Los Angeles Theatres: Wiltern Theatre: auditorium

Vintage auditorium views:

A stunning c.1931 view of the proscenium from the California State Library collection, their item #001384993. The uncredited photo also appears in the USC Digital Library collection.

A detail of the front of the sunburst from the photo above. The two semi-circular bands at the front, and their cove lighting, were removed when the building was scheduled for demolition -- leaving a huge hole in the ceiling to be repaired during the 1984-85 restoration. The missing elements were recreated in a simpler design.

Another detail from the photo as seen on the California State Library website.

A 1931 photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

A closer proscenium and sunburst detail. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.

A vintage look across toward the side wall. The photo is from the Los Angeles Public Library.

A 1931 view of the rear of the auditorium from the Los Angeles Public Library.

The proscenium and organ console in 1965. Thanks to Bob Alder for his photo. It appears with many others on his web page WilternTheatrePipeOrgan.BobAlder.com which also has information on the 4/37 Kimball organ that used to be in the theatre.

The rear of the house in 1965. The big thing balcony rail center is an RCA video projector. It was still in the theatre when the 1984-85 renovation started. Photo: Bob Alder

A 1965 look at the ceiling. When demolition was imminent, the house was stripped of all fixtures as well as large chunks of ornamental ceiling plaster. Photo: Bob Alder. Thanks, Bob!

The organ console. Thanks to Matt Spero for his photo taken at an AFI screening of the Lillian Gish film "The Wind" in 1979. Gaylord carter was the organist for the show. Ms. Gish made an appearance.

A 1979 Mike Mullen photo in the Herald Examiner Collection of the Los Angeles Public Library taken on the occasion of the last use of the organ before its removal. Other photos taken by Mike at the time include a console closeup with Ann Leaf and a slightly wider console view, also with Ms. Leaf.

One of the original balcony soffit fixtures. Thanks to Matt Spero for this photo he took in the late 70s.

A c.1979 photo by John E. Miller that appeared in the Tom B'hend / Preston Kaufmann magazine The Console. The issue is in the Ronald W. Mahan Collection. Thanks for sharing this, Ron!

The damaged ceiling in the early 80s. The owners at the time, Franklin Life, were preparing to demolish the building. All decorative light fixtures had been sold and removed. Here at the ceiling's sunburst, decorative plaster elements and striplights were being removed and whoever was doing that let the job get out of control. Thanks to Dan Ondrasek for his photo. He and Greg King alerted developer Wayne Ratkovich concerning the condition of the building and thus prepared the way for its restoration.

A look toward the stage during the restoration. It's a c.1983 photo by Hillsman Wright in the collection of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation. Thanks to LAHTF board member Mike Hume for making the photo available.

Restoration consultant Sonya Winner working on cleaning and repairing sidewall plaster ornament. Photo: Hillsman Wright - LAHTF - c.1984

A 1985 proscenium view. Note the simpler sunburst design created during the restoration. It's a photo by Randall Michelson that appeared with "The Wiltern Opened 80 Years Ago," a 2011 L.A. Weekly article by Lianna Fader celebrating the theatre's 80th birthday.

A wonderful 1992 Berger-Conser Architectural Photography view of the Wiltern Theatre ceiling from the book "The Last Remaining Seats: Palaces of Tinseltown" by Robert Berger and Anne Conser.

The seats had all been stripped out when the building was scheduled for demolition in the early 80s. This 1992 photo by Berger Conser Architectural Photography shows the look of the main floor with the original floor slope and the seats installed in 1985 by seating contractor Country Roads. That's the asbestos we're looking at within the arch.

Robert Berger's website has a portfolio of 16 photos from "The Last Remaining Seats," the book he did with Anne Conser. It includes these two Wiltern views. The book is, of course, available on Amazon.

A 2001 view from JBL with a nice view of the stage. Note here we still have an orchestra pit. It would be floored over the following year. The photo once appeared on a JBL web page touting their their VerTec Line Array speaker system installed that year.

Views on the main floor taken after the 2002 renovations:

Peeking in at the rear of the auditorium. This terracing you see here dates from the 2002 renovation project when the seats installed in 1985 were removed and the floor leveled into 5 terraces. It's a 2014 Hunter Kerhart photo. Keep up with his many explorations on HunterKerhart.com and on the Facebook page for Hunter Kerhart Architectural Photography. Thanks, Hunter!

A balcony soffit fixture. All the fixtures were gone when the restoration process of 1984-85 began. Some original fixtures were re-purchased, some duplicated. Here at the rear of the main floor, fewer fixtures were installed than originally used, due to budget constraints. Photo: Mike Hume - 2014

Head to the Wiltern page on Mike's Historic Theatre Photography site for many more great photos. You can also pay him a visit on the Historic Theatre Photography Facebook page.

Heading down front on the side aisle. Photo: Hunter Kerhart - 2014

A look onto the empty stage. Photo: Mike Hume - 2014

The house right organ grille. Photo: Hunter Kerhart - 2014

The wide angle proscenium vista. Photo: Mike Hume - 2014

The 1931 asbestos curtain. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

A look across the front of the main floor. Photo: Mike Hume - 2014

A closer view of the ceiling above the proscenium. Much of the sunburst was missing as a result of decorative plaster pieces being removed when the building was stripped. For the 1984-85 restoration the big hole was filled in by relocating some plaster elements and creating a new section (simpler than the original) at the front of the design. Photo: Hunter Kerhart - 2014

The straight-up view of the sunburst. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

A ceiling detail. While the design is certainly a sunburst, the rays also symbolize skyscrapers. What could be more deco? Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

A view to the booth. The lights at the top are on the truss hanging within the proscenium arch. Photo: Mike Hume - 2014

A look back from house right. Photo: Hunter Kerhart- 2014

A view from center stage. Photo: Hunter Kerhart - 2014

The size of the Wiltern (especially vertically) is most evident when looking up from the front of the main floor. Thanks to Wendell Benedetti for his photo originally appearing on the LAHTF Facebook page. At the mic are Escott O. Norton and Bill Counter during the August 2014 LAHTF tour of the theatre.

The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation is actively involved in the study and preservation of the many vintage theatres in the Los Angeles area. The group frequently supports events and offers tours of the buildings. www.lahtf.org | LAHTF on Facebook

Post-2002 views up in the balcony:

Looking in at the house left vomitory. Photo: Bill Counter - 2014

A view to the empty stage. The balcony seats date from the restoration of 1984-85. The 1931 vintage seats were long gone when the project began. Photo: Wendell Benedetti - LAHTF Facebook page - 2014

Looking down onto the redone main floor. The 2002 photo once appeared on the website of DPR Construction, the contractor for the three month project. The stairs up to the stage were eliminated and the orchestra pit was covered. The height of the stage was raised for improved sightlines.

The ceiling from house left. Photo: Mike Hume- 2019

A house left view from near the top. The crowd was there for a screening of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" as part of the L.A. Conservancy "Last Remaining Seats" series. Photo: Mike Hume - June 29, 2019

"Butch Cassidy" begins on the big screen. Photo: Mike Hume - June 29, 2019

Another stunning balcony view. Photo: Hunter Kerhart - 2014

An empty stage view from house right. Photo: Mike Hume - 2014

It's a big balcony. Here's the view from the top. Photo: Hunter Kerhart - 2014

A look down with the asbestos out. The photo was a 2014 post on the Wiltern Instagram feed.

The rear of the balcony. Photo: Hunter Kerhart - 2014. Thanks, Hunter!

Across the rear to house left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2014

The balcony end standards are certainly not deco. Country Roads, the seating contractor, didn't have any deco end standards available during the restoration project. Photo: Bill Counter - 2014

The grille for the echo organ chamber at the rear of the balcony house left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2014

The house left balcony sidewall. The Heinsbergen Studios decoration was painted on the rough surface of the acoustic plaster. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

A look to the rear corner house right. Photo: Mike Hume- 2019

A house right detail: flowers and skyscrapers. Photo: Mike Hume- 2019

Several of the sidewall uplight bowls. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

A ceiling sunburst view from the top of the balcony. Photo: Bill Counter - 2014

2 comments:

Alan FishelJuly 12, 2020 at 6:34 PM
It was noted that the Kimball Theater Pipe Organ was removed in preparation of the demolition of the theater. I was unable to find any information regarding any new installation of a pipe organ. Does the Wiltern now have a pipe organ? Are there any records/CD's of the Wiltern organ that were recorded or available?