Los Angeles Theatres: Shrine Auditorium: backstage

Shrine Auditorium: backstage

The rear of the house as seen from onstage in 1926. The Keystone Photo Service shot appears with the article "Unusual Engineering Features of the Al Malaikah Temple, Los Angeles" by R. McC. Beanfield, structural engineer for the project. The article, from The American Architect, is on Internet Archive. Thanks to Mike Hume for finding it. The photo is also in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The American Architect caption:

"The 22 ft. high chandelier, weighing approximately five tons, is constructed with a structural steel frame and hung from pin joints. It contains 500 electric bulbs arranged for 64 color combinations."

Fanchon & Marco dancers onstage for a benefit in 1930. It's a photo by Harry Wenger from the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library.

Proscenium width: 100'

Proscenium height: 37' at the center

Stage wall to wall: 192'

Stage depth: 72'

Grid height: Approximately 90'. It's about 96' from the stage floor to the headblocks and about 75' from the headblocks to the first loft block stage left.

Number of linesets: About 83, on 6" centers using 4 1/2" wide weights. Lead is used for the tare weight. It was originally a Peter Clark installation with about 100 sets but has had many upgrades and changes over the years. Most sets originally used 5 lift lines, but there were certainly variations.

The system got a 1990 rebuild by Hoffend. The T-wall appears to be largely original. Batten length varies. Some sets use 9 lift lines, more on longer battens. The arbors and ropelocks were replaced by Hoffend. Compensating cables, not part of the original installation, are attached to the bottom of most, but not all, of the arbors. The tension blocks were redone to include the extra sheave for the compensating cables. One individual involved in the rebuild noted: "Without compensation cables the differential cable weight alone made it a very tough pull."

The Shrine installation was listed (as the Al Malaikah Auditorium) in a June 12, 1926 Peter Clark ad in Motion Picture News. Thanks to Bob Foreman for finding it. Visit his site Vintage Theatre Catalogs for a wealth of historic tech data. And don't miss his articles "Peter Clark, Expert of Theatre" and "The Legacy of Peter Clark."

Lockrail: At stage level, stage left with the exception of 9 sets downstage that are operated from a platform about 9' above stage level. In the 1926 installation these sets were located elsewhere.

Pinrail: There isn't one.

Loading bridges: There are two, accessed via stairs downstage left. The lower one is at a level that would be used as a flyfloor in most theatres. Access is via stairs down left.

Motorized sets: There are controls downstage left for 8 electric battens as well as two side lighting gantries. It's a Hoffend installation.

Valance: It's downstage of the asbestos and painted with a similar design.

Asbestos: The steel-framed curtain is operated by pushbuttons on the smoke pockets both stage left and stage right. There are two arbors and two dashpots, one of each on either side of the stage. The lift mechanism is in the basement stage right. Originally a Peter Clark installation, it's been updated with a Hoffend motor, gearbox and clutch. Removing tension on the trip cable releases the clutch.

House curtain: It's on a motorized lineset with a motor also to operate it as a traveler. Controls are at the electrician's desk off left. The lattice track arbor is bracketed out from the wall downstage right.

Lighting control: Stage left. The original 1926 Hub dimmer board has been gutted. The dimmers have been removed but the front frame is still in place.

The electrical installation at the Shrine was detailed in "Electrical Equipment of the World's Largest Stage," an article by C.A. Sanborn in the August 1, 1926 issue of the Journal of Electricity. It's on Internet Archive. Thanks to Mike Hume for doing the search to find it. Scroll down to the bottom of this page for a reproduction of the six page article.

For more about Hub boards see Bob Foreman's extensive article "Part 1: Hub Switchboard Operating Manual" on his site Backstage at the Fox.

Borderlights: There were originally seven sets, each on two linesets. The center 50' could be flown separately from the two 25' end sections in the event you didn't want to use the full proscenium width. The linesets were labeled "C" and "E." Switches on the board would select the appropriate dimmers for "full proscenium" or "short proscenium."

The first electric wasn't designed as a light bridge. The 1926 article in the Journal of Electricity had interesting things to say about it. It was of "the concert border type" and equipped with "four unit suspension hoods" that each had separate leads and "a screw plug for attachment to raceway outlets." The 1st border raceway also had 12 pin receptacles on 12 separate circuits for spotlights.

Dimmers: There are now Strand CD80 rolling racks both DSL and DSR.

Road Power: Everywhere. How much do you need? There are a number of 400A and 600A disconnects DSL, DSR, USL, USR and in the Expo Hall.

Projection booth: It's at the rear of the main floor, no equipment currently installed.

House mix position: There's a small booth at the rear of the main floor, in front and to the side of the original projection booth. But the normal house mix position is in front of the crossaisle near the rear of the main floor.

Dressing rooms: Two star rooms are at stage level, two huge chorus rooms are in the basement, smaller dressing rooms are on levels two and three stage left. There is an elevator serving the dressing rooms.

Basement access: A corridor down left leads to stairs down (as well as to upper dressing room levels). On stage right the stairs are downstage near the side wall.

Access to the auditorium: From either stage left or stage right. From the stage left end of the basement it's also an easy jaunt through the mechanical rooms to the basement lobby.

Attic access: Stairs from the top of the balcony house right.

Paint frame: The frame itself has been removed but there's still a bridge along the back wall.

Orchestra pit: Not on a lift. Platforming is added as needed. Musicians' rooms are below the pit.

Organ console: It's stored in a room off the Expo Hall. The stage right end of the pit has had a scissor lift added. It comes up to stage level so the console can be rolled onto it. The lift doesn't go to the basement as it's installed on the concrete slab that is the pit floor.

Stage lifts: None

Loading: There are small doors via a corridor up left leading to Jefferson Blvd. There are much taller doors upstage right leading to 34th St. One can also load through a rollup connecting the stage to the Expo Hall.

Backstage in the movies:

The Shrine is standing in for a theatre in Oklahoma City at the beginning of the Herbert Ross film "The Turning Point" (20th Century Fox, 1977). The film stars Shirley MacLaine, Anne Bancroft, Tom Skerritt, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Leslie Browne. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for six more shots of the scenes at the Shrine.

A chase near the end of the Goldie Hawn / Chevy Chase film "Foul Play" (Paramount, 1978) is set at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House but some of the backstage shots were done at the Shrine. Thanks to Mike Hume for the screenshot. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more shots from the film.

Among other adventures, the Shrine Auditorium gets a visit in "Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult" (Paramount, 1994). Peter Segal directed the film starring Leslie Nielson, Priscilla Presley, Fred Ward, Anna Nicole Smith and George Kennedy. The last 20 minutes of the film are at the Shrine with many backstage views, such as this one off left. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a dozen more shots from the film.

We get views of the stage (and sometimes backstage) in many films. See a more complete list on our history page.

An illustration by Mike Hume comparing the stages of the Shrine and Radio City Music Hall. He added this as a comment to a 2021 post about the theatre on his Facebook page. Also see Mike's August 2021 post about the theatre on the Theatre Architecture Facebook page.

A 1926 look across from stage right. Note the paint frame upstage. It's now gone but the bridge behind it remains along the back wall. It's a shot by Keystone Photo Service that's on display at the building's Shrine Museum. Thanks to Mike Hume for getting a shot of it.

In this view we see no linesets downstage, just bare concrete. There's a closer view on one of the rigging photos below. Check out the borderlights -- one can see the gaps between the separately flown center and end sections. The 7 sets of borderlight were 100' in total width but for productions using a narrower stage opening, the center 50' could be flown separately from the 25' end sections.

A look at the Hub board in 1926. It's a Mott Studios photo in a set of eighteen in the California State Library collection. Sorry, only two of the photos show backstage.

The same gentleman, this time with his hand on the grand master wheel. It's a 1926 photo by Keystone Photo Service that's on display at the building's Shrine Museum. Thanks to Mike Hume for getting this shot of it.

"It is the largest stage switchboard ever constructed." A view of the offstage end of the board appearing with "Electrical Equipment of the World's Largest Stage," the article by C.A. Sanborn in the August 1, 1926 issue of the Journal of Electricity. They note that it was 26' long and used 279 Ward Leonard dimmer plates.

The front and rear of the 24' long Hub clapper board, located in the basement below the switchboard. The 142 relays on the board allow switching of two pre-set scenes. It's another illustration from the Journal of Electricity article.

Cannibal and the Headhunters in front of the board c.1965. It's a Michael Ochs photo from Getty Images. Thanks to Bob Foreman for finding this version of the photo. There's also another shot taken the same session. Yes, it appears that they changed out all the original Hub dimmer handles on the board, replacing them with oblong ones.

The 1926 Peter Clark system during its installation. It's a Mott Studios photo in a set of eighteen in the California State Library collection. The numbering on the index strip stops at set #92 but there are a number of sets upstage of that. Bob Foreman comments about a number of items in the photo indicating that the installers still had many things to do before the job was finished:

"It is clear from the photo that this rush photo session meant a fast cleanup of the stage with soft goods and weights crammed into the rail and a fast hanging of soft goods with borrowed weights. They are all painted and mismatched."

It appears that most of the sets used 5 lift lines but there were obviously variations. Perhaps 7 lines were used for full-stage-width or heavier draperies and presumably 3 lines were used on the 25' long battens for the end sections of the borderlights. Bob notes that the Peter Clark system at the Atlanta Fox used 5 lines for 70' battens, 7 lines for 85' battens. There may have been added lift lines (or heavier cable) on border #1 at the Shrine as extra load was anticipated as it also had 12 receptacle circuits for spotlights.

A lockrail and tension block detail from the 1926 Mott Studios photo.

A look at the tension blocks farther upstage. The alignment looks a bit goofy due to the angle of the photo and the blocks being at different heights. It's a detail from the 1926 Mott Studios photo.

Trim chains on top of the arbors, standard practice at the time. Note only one cable clamp on the lift lines, standard practice at the time. This arbor we see at the center of the image was on a set with 5 lift lines. It's a detail from the 1926 Mott Studios photo. Bob Foreman comments:

"The only 'safety feature' is the redundant bolt and nut to hold the trim chains together (in addition to the dog snap, with a 500 lbs rating.)."

A closer look at the bottom of a typical arbor in 1926. It's a detail from the Mott Studios photo.

A 1926 photo of the downstage portion of the T-wall. Looking up in the air you can spot the sets for the borderlights whenever there's a pair of heavily loaded adjacent arbors at almost the same height. It's a shot by Keystone Photo Service that's on display at the building's Shrine Museum.

Note no sets installed in the far downstage area where there's a doorway to the dressing rooms. The sets on the T-wall start with #8. Were the downstage sets once muled way upstage? It's unknown at this point. There's now a perch above that door with nine sets operated from there.

A detail of the downstage end of the index striplight taken from the previous photo. Note the numbering for the borderlights. Here we see the designation "BL-2" with a "C" over the "BL" (in space 14) indicating that this set was for the 50' center portion of the borderlight. There's an "E" over the "-2" (in space 13) indicating that this lineset was for the two 25' long end sections of borderlight #2.

A backstage view in 1932. Note that the tension blocks acquired foot paddles sometime after the original installation. It's a photo from Bettman Archives that can be seen on the Getty Images website. Thanks to the Facebook page The Flickers for locating the photo. They note that George Raft is with child actress Patty Jo Tracy at a benefit show staged for the Mount Sinai Home for Chronic Invalids. The show was October 26.

A December 30, 1935 shot from Bettman Archives appearing on the Getty Images website. Thanks to Bob Foreman for locating this. The Judy Garland News and Events site has a clipping with a cropped version of the image that appeared in the Indianapolis News on January 1. The original caption from the Getty site:

"Seated under the grid of a Hollywood Theater are probably the greatest trio of up and coming juvenile stars in Hollywood. Left to right are Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, and Jane Withers. The first is the protege of Louis B. Mayer, noted movie executive, who signed her for seven years. Mickey is the famous puck of midsummer night's dream and Jane Withers is the chief rival of Shirley Temple."

Mickey and Jane also participated in the January 25, 1936 "Jack Benny-Dick Powell All-Star Show of 1936," a benefit at the Shrine for the Mount Sinai home for invalids. It's not known if Judy made an appearance at that event.

The crew for Polack Bros. setting up for a Shrine Circus show in June 1946. It's a photo from the Los Angeles Daily News collection of the UCLA Library. Thanks to Mike Hume for locating it on Calisphere. He notes that here we see only the center 50' of borderlight #1 in use and the center vs. the far end of borderlight #2 at slightly different heights.

Recent views of the counterweight system:

Looking across to stage left. Note the Strand dimmer racks on the right -- there are more over on stage left. Behind us there's a big door leading right into the Expo Hall. Thanks to Dave Bullock for his 2007 photo. See the set of 29 terrific photos on his website eecue.

A glorious view of the stage left wall. The door to the right goes off to a corridor leading to stairs to upper level dressing rooms as well as the basement. Thanks to Mike Hume for this 2019 view and his other photos appearing on these pages.

Visit Mike's Historic Theatre Photography site for hundreds of terrific photos of the theatres he's explored in the Los Angeles area and elsewhere. And don't miss his page on the Shrine Auditorium.

A detail from Mike's photo showing the two loading bridges. Those things right above us? Gas heaters.

A closer lockrail view. Note the diagonal concrete beam going to the back wall in the upper left corner. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

One of several motorized sets. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

Looking upstage. The 1926 vintage system was an installation by Peter Clark, with many upgrades over the years. The rope locks we see are newer, they're from Hoffend. Photo: Dave Bullock - eecue - 2007

Another view to upstage left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

The upstage end of the lockrail. The monster tension blocks have three sheaves. One for the purchase line and two closer to the wall for the compensating cables that are attached to the bottom of most of the arbors. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

A tension block detail. Note the compensating cables on the rear sheaves. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

The tension blocks on the last few sets from behind. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

A look at the bottom of two arbors. #43, up a bit higher, has no compensating cables. On set #44 note the two cables attached to the bottom of the arbor. These cables compensate for the weight of the lift lines due to the high grid so that the balance of the set is more constant at both high and low trims than it would otherwise be. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

Downstage left:

The dimmerboard location downstage left. The 1926 vintage Hub dimmers were removed long ago but the front frame of the board is still in place. Note several Strand rolling CD80 racks on the right. There are more on stage right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

A closer look at the dimmerboard area. Photo: Dave Bullock - eecue - 2007

The controls for the Hoffend motorized sets. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

Looking onstage. Note the lighting platform in the upper right. The brown desk is part of the electrician's area. To the left is an ETC lighting console and a Strand CD80 rolling rack. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

At the proscenium stage left. Note the dashpot for the asbestos. There's an arbor above, a situation that's replicated stage right. The controls on the smoke pocket are for a F.O.H. lighting truss, no longer installed, and the asbestos. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

The view into the house from stage left. Photo: Mike Hume - 2018

Looking offstage. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

A closer look to the offstage left corridor leading to theatre offices, star dressing rooms, and stairs to upper levels and basement. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

Looking up above that corridor seen in the previous photo. Note the platform for operating first nine linesets. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

The corner down left. The doorway on the right gets you into the auditorium as well as stairs up to the house right box. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

The view upstage from the down left corner. Note the bridge along the back wall. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

Downstage right:

The lattice track just offstage is for the asbestos. In the basement directly below is the motor for the set. Around beyond the dimmer racks is a door leading to the auditorium. The doors on the right lead into the Expo Hall. The brightly lit stairwell to the left of the rollup heads to the stage basement. Photo: Mike Hume - 2018

A closer look at the area just offstage. The dashpot is one of two for the asbestos. The controls mounted on the smoke pocket operate the curtain. The red and white sign advises you to reach into that oval that's cut out of black metal shield to unhook a ring for emergency release. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

Another look downstage right. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

A peek into the house from off right. In the upper center of the photo there's a bit of the rear of the asbestos. The arbor is up a bit higher and not visible in the photo. That lattice track arbor we see that's way out from the proscenium wall is for the house curtain, a motorized set. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

Looking up offstage right. The arbor adjacent to the proscenium is for the asbestos. The lattice track nearest us is for the house curtain. The arbor is out of sight down below the black partition. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

A closer view of the CD80 racks. They've been there for decades. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

Peering out between the dimmers and the company switches. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

In the recess downstage right behind the company switches seen in the previous photo. That's the house curtain arbor in the center. Photo: Dave Bullock - eecue - 2007

A view across. Photo: Mike Hume - 2020

The view upstage from in front of the dimmer racks. That's the Expo Hall through the doors. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

Upstage:

Looking across from upstage right. Note the paint bridge on the back wall. The paint frame that was downstage of it has been removed. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

A wider view from up right. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

The vista from the center. Photo: Mike Hume - 2020

Looking back across from upstage left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

The grid as seen from up left. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

The panoramic view from upstage left. Photo: Mike Hume - 2020

Turning around 90 degrees and looking down a corridor up left toward Jefferson St. Note the company switches on the left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

In the basement:

Downstage left, heading toward the men's chorus room and the trap room. Photo: Dave Bullock - eecue - 2007

A reverse view, looking back toward the stage left stairs up to the stage and and upper dressing room levels. If you take a left before the stairs there are storage areas and the dressing room elevator. If you take a right there's a door leading into the mechanical areas that stretch all along the south side of the building. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

We're underneath the dimmerboard area. The fire door beyond the transformer goes into the room where the contactors for the original Hub board were located.

A basement storage area upstage left. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

The men's chorus room stage left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

Restroom facilities near the men's chorus room stage left. Photo: Dave Bullock - eecue - 2007

The trap room from downstage left. On the right it's a drop rack against the back wall. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

Looking along the upstage wall toward stage right. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

A stage trap. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

Downstage in the trap room looking toward stage right. Photo: Dave Bullock - eecue - 2007

The downstage wall of the trap room. The orchestra pit, with musicians' rooms underneath, is behind the wall on the left. One of the entrances to the area under the pit is seen just beyond where the space narrows. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

A detail of an access hole in the trap room's downstage wall seen in the previous photo. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

The musician's room under the pit, looking upstage at music racks. There are stairs up to the pit just to the left of the couch and through the doorway on the far right. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

The music racks. Thanks to Claudia Mullins for sharing her 2022 photo. For a fine time browse the 32 photos in her Open House at 1926 Shrine Auditorium album on Facebook.

A look off to the stage left side of the musician's room. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

The ladies chorus room upstage right. Photo: Claudia Mullins - 2022

A look around to the left side of the ladies chorus room. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

Another view of the ladies chorus room. Photo: Dave Bullock - eecue - 2007

Downstage right looking offstage at the fire curtain mechanism. It's a 1926 vintage Peter Clark rig with a new motor, gearbox, clutch, and controls by Hoffend. Photo: Mike Hume - 2009

Another look at the mechanism. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

The 2nd floor dressing room corridor stage left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

"Electrical Equipment of the World's Largest Stage," an article by C.A. Sanborn in the August 1, 1926 issue of the Journal of Electricity discusses the stage and other portions of the electrical installation. Mr. Sanborn was a partner of the firm Holmes and Sanborn, the electrical engineers for the project. These pages can, of course, be downloaded for greater legibility. You can also expand the page sizes when viewing on Internet Archive.