The 1949 S. Charles Lee design:
15140 Sunset Blvd. Pacific Palisades (Los Angeles), CA 90272 | map |
The new theatre in Palisades Village:
15225 Palisades Village Lane /
1035 N. Swarthmore Ave. Pacific Palisades 90272 |
map |
News: The Palisades Village shopping center reopened August 15, 2026. Nothing has been specifically announced yet regarding the theatre. Maybe next year. On the
Netflix website for the Bay it still says "We will reopen when it is safe to do so."
The original Bay Theatre:
Opened: The Bay Theatre opened February 9, 1949 with "The Paleface" starring Bob Hope and Jane Russell. The opening night photo is on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers collection. The photographer is not identified. The opening date was noted in a Boxoffice item in their February 12 issue.
Seating: Originally 1,100, with 80 of those in a rear loge section. Later as a twin it was 800.
Architect: S. Charles Lee.
A 1948 design proposal from Mr. Lee. It's on
Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a photo of a 2018 homage to this design at the new Bay Theatre several blocks away in Rick Caruso's Palisades Village project.
This item about the Bay was one of many in "Theatres Sprout in Los Angeles Area as Building Controls Are Removed," an article in the April 19, 1948 issue of Boxoffice.
Lee's rendering of the signage made an appearance in a June 19, 1948 Boxoffice spread titled "The 'New Look' in California Theatres." Also featured were drawings of S. Charles Lee's Reseda Theatre
and the William Pereira design for the Life Theatre, a Southside
Theatres project that was never built. The page:
Their caption for the drawing of the Bay:
"Representing
an investment of $500,000 is the projected Bay Theatre, to be erected
in Pacific Palisades, Calif. by Leland M. Ford and operated by So-Cal
theatres. It will house market facilities and will have an ultra-modern
interior and exterior. There will be seating for 1,500; parking space
for 500 cars. Architect: S. Charles Lee."
In a February 5, 1949 Boxoffice item there's no mention of So-Cal Theatres but William D. Fulton noted as the owner of the theatre with J.D. Chaffin mentioned as being the initial manager.
A floorplan that appeared on page 12 of the 1949-50 edition of "Theatre Catalog" from Jay Emanuel
Publications, publisher of Motion Picture Exhibitor. Twenty-five years
of the Catalogs are on Internet Archive. See the lead article for this particular year: "The Work of S. Charles Lee."
In the early 1970s the Bay was operated by Sid Kirsten Theatres. In 1972 they twinned it. Joe Vogel did the research:
"The house reopened as the Bay Twin on August 24, according to Boxoffice Magazine’s September 18 issue that year. The owners had the theater’s interior entirely stripped and rebuilt, rather than merely splitting the original 1100 seat auditorium with a wall. The new twin auditoriums each had 400 seats."
A 1977 ad for the twin theatre as a 99 cent California Cinema Circuit operation. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for posting it on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
Closing: The Bay closed September 10, 1978.
Status: The theatre was gutted and the building was used as retail space by Norris Hardware until July 2018. The space was then leased by Anawalt Lumber and was again a hardware store called Palisades Hardware.
In 2018 developer Rick Caruso built a new 5 screen theatre as part of his Palisades Village development. It's nearby but not the same site as the old theatre. Details are lower on this page.
Despite widespread destruction in the business district from the January 2025 Palisades fire, this 1949 vintage S. Charles Lee building survived. It's the hardware store in back and a Sotheby's real estate office fronting on Sunset.
Lobby views:
In the lobby looking toward the exit doors. It's a Jerry Schwartz photo on
Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers collection.
Another lobby view with the snackbar and mural. It's a Julius Shulman photo on
Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers collection.
A mural detail. It's a Jerry Schwartz photo on
Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers collection.
S. Charles Lee in the lobby on opening night. Presumably that guy on the left is the owner. It's a photo on
Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers collection.
Looking up the stairs. Thanks to Chris Nichols for spotting this photo on page 12 in the 1949-50 edition of "Theatre Catalog" from Jay Emanuel Publications, publisher of Motion Picture Exhibitor. Twenty-five years of the Catalogs are on
Internet Archive. See the lead article for this particular year: "
The Work of S. Charles Lee." Chris is a senior editor at Los Angeles Magazine. His latest book, written with Adriene Biondo, is "
Bowlarama: The Architecture of Mid-Century Bowling," a 2024 Angel City press release.
The upper foyer mural. It's a Jerry Schwartz photo on
Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers collection.
The entrance to the ladies lounge upstairs. It's a Julius Shulman photo on
Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers collection.
Looking through what had been the lobby toward the street. At the time of the photo the hardware store that had been in the building for decades was selling the last of its stock. Photo: Bill Counter - July 2018
The auditorium:
A look toward the screen by Julius Schulman. It's on
Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers collection.
A view toward what had been the screen end of the building. Photo: Bill Counter - July 2018
The view back toward the booth end of the space. Photo: Bill Counter - July 2018
More exterior views:
1948 - S. Charles Lee on the jobsite. It's a photo on
Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers collection.
1949 - The Bay with its opening bill on the marquee: "The Paleface" and "Rusty Leads the Way." It's a photo from the Pacific Palisades Historical Society on the website of the
Santa Monica Public Library. Also see their photo of
Esther Williams selling tickets at the opening.
1949 - A daytime view of the Bay with its opening attractions on the marquee. It was part of a post by David Doherty that appeared on the
Los Angeles Theatres Facebook page. The photo also appears on
Cinema Treasures.
Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Hoss C for finding the photo in the Getty collection. He featured it, along with other views of the theatre, in his
Noirish post #31559. And thanks to the
Modernist Collection Facebook page for sharing this improved version of the image.
1949 - "My Dream is Yours" with Doris Day and Jack Carson was an April release. "El Paso" was a March release with John Payne, Gail Russell and Sterling Hayden. This colorful photo appeared on page 13 of the 1949-50 edition of "Theatre Catalog" from Jay Emanuel
Publications, publisher of Motion Picture Exhibitor. Twenty-five years
of the Catalogs are on
Internet Archive. See the lead article for this particular year: "
The Work of S. Charles Lee." Thanks to Bill Gabel for locating this and sharing it as a post on the
Cinema Treasures page about the Bay.
1953 - The Bay Theatre running "The Fighting Kentuckian" along with "The Blue Lagoon." The photo, from the Pacific Palisades Historical Society, is in the
Santa Monica Public Library collection.
1962 - A look toward the Bay (on the right) as we cruise east on Sunset. It's a Terry Sullivan photo in the Herald Examiner Collection at the
Los Angeles Public Library.
1969 - A Bay Theatre shot from the collection of Janet Betts Dean. It was a post on the
Pacific Palisades Remember When Facebook page.
c.1975 - The Bay running as a twin with "The Other Side of the Mountain" and Mahogany." Thanks to the late Matt Spero for sharing this photo he took.
1978 - The Bay Theatre on the back cover of the 1978 Palisades High Yearbook. The image was a post by Lisa Kurtz Sutton on the
Los Angeles Theatres Facebook page. Thanks, Lisa!
2011 - The view west on Sunset Blvd. with what was left of the Bay Theatre on the left. Photo: Google Maps
2018 - The building as Norris Hardware has their final sale in July. Photo: Bill Counter
2021 - A hardware store again, under new management but with the Norris signage retained. Photo: Bill Counter
2025 - A pre-fire Google Earth image with the new 5-plex Bay Theatre in the Palisades Village shopping center indicated in the upper left. That's Sunset Blvd. running across the center of the image. The original 1949 S. Charles Lee building is indicated in the lower right.
2025 - A wider Google Earth view from early in the year. Thanks to Mike Hume for getting the image and indicating the location of the original Bay Theatre in green toward the upper right. Click on the image for a larger view.
2025 - A January 10 Palisades Fire image. Thanks to Mike Hume for sharing it and again indicating the location of the 1949 S. Charles Lee building in green. It's a photo from
https://wilg.github.io/la-fire-maps/images/1050010040277500.html. It was
provided by Wil Gieseler and brought to Mike's attention by Etan Rosenbloom.
2025 - A detail from the post-fire image showing the original Bay Theatre building, in the center, still standing.
2025 - A shot from a February 2 360 degree helicopter tour above the Palisades business district on
Instagram from Chris Cristi of ABC7 News. Thanks to Mona Holmes of
EaterLA for including the post as part of the site's February 3 news wrapup. That's a burned out supermarket in the center of the image.
2025 - A wider February 2 view from ABC7 with the 1949 S. Charles Lee building seen left of center at the top. At the bottom the building with all the solar panels on the roof is the Netflix Bay Theatre 5-plex in Rick Caruso's Palisades Village shopping center.
The original Bay Theatre in the Movies:
The opening credit sequence for "No Down Payment" (20th Century Fox,
1957) starts with glorious shots downtown of L.A.'s new freeways. As a
couple drives to their new home in the suburbs there's a parade of
billboards for new housing developments. The Bay is seen on the
right in this view looking east that we get after they turn off the
freeway. Some of the
houses the film uses were actually in Woodland Hills.
The
film was directed by Martin Ritt and was based on a novel by John
McPartland. The CinemaScope cinematography was by Joseph LaShelle. The
cast includes Joanne Woodward, Sheree North, Tony Randall, Jeffrey
Hunter, Cameron Mitchell, Barbara Rush and Pat Hingle. Thanks to Chris Nichols for spotting the theatre in the film and getting the screenshot. He's an editor at
Los Angeles magazine and is also the author of the Taschen book "
Walt Disney's Disneyland."
Another "No Down Payment" view a moment later. Chris notes that the full film is on
YouTube.
See the
Cinema Treasures page on the Bay for lots of tales by moviegoers who miss it.
The new Bay Theatre, opened in 2018:
Opened: November 2018. Shopping center developer Rick Caruso (the Grove, Americana at
Brand) built a big project in the Pacific Palisades business
district several blocks west of the original theatre. Included is a new five screen Bay Theatre, initially operated by the Cinépolis chain of Mexico City, the world's fourth largest cinema operator. One screen is 35mm equipped. Thanks to Arnold Darrow for the photo.
The signage is a riff on an early S. Charles Lee proposal for the original 1949 theatre. The new project is on the north side of Sunset Blvd. bounded by Monument St. and Swarthmore Ave. The Hollywood Reporter had a September 20, 2018 story about the shopping center's opening. The L.A. Times discussed the new theatre in a September 22 story and again on November 6.
Online: BayTheaterLA.com | Facebook.com/BayTheaterLA | Palisades Village on Facebook | www.atomtickets.com/theaters/bay
Seating: 275 total in five auditoria. The capacities are 73, 47, 83, 28 and 44.
Status: Cinépolis didn't return to reopen the house after the pandemic shutdown. Caruso did a deal with Netflix to operate the theatre that was announced on October 15, 2021. Yahoo! Entertainment had the story. The L.A. Times, in "Netflix to operate Palisades Cinema," an October 16 story by Ryan Faughnder, repeated their oft-told bit of mis-information that the theatre in the Caruso development is the original S. Charles Lee building that Cinépolis "renovated and reopened." Nope.
The October 15 Hollywood Reporter story was also factually challenged. They noted that "Prior to the pandemic, luxury theater operator Cinepolis had refurbished and operated the Bay, which was dark for four decades before reopening for business in 2018." Not quite, guys.
History: The project was first announced in December 2014. Curbed L.A. story by Adrian Glick Kudler was titled "
Here's the Jaw-Dropping Plan..." Caruso said at the
time that it'll be "how you remembered it, and possibly greater."
This rendering appeared with the December 2014 Curbed L.A. story.
A June 2017 Deadline story, "
Legendary Bay Theatre To Be Revived By Cinepolis USA...,"
included this rendering and announced that Cinépolis USA would be the
theatre's operator. Also included was the misleading information that
they "will be bringing the Bay Theatre back" and that it was "newly
redesigned."
Deadline noted that the theatre would "feature five screening
rooms each with approximately 40-60 luxury leather recliner seats,
reserved seating and call buttons for full food and bar service. Lee’s
marquee sign will even be resurrected." Thanks to William David French,
Jr. for spotting the story.
Another rendering provided by Caruso appearing with Stephen Sharp's September 2018 Urbanize L.A. story "
Completion Nears for Caruso's Palisades Village."
Sharp, following earlier misleading articles, implied that the old
theatre was getting "reactivated." Not so. Thanks to Steve Gerdes for
spotting the story.
Closing #1: It closed in 2020 as part of the pandemic restrictions. In 2021 Netflix took over as the operator and reopened the theatre.
Reopening: The shopping center reopened August 15, 2026. See the
Palisades Village page about the event. But nothing has been announced as far as a theatre reopening.
Interior views:
The lobby. There's a full kitchen and bar. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021
Looking back to the lobby from outside screen 3. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021
A look to the screen in auditorium 3. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021
The rear of auditorium 3. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021
One of the other auditoria. Photo: Chris Nichols - 2022. Thanks, Chris!
More exterior views of the 5-plex:
2021 - Reopened by Netflix. It's a November photo by Bill Counter.
2022 - A great marquee shot by Chris Nichols. It's one of eight photos in his March
Facebook post about the theatre.
2022 - Leo in a poster case outside the front doors. Photo: Chris Nichols
2024 - This pre-fire image by Presley Ann appeared with "Pacific Palisades’ Bay Theater survived the blaze, says Rick Caruso," a January 10 L.A. Times story by Josh Rottenberg. The theatre survived the January 2025 Palisades fire. Caruso had a private firefighting team on hand to protect his Palisades Village shopping center.
2025 - A detail from a
January 10, 2025 Palisades Fire image showing the new Bay 5-plex in the center and nearby devastation. Thanks to Mike Hume for sharing the image from
https://wilg.github.io/la-fire-maps/images/1050010040277500.html. It was
provided by Wil Gieseler and brought to Mike's attention by Etan Rosenbloom.
2026 - "We are So Happy To See You Here." Part of the signage was lit again on August 11. It's a photo by @horselord. The mall reopens on the 15th but nothing has yet been announced for the theatre. Thanks to Ben Steinberg for sharing the photo on his
Save the Cinerama Dome Facebook page.
More information on the Bay 5 plex: Cinema Treasures has a page on the new Bay.
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