Highland Theatre

 5604 N. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90042 | map |

The News: The theatre closed, suddenly, on February 29, 2024. The staff was laid off without previous warning. Thanks to Cody Lawrence for sharing the news. The theatre was sold in December 2022 to Cyrus Etemad, owner of other buildings nearby including the Highland Park Bowl. Renovation plans have not been announced.

The tail end of the 99 year lease on the building expired in February 2023 but the new owner let the operator stay, rent-free, for a year after his lease expired. While some may be mourning the closure, the operator noted a lack of community support post-pandemic. He couldn't turn a profit even without paying rent.

The theatre's balcony and stage areas are currently unused. Since 1983 it's been a triplex using only the main floor. More details emerged later in "Historic movie theater in Highland Park closes after 100 years," a March 1 L.A. Times story by Christi Carras that was spotted by Escott O. Norton. Victoria Alejandro followed up with "LA Movie Lovers Mourn The Loss Of The Highland Theatre..," a March 15 LAist story that was spotted by Jonathan Raines.

Opened: March 5, 1925 with a personal appearance from Norma Shearer. The building was constructed for Clyde M. Church, a local banker. This stretch of Figueroa was originally called Pasadena Ave. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

Early Highland Park was thriving with a vibrant theatrical scene that at one time or another supported eight different theatres. The other nearby venues included the Arroyo Theatre (1928-1957) at 3236 N. Figueroa, the Franklin Theatre (1936-1952) at 5502 N. Figueroa, the Highland Park Theatre (c.1913-1914) at 5630 N. Figueroa, the Sunbeam Theatre (1914-1925) at 5722 N. Figueroa, the Park Theatre (1936-1963) at 5825 N. Figueroa, the Dayton Theatre (c.1913-1929) at 509 W. Avenue 28, and the York Theatre (1923-present) at 4949 York Blvd.

Architect: Lewis A. Smith, who also did the Rialto in South Pasadena, the Beverly in Beverly Hills, the Vista Theatre, as well as a number of other projects for West Coast Theatres. The Highland had a Moorish interior and much of the decor in the balcony area remains intact.  

 

Seating: Originally 1,432 seats as a single screen theatre. It was 465 as a triplex, with the three auditoria occupying only the main floor. They had capacities of 110, 130 and 225.  

 

 

The Los Angeles Herald reported that both men and horses were at work on the new theatre in this item that appeared in their July 18, 1924 issue. They had a little problem with the two halves of that line under the illustration. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this. 

 

The listing for the new theatre in the Wednesday March 4, 1925 L.A. Times "Suburban and Neighborhood Theaters" directory. The opening film, "Lady of the Night," starred Norma Shearer, Malcolm McGregor and George K. Arthur. It was a tale of a tired prostitute who yearns for a more respectable life. Norma played two roles: the daughter of a judge plus a girl from the wrong side of the tracks.

 

Like most suburban theatres, the Highland did several program changes a week. There was no ad for the theatre in Times on opening day. These were preview showings of "Lady of the Night." It opened downtown at Loew's State on Saturday the 7th. The ad the day before the opening there noted: "Tangled Love -- Tangled Lives of the Bowery and Fifth Avenue." 

 

 

The operator of the theatre in 1925 was West Coast Theatres, the company that became Fox West Coast in 1929. This opening night program is in the collection of the family that had owned the building, who brought it to display at the November 2015 Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation tour. Thanks to Stephen Russo for sharing his photo on the LAHTF Facebook page.

 

A ticket to a cartoon show in 1944. Buy a War Bond, get a ticket for your kid. Thanks to John Conning for sharing this in a post on the Theatre Architecture Facebook page.

The Highland was operated for years by Fox West Coast Theatres. After they gave it up it had a run as a porno theatre. Family films came back in 1975 under operator Arman Akarakian. He was also involved with the Warner San Pedro. In 1983 it was triplexed with 3 theatres on the main floor. The balcony was walled off and was unused, as was part of the stage. 

It was designated as a cultural historic monument by the City of Los Angeles in 1991. See "Preservationists seek to save Highland Theatre..," a September 1991 L.A. Times story. The neighborhood went through some rough decades but it's now booming. The theatre prospered as a triplex by running a friendly, efficient operation and offering bargain prices.

A new owner: The family that built the theatre put it up for sale in 2022. Barry Lank broke the news in "Highland Park's last remaining movie house goes up for sale," his August article for The Eastsider. Thanks to Jason Vega and Sandi Hemmerlein for spotting the story. Lank noted that while the exterior was landmarked in 1991, the interior use could be changed. Orbell Ovaness of Ovaness-Rostamian Group at Marcus and Millichap was one of the brokers handling the property. See the Loopnet listing for more details.  

 

The theatre was sold in December 2022 to Cyrus Etemad, owner of other buildings nearby including the Highland Park Bowl. That venue was renovated and is operated by the 1933 Group but it's unknown if they'll be involved in this venture. Nela United had the initial news of the sale in an X post and listed the price as $5.25 million. See "Highland Park's nearly century-old movie theater is sold," Barry Lank's January 18, 2023 story for The Eastsider. They also had a Facebook post about the transaction. Thanks to Torr Leonard and Jason Vega for spotting the news. 

 

The lease held by the theatre operator expired in February 2023. It was the tail end of a 99 year deal signed by West Coast Theatres in 1924 that had been re-assigned a number of times. The word is that Cyrus intends to do a restoration and keep it a theatre but specific plans are unknown, other than noting that cinema and music will be among the uses. With no lease in place, Cyrus thus has great flexibility to determine future uses not only for the theatre but also the long-vacant apartments and four retail spaces. The theatre's balcony and stage areas were unused since the 1983 tripexing.

 

Status: It's closed. Although the theatre operator's lease expired in 2023, Dan Akarakian continued to run it for another year, rent-free. The theatre closed, suddenly, on February 29, 2024. The staff was laid off without previous warning. Final films included a preview showing of "Dune: Part 2." Thanks to Cody Lawrence for sharing the news. The theatre wasn't being supported by the community post-pandemic. More details emerged later in "Historic movie theater in Highland Park closes after 100 years," a March 1 L.A. Times story by Christi Carras that was spotted by Escott O. Norton. The Times copy: 

 

"A historic movie theater in Highland Park has closed after nearly 100 years of operation, the business owner and the landlord confirmed Friday. The owner [sic: actually only the operator] of Highland Theatre, Dan Akarakian, said that the theater officially shut its doors and stopped showing movies Thursday after it struggled to bounce back economically from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

"The last titles to screen at the triplex were Sony Pictures’ superhero film 'Madame Web,' Paramount Pictures' Bob Marley biopic 'One Love' and Focus Features' quirky horror flick 'Lisa Frankenstein.' 'It’s not the community’s fault or our fault,' Akarakian said. 'It’s just the industry has been so bad that the theater was losing money every single week. We want to thank all the people who’ve been patronizing this theater and supporting it,' he added.

"During the height of the pandemic, Highland Theatre shut down temporarily from March 2020 to May 2021. 'When it reopened, it didn’t have the punch that it had before,' Akarakian said, noting that ticket sales plummeted by 70%. 'People had different outlets for entertainment, and this theater and others in the city couldn’t afford operating.'

"The landlord of the property, Cyrus Etemad, said that his priority is to preserve the building as a theater and that he is exploring 'primarily cinema and music uses' for the space. Etemad, who allowed Akarakian to continue operating the theater on the premises rent-free for a year after the lease expired last February, added that the building is in need of a major renovation...."

The lobby: 

 

A vintage look at the Highland's ladies lounge from the Highland Park Indepent Film Festival Facebook page. It has the look of a photo used for a carpet ad in a trade magazine.

 

A look down the bar. Thanks to Michelle M. for sharing her 2020 photo on Yelp.

The lobby of the Highland. It's a 2015 photo by Ivan A. appearing on Yelp.

 

 

An inner lobby view. Photo: Michelle M. on Yelp - 2020

On the main floor:  

 

A look to the screen of one of the three main floor auditoria in 2019 from Dora H. on Yelp. The balcony is unused.

 

A 2018 peek in one of the houses from Kari A. on Yelp.

Yelp contributor Tom P.'s 2015 look back toward the booth of one of the three main floor theatres.

A look toward the rear of one of the houses taken by Gina Christine during the 2012 NELA Art Short Film Series. Note some decorative plaster remaining on the balcony rail. The photo also appeared as part of  "Northeast L.A. Filmmakers Take a Bow,"  a story on the blog The Eastsider.

Another busy night. Thanks to Sandi Hemmerlein for sharing this 2015 photo as well as the many others appearing here. Visit her Avoiding Regret photo essay "Highland Theatre's Hidden History" for many more shots plus tales of her adventures at the 2015 Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation "all-about" tour of the building.  

The LAHTF is the primary organization promoting preservation of historic theatres in the L.A. area. The group sponsors events, works with building owners on preservation issues and hosts tours. www.lahtf.org | group Facebook page | official Facebook page

Up to the balcony: 

Heading up the stairs to the long unused balcony. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - Avoiding Regret - 2015

 

 

Pegasus in plaster, evidently with gold leaf underneath the paint we see. It's a Stephen Russo photo taken on the stairs up to the balcony that appeared on the LAHTF Facebook page.

 

A balcony lobby view from ace theatre photographer Wendell Benedetti. The ceiling decor isn't original -- it's from a 40s Fox West Coast Skouras-style renovation. That wall at the end was added, sealing off a staircase. The balcony hasn't been used since the theatre was triplexed -- all three houses are on the main floor. Thanks to Wendell for this and the rest of his 2015 photos appearing on this page. A set of seven can be seen on the LAHTF Facebook page. 

 

A lobby ceiling detail. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - Avoiding Regret - 2015

 

 

A view from house right. Note the AC ducting for the theatres below -- and the walled-off proscenium opening. Photo: Stephen Russo - 2015

 

 

A look across the front section. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - Avoiding Regret - 2015

One of the sidewall murals in front of the balcony rail. Photo: Wendell Benedetti - 2015 

A house right side exit door. Photo: Wendell Benedetti - 2015

A detail of a crest above an exit door. Photo: Wendell Benedetti - 2015  

The house right wall up near the ceiling. Thanks to Nicole Loretta for this photo and the others appearing here. You can view the full set of seventeen photos of her adventure on the LAHTF Facebook page. The photos were taken at the November 2015 LAHTF "all-about" tour.

A view down from the top. Photo: Wendell Benedetti - 2015

A look across from the house left end of the crossaisle. Photo: Wendell Benedetti - 2015. He calls our attention to the seats that were installed in the upper section in the 80s when there were unrealized plans to put a screen for the multiplex operation up here in addition to the three on the main floor. 

A composite view done in 2015 by Wendell Benedetti imagining what the theatre might have looked like prior to triplexing. He's borrowed some details from the Rialto in South Pasadena, a similarly sized house designed by the same architect, Lewis A. Smith. The photo appeared on the LAHTF Facebook page.  Thanks, Wendell!  

A look back down the stairs to the balcony lobby. Photo: Wendell Benedetti - 2015

Backstage:

 

Looking up at the cove above the proscenium. On the left is the wall enclosing the unused balcony. On the right that's part of the asbestos curtain. Photo: Nicole Loretta - 2015

 

 

The loading doors offstage left. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - Avoiding Regret - 2015

 

 

Looking across to stage right. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - Avoiding Regret - 2015

A view toward the Armstrong - Power wire guide counterweight system. Thanks to Louis Villaescus for this and his other 2015 photos appearing here.

A bit of cleanup stage right by LAHTF volunteers before the 2015 "all-about" tour. It's a photo that once appeared on the LAHTF Facebook page. 

Looking along the lockrail from upstage. Photo: Louis Villaescus - 2015 

 

A ropelock detail. Photo: Louis Villaescus - 2015 

 

 

The index striplight. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - Avoiding Regret - 2015

A striplight detail. Photo: Wendell Benedetti- 2015

Several of the arbors. Photo: Louis Villaescus - 2015

The dimmerboard stage right. Photo: Wendell Benedetti- 2015

Another dimmerboard view. This one's from the Highland Park Independent Film Festival Facebook page. 

A look along the back wall as LAHTF volunteers move surplus projection equipment. On the right note the drywalled area enclosing the front end of the downstairs theatres. It's a 2015 photo that appeared on the LAHTF Facebook page. 

 

 

The stage right stairs to the basement. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - Avoiding Regret - 2015

 

The dressing room corridor underneath the stage. Photo: Nicole Loretta - 2015

 

 

Another corridor view. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - Avoiding Regret - 2015. Thanks, Sandi! 

Another stage basement view. Photo: Nicole Loretta - 2015 

 

Coming back up to upstage right. Photo: Nicole Loretta - 2015. Thanks, Nicole! 

More exterior views:

1926 - The theatre was running Chaplin's "The Gold Rush." This shot appeared in the August 28 issue of Motion Picture News. It's on Internet Archive. The caption: "Selling the cool atmosphere and the star of 'The Gold Rush' (United Artists), the display shown above was used by Manager Brunn of the West Coast Highland Theatre, Los Angeles, to capitalize his presentation of the Charlie Chaplin comedy."

 

1942 - The theatre playing "Tortilla Flat" and "Syncopation." It's a July 12 photo from the Virginia Neely collection appearing on page 85 of the 2008 Arcadia Publishing book "Highland Park" by Charles J. Fisher and the Highland Park Heritage Trust. 

 

c.1952 - A Julius Shulman photo in the collection of the Getty Research Institute. Thanks to Bill Gabel for locating it for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 

 

1955 - Looking south on Figueroa from Avenue 57 with the Highland Theatre on the left. It's a photo from the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. It also appears, without the "Today," on page 101 of the 2008 Arcadia Publishing book "Highland Park" by Charles J. Fisher and the Highland Park Heritage Trust. 

 

 

1962 - A photo from the Highland Park Independent Film Festival. It appeared with "Highland Theatre celebrates 90 years of movie-going in Highland Park," a 2015 article by Nathan Solis on the blog The Eastsider.

1982 - Looking south along Figueroa. Thanks to the vanished American Classic Images website for the photo.

1982 - Thanks to American Classic Images for this shot.

1984 - A June post-triplexing shot from American Classic Images. Note that interesting open-air pavilion on the 3rd floor, later removed.

2002 - A shot from the now-vanished website LA OK.

c.2005 - A look from above. Thanks to Claudia Mullins for finding the photo.

c.2008 - A photo shared by Ken McIntyre on Photos of Los Angeles.

2008 - The theatre from the north. Photo: Ken McIntyre

2008 - From across the street. Photo: Ken McIntyre - Photos of Los Angeles

2008 - A sidewall view. Photo: Ken McIntyre - Photos of Los Angeles

 

2010 - A look across toward the roof sign. It's a photo from Emilio H. on Yelp.

 

2010 - Another look at the roof sign. Photo: Bill Counter

2010 - A corner view of the building. Photo: Bill Counter

2010 - An entrance detail. Photo: Bill Counter 

2011 - The sign on May 18, the evening of its relighting. Each of the 502 bulbs on the sign was sponsored by an individual as a community project. Thanks to Escott O. Norton of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation for his photo. It's one of nineteen in the "Highland Theatre Sign Lighting Ceremony" album on his Old Sign Art Facebook page.

2012 - A photo located by Cinema Treasures contributor Granola for the site's page about the Highland Theatre.

2015 - A shot appearing on Yelp.

2018 - A look down the south wall. Photo: Bill Counter 

2018 - The building from the rear. Photo: Bill Counter

2018 - A view south toward the boxoffice. Photo: Bill Counter

2018 - The sign got an upgrade. The story "Highland Theatre rooftop sign Goes LED" has additional photos. It's on page six of the April 2018 issue of LA Art News, available on Issuu. The publication also has a Facebook page with news about Highland Park art events. In this January 2018 shot by Tomoko it's (left to right) Edward de la Fuente, Carl Haney and John Peacock. Thanks to Los Angeles Magazine's Chris Nichols for spotting the story and sending along the photo.

The article notes: "To get onto the theatre roof, you need access a secret door to go through a small, dark crawl space, walk across a curved roof, then climb up on the sign, which dates back to the 1920s. The rooftop sign was rewired and relit in 2011 as part of Relighting the Historic Signs of Figueroa Street project—a community-funded effort that restored both the theatre sign and the rooftop Manning’s Coffee Store sign on Las Cazuelas’s roof. Since 2014, local area man Carl Haney and his crew of guys not afraid of heights have been replacing bulbs on the theatre sign. Traditionally incandescent, it was determined that LED was acceptable for historic signage by city preservation officials. There was enough money in the original fund to purchase the 504 LEDs (plus a bunch extra for future use). The bulb swap-outs started in January and are now complete." 

 

 

2022 - An April photo appearing with the theatre's listing on Loopnet.  

 

 

2024 - "RIP to a legend." It's a February 29 shot of the closed theatre that was posted on the "Los Angeles community" thread on Reddit. Thanks to theatre sleuth Donavan S. Moye for spotting it.  

 

 

The Highland in the Movies: 

 

The Highland has never been much of a movie star but we see the marquee as John C. Reilly does a nighttime drive-by in "Cyrus" (Fox Searchlight, 2010). The film, directed by Jay and Mark Duplass, also features Marissa Tomei and Jonah Hill. Thanks to Films In Films for the screenshot.

 

 

 

The Highland gets a minor cameo in the background in a scene in "Lights Out" (New Line/Warner Bros., 2016). Alexander DiPersia has just spent some time with Teresa Palmer in her apartment across the street from the theatre. She shoos him out and he's feeling dejected. But she opens her window to tell him that she really likes him. "Oh, and one more thing," she says. He's expecting words of endearment but she tosses down his sock. 

 

A later shot down the west side of the street from "Lights Out." A reflection of the theatre's marquee is seen in the lower left. It turns into a story about a supernatural being that threatens a family when (are you ready?) the lights go out. The film, directed by David F. Sandberg, also features Gabriel Bateman, Maria Bello, Andi Osho and Alicia Vela-Bailey. The cinematography was by Marc Spicer. Thanks to Jonathan Raines for spotting this one.

We spend a lot of time in Highland Park with Amanda Seyfried and Shirley MacLaine in Mark Pellington's "The Last Word" (Bleeker Street Media, 2017). The neighborhood is standing in for a California town called Bristol. Amanda's an obituary writer at the local paper, the Bristol Gazette, and Shirley hires her to write her obit -- only she realizes that she needs to change her life to get the writeup she wants. See the Theatres in Movies post for several more shots.

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Highland for lots of historic data and tales by former and current moviegoers. Also see the site's list of other theatre projects by L.A. Smith. The Cinema Tour page has several nice 2001 exterior photos by Bob Meza.

Check out Edward Rivera's delightful 5 minute slide show "20 Theatres of Northeast Los Angeles," a 2011 post on the blog Arroyo Seco Journal. Of the twenty theatres he has photos of, the Highland is the only one still operating. Also on the blog see two additional 2011 posts: "Relighting the Highland" and "Highland Theatre Sign Relighting."

Check out Sandi Hemmerlein's Avoiding Regret photo essay "Highland Theatre's Hidden History" for many photos and tales of her adventures at the 2015 LAHTF "all-about" tour of the building. She did a 2023 update to the article.

See the 2011 Highland Park Lights story about the project to "Help Re-Light the Historic Signs of Figueroa Street." Highland Park Patch also had a story about the relighting. Matt Lambros has a 1 minute +  2017 video tour of the balcony on his After the Final Curtain Facebook page.

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