Opened: December 25, 1948 with a second-run engagement of "The Three Musketeers" starring Gene Kelly along with "Rusty Leads the Way." The theatre was on the south side of the street just west of Westwood Blvd. This photo by Michael Greene with the opening attractions on the marquee is on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection.
Architect: S. Charles Lee
A sketch of the boxoffice. It's on Calisphere from the the UCLA collection.
A section of the building from S. Charles Lee's office. It's on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection.
More S. Charles Lee theatre photos in the UCLA collection can be located via the S. Charles Lee Papers home page on Calisphere or the UCLA Library page for the collection. There's also a Finding Aid for the S. Charles Lee Papers on the Online Archive of California site.
Seating: 1,100 originally, reseated for 950 during the 1966 remodel.
It was an independent operation at first. The L.A. Times noted on November 7, 1948:
It ended up as an operation of Pacific Theatres. It got a remodel in 1968 that obliterated the original tropical themed decor. They draped the whole thing -- including a curtain across the front of the booth to hide those unsightly portholes during intermission. The Picwood often got exclusive runs after the renovations. The theatre reopened August 20 with a charity premiere of "Petulia," followed by an exclusive run on August 21.
"I'm the elegant, all new Picwood Theatre... " It's a 3 minute audio clip on Google Drive [no image] that played before the film when
the house reopened after the remodeling. Thanks to longtime L.A.
projectionist Paul Rayton for sharing this from his collection. "Really, there aren't any others like me anywhere... I have been reborn.. My all new restrooms are sparkling clean, colorful and commodious... Share with me the fun of going out to a movie theatre excitingly planned just for you and your pleasure... "
The remodel by Pacific was profiled in the Modern Theatre section of the October 14, 1968 issue of Boxoffice. The issue is on Yumpu. The renovations included equipping the theatre for 70mm presentation. Engagements in 70 included "Apocalypse Now" (1979-80 - 26 weeks), "Raiders of the Lost Arc" (1981), "E.T." (1982) and many more. Michael Coate notes that the last 70mm run at the house was "Amadeus," playing for three weeks beginning May 31, 1985 and then back again beginning July 19.
Closing: 1985. The last film to play the theatre was the August release "Volunteers."
A look at the lobby of the Picwood. It's a 1948 Julius Shulman photo on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection.
The view toward the exit doors. It's a Julius Shulman photo on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection.
A 1968 photo of the Picwood snack bar that appeared in the Motion Picture Herald. It appears on the Picwood Theatre page in the 70mm in Los Angeles section of the site From Script To DVD.
A look down from the top. The 1948 photo is on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection. No photographer is credited.
An uncredited photo of the rear of the house. It's on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection.
A chance to check out that tropical sidewall decor. The 1948 photo is on Calisphere from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers Collection. The photographer is not credited.
A detail of those flamingos on the side wall. Thanks to Matt Spero for the photo. He comments: "This was taken shortly before teardown. They had ripped down the drapes that covered the original S. Charles Lee wall art for many years. Notice the bracket for surround speakers. I only had a few shots left to this roll and this was the best interior shot I got."
A view of the draped auditorium of the Picwood in its later years. The photo appeared in the Motion Picture Herald on September 24, 1968. Thanks to Michael Coate and William Kallay for including it on the Picwood Theatre page in the "70mm in Los Angeles" section of the site From Script To DVD.
A view to the rear of the remodeled theatre. Note that the booth is obscured by its own motorized curtain that would be closed during intermissions. Thanks to Bill Gabel for posting the photo on the Cinema Treasures page about the Picwood. It's one that appeared in the October 17, 1968 issue of Boxoffice.
More exterior views:
A 1949 view of the theatre by Julius Shulman in the Getty Research Institute collection. The main feature the week of the photo was "Angel on the Amazon," a November 1948 release. The Getty indexes this as Shulman job #474: Picwood Theatre.
"The barrio is real - not glamorous." It's 1979 photo of the Picwood for
the premiere of "Boulevard Nights"-- and a protest. It's a Dean
Musgrove photo in the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. Also in the collection: another "Boulevard" view | yet another "Boulevard" shot - "Stop Gang Exploitation Films"
The Picwood in the Movies:
We get a lovely view east toward the theatre in this shot from "Young Doctors in Love" (20th Century Fox, 1982). The film was directed by Garry Marshall and stars Michael McKean and Sean Young. The cinematography was by Don Peterman. Thanks to Eric Schaefer for spotting the theatre in the film and getting the screenshot.
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page for lots of discussion about the Picwood's history. Michael Coate posted a list of the Picwood's 70mm runs in 2008.
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Cleveland Wrecking Company, which my late father worked for from 1950 to 1967, was also responsible for the interior demolition that converted the theater into a twin.
ReplyDeleteWell, Lori, you must be thinking of another theatre. The Picwood was never twinned.
ReplyDeleteLived on Exposition, almost around the corner! Loved that theatre!
ReplyDeleteOne very late evening i scaled the Picwood and managed to snag two pieces of the yellow neon that surrounded the top starburst on the facade…still own them after all these years
ReplyDelete