Highland Theatre

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

Also see: Highland Theatre - interior views  

The News: Cyrus Etemad, who had purchased the building in December 2022 has sold it to a new group. One of the partners is Kristin Stewart. Plans have not been announced. The theatre, since the 1980s a 465 seat triplex just using the main floor, closed in February 2024. 

Beginning in late June 2025 some demo was done at the entrance and the lobby was stripped-out by a Netflix film crew doing prep for "The Adventures of Cliff Booth," David Fincher's sequel to "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood." Display cases, dropped ceiling panels, snackbar equipment and more all went in a dumpster. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more about the filming.

Opened: March 5, 1925 with a personal appearance from Norma Shearer, a preview of Monta Bell's film "Lady of the Night," vaudeville acts, and lots of speeches. The building was constructed for Clyde M. Church, a local banker. This stretch of Figueroa was originally called Pasadena Ave. The c.2024 photo appears on Loopnet.

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. Since 1983 it's been a 465 seat triplex, with the three auditoria occupying only the main floor. They had capacities of 110, 130 and 225.  

 

 

A smaller version of the project was announced in 1923 -- only 1,000 seats. Thanks to Lisa Kouza Braddock for locating this article in the June 15 issue of the L.A. Times.   

 

 

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 March 3, 1925 issue of the Highland Park Mid-Week News-Herald covered the new theatre on page one and two. Thanks to Lisa Kouza Braddock for locating the articles. Page one got a banner headline:

 

 

 

 

The page two ad from the theatre. For more of the Mid-Week News-Herald's coverage see: "Banker Sees Great Benefit..." | "Finest Programs Promised Public" | "Efficient Staff Will Manage Theater" part 1 | "Efficient staff..." part two | "Director Will be Guest at Opening" | "Winsome Star to Be at Picture Premier in Person" |  Thanks, Lisa!  

 

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.

 

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." 

 

Like most suburban theatres, the Highland did several program changes a week. When the theatre opened it was vaudeville included only on Wednesdays and Saturdays -- with an increase in prices. The Highland was initially managed by Milton M. Brumm. B. Hayward was the head projectionist, Norman Weiler was music director, Newell Alton was the organist. 

 

 

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 at Marcus and Millichap was one of the brokers handling the property. See the Loopnet listing for more about the property.  

 

The theatre was sold in December 2022 for $6,990,000 to Cyrus Etemad, owner of other buildings nearby including the Highland Park Bowl. That venue was renovated and is operated by the 1933 Group. 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 word was that Cyrus intended to do a restoration and keep it a theatre. The building includes four retail spaces and four long-vacant apartments.  The theatre's balcony and stage areas were unused since the 1983 tripexing.

 

Closing of the theatre operation in 2024: 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. Although the lease had expired, operator Dan Akarakian continued to run it for another year, rent-free. The theatre closed, suddenly, on February 29, 2024. It just wasn't being supported by the community post-pandemic. More details emerged 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...."

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.

 

Yet another new ownership team: Cyrus Etemad, who had purchased the building in December 2022 has sold it to a new group. One of the partners is Kristin Stewart. Plans have not been announced. In late June 2025 some demo was done at the entrance and the lobby was stripped-out by a Netflix film crew who will be using the building for over a month. Display cases, dropped ceiling panels, snackbar equipment and more all went in a dumpster. 

 

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 tile detail. Thanks to Nicole Loretta Marsak for sharing her photo.  

2015 - A shot appearing on Yelp.

 

 

2018 - On the right it's Avenue 56. Photo: Bill Counter

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.  

 

 

2023 - Along the back wall. Thanks to Rabeyah Khan sharing for this photo and her others appearing here. She's a location manager who was scouting the Highland for a TV project that wasn't pursued.  

 

 

2023 - Looking toward Figueroa. Photo: Rabeyah Khan.  

 

 

2023 - South along the storefronts. Photo: Rabeyah Khan.  

 

 

2023 - The boxoffice gets its portrait. Photo: Rabeyah Khan. Thanks!  

 

 

2023 - A look in on Christmas Day. Thanks to Brian Aldrich for sharing his photo.  

 

 

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.   

 

2025 - Work at the Highland for a film shoot that used the theatre for over a month. Thanks to Ross Melnick for sharing this June 25 photo. Ross teaches film and media studies at the University of California Santa Barbara and is the founder of the Cinema Treasures website. His latest book is "Hollywood's Embassies: How Movie Theaters Projected American Power." 

 

 

2025 - The entrance after lots of demo by the film crew. Photo: Bill Counter - June 25 

 

 

2025 - A look east across Avenue 56. Photo: Bill Counter - June 25 

 

 

2025 - Work continuing for the film shoot. Photo: Bill Counter - July 22. The film is a sequel for Netflix set in 1977 about the Brad Pitt character from Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood." David Fincher directs a script by Quentin. See our Theatres in Movies post about "The Adventures of Cliff Booth" for many more photos of the shoot at the Highland. 

 

 

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 Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for several more shots.

 

 

David Fincher shut down Figueroa St. between Avenue 55 and Avenue 57 for five nights to shoot scenes for "The Adventures of Cliff Booth" (Netflix, 2026), a sequel to Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film "Once Upon a Time In Hollywood." This shot of Brad Pitt in his costume and wig during the first night of filming appeared on a Brad Pitt/Plan B Facebook post. Quentin wrote the script. Stars also include Carla Gugino, Elizabeth Debecki, Scott Caan and Yahya Abdul Mateen II. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more about the prep work and filming at the Highland. It's used for exteriors and lobby shots but auditorium scenes were done elsewhere.   

 

The Highland on TV: The theatre is seen in "A Day," season 2 episode 5 of the Judd Apatow series "Love" (Netflix, 2017). Thanks to Mark D. Hite for the information. 

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.

 

Matt Lambros has a fine array of photos of the balcony he took in 2024 in a post about the Highland on his After the Final Curtain blog.  

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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