The Tower Theatre pages: history | earlier exterior views | recent exterior views | lobby areas | lounges + basement support areas | earlier auditorium views | recent auditorium views | organ chambers | booth level | attic | roof | tower |
At booth level across the Broadway end of the building the spaces are:
<< south | screening room booth | screening room audience area | base of tower | >> 8th St.
In front of these spaces, closer to the auditorium:
<< south | fan room | stairs from balcony | projection booth | electric room | >> 8th St.
The booth stairs down to the house right aisle at the top of the balcony. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
The fan room:
The fan room just south of the stairs up from the back of the balcony Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
In the booth:
Looking in just before the Apple renovation begins. The booth became a storage area, not included in their lease. Thanks to Mike Hume for his c.2018 photo. Visit the terrific page about the theatre on his Historic Theatre Photography site.
A look at the main lighting control panel on the left (north) end of the front wall. The dimmer handles control the resistance dimmers located directly above in the attic. Photo: Escott O. Norton - 2012
Escott curates the Friends of the Rialto Facebook page about South Pasadena's Rialto Theatre. He's a former Executive Director of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation. The LAHTF is actively involved in the study and preservation of the many vintage theatres in the L.A. area. The group frequently supports events and offers tours. www.lahtf.org | on Facebook |
A closer look at the lighting controls with, at this point, the coverplate removed. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
The view down into the auditorium from the booth. Photo: Escott O. Norton - 2012
The front wall at the left end of the booth. Photo: Mike Hume - c.2018
A look across toward the left wall. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
A look across toward the left wall. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
A closer look at the DC switchboard on the left (north) wall. The doorway at the right gets you into the electric room. The switches feed DC power to (originally) three projectors, a followspot and a dual effects projector. Ballast resistors for these lamps are behind the wall. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
The back wall. The doorway at the left gets you into a hallway and down the stairs. Or back toward Broadway and into the screening room. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
The monitor speaker on the back wall. It's part of the Century transistorized sound system dating from the 1965 remodel. Photo: Escott O. Norton - 2012
Looking across the booth toward the south wall. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
The film storage bins. Photo: Rich Alossi - 2009
Cate Blanchett having a conversation in the Tower booth in Steven Soderbergh's "The Good German" (Warner Bros., 2006). The theatre appears as
a rundown old cinema in the French Quarter of Berlin. See the Theatres in Movies post for more Tower shots from the film.
The screening room projection booth:
Looking at the north wall on the right and the windows facing Broadway on the left. Thanks to Sandi Hemmerlein for her photo. Don't miss her fine articles and many photos from the 2012 LAHTF tour appearing on her Avoiding Regret blog: lobby, house & balcony and backstage, booth and basement.
The windows onto Broadway in the screening room booth. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein - Avoiding Regret - 2012
The back corner of the wall along Broadway. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
The screening room booth front wall. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
A front wall detail. The 2010 photo is included in the Los Angeles Historic Theatres Facebook album of Ghost Hunters of Urban Los Angeles. The group was on expeditions looking for haunted spaces. There are also photos of the Palace and Los Angeles Theatres included.
Another booth ceiling view. Photo: Escott O. Norton - 2012
The lamp exhaust duct -- and a bonus peek into the attic. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
A last look at the Broadway windows in the booth. Photo: Escott O. Norton - 2012
The SE corner of the screening room booth. The door goes out into a hall and over to the main booth or to the stairs down to the balcony. Photo: Ghost Hunters of Urban Los Angeles on Facebook - 2010
In the screening room audience area:
Looking back at the booth ports at the rear of the room. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
The windows back in the corner. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
A port detail. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
From the screening room looking north through the doors at the right toward the base of the tower. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
A closer look north from the screening room into the base of the tower. Where's the ladder up into the tower? Not here. You have to take a right and go into the electric room. A ladder on the south wall near the motor generator gets you up to the slab above the booth. From there you can climb the tower. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
In the room at the base of the tower:
Looking south from the tower back into the screening room. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
The windows facing Broadway and 8th. Photo: Escott O. Norton - 2012
Another look at the windows and ceiling. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
A window detail along the 8th St. side. Interestingly, these windows are hinged at the top. Also note the electrical conduits to feed fixtures outside each window at its base. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
From the base of the the tower looking to the right (east) and getting a peek into the electric room. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
The electric room at the north (house left) end of the booth:
We're looking in from the tower room. On the left are lighting contactors and branch circuit fuses. Beyond is the DC motor generator. Arc lamp ballast resistors are on the right. The booth is off to the right through a doorway beyond the ballast resistors. Photo: Escott O. Norton - 2012
The motor generator set. "It's a Westinghouse." The MG set is a later addition. The Tower, like most downtown Los Angeles buildings originally had both AC and DC service from the local utility. In many buildings, the DC service ran many motor loads (especially elevator motors) as speed control was easier with DC motors.
In the case of theatres, the DC was also used to supply power to the carbon arc lamps in the booth, with ballast resistors in series with the lamp to regulate the current. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
Another look in to the electric room. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
From the doorway to the booth looking through the electric room toward Broadway. The ballast resistor array is at the left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
A closer look at the lighting panel. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
Several of the lighting contactors in the panel. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
The ballast resistors. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
Knife switches behind the ballast resistors to vary the amount of resistance for any given lamp. The rheostat on the end of the ballast rack is to adjust the field current to the generator, thus allowing adjustment of its output voltage. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
In the electric room looking east -- there's a doorway to the booth out of the frame to the right. The MG set is off to the left. The ladder gets you up to the attic level and into the upper levels of the tower. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012
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