. Theatres: main alphabetical list | L.A. Theatres: list by address | theatre history resources | film and theatre tech resources | contact info | welcome and site navigation guide |