Also see: Variety Arts Theatre - interior views
The news: The property is currently either for sale or lease. A renovation was begun in 2015 and never completed due to the disappearance of the intended tenant. It's owned by Robhana Management, Inc. (213-683-8000), a unit of Robert Hanasab's Partners Capital (213-684-4800). The last agents handling the property were Cushman & Wakefield brokers Mike Condon and John Eichler at 213-629-7379. For rental of the building for filming or special event use, talk to Rebecca Reynoso at Cap Equity Locations, 323-375-4192. Check out their web page on the Variety Arts for 160 photos of the property.
Opened: May 5, 1924 as The Playhouse in the new building of the Friday Morning Club, a social and political group for women that had been founded in 1891. The opening attraction was Doris Keane in the play "Romance." This photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection has Ms. Keane's name and the title on the marquee with '"Herself," an added line in the middle, so you'd know the star would be onstage.
Will Rogers was the
toastmaster at the opening and guests included Charlie Chaplin and C.B.
DeMille. It was later known as the Figueroa Playhouse, the Neuhaus World Theater, the Times Theatre, the Major Theatre, the Figueroa 9th St. and the Variety Arts Center.
Architects: D.C. Allison of the firm Allison and Allison designed the 6 story building. The firm is best known in the L.A. area for the Cal Edison Building and Royce Hall. In an April 13, 1924 story the L.A. Times called the theatre Venetian in style. The decorating was executed by E. Peterson.
A page of facade details by Allison and Allison from the February 1923 issue of The Building Review. Their work got an extensive article starting on page 15. This building was being planned at the time of the article and it includes some preliminary facade sketches on page 20 and 21. There are also several additional facade drawings later in the issue. It's on Internet Archive.
The October 1924 issue of Architect and Engineer
gave the building a big spread including thirteen photos in an article
entitled "A New Club Building in Southern California." Originally the
club’s executive offices were on the ground floor. The second floor
included lounges and a library. The fourth floor offered an assembly
room and dining area for 500 people. The fifth floor had an art gallery
and two small club rooms. The club's motto is on the facade: "In essentials unity – in non-essentials liberty – and in all things charity."
Seating: The original capacity was 1,229 with 920 on the main floor and 309 in the balcony. That count comes from an April 13, 1924 L.A.Times article that's reproduced below. In later years the capacity was down to 1,158. That number appears in a Variety Arts Center brochure in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
The seats were pulled out during the 2017-2019 renovation period and, as of 2024, had not yet been replaced. The
smaller theatre on the third floor, originally called the Lecture Hall, has a capacity of 250 but no seating is permanently installed there.
"Legitimate Theatre To Make Formal Bow Soon" was the headline over this drawing in the April 13, 1924 issue of the L.A. Times. They noted: "Upon the formal opening of the Playhouse Theater, Los Angeles will have another beautiful legitimate showhouse to its credit. It was designed by D.C. Allison."
A pre-opening ad appearing in the Times. Thanks to Floyd B. Bariscale for including the ad in his article on the Variety Arts Center as part of his Big Orange Landmarks series. The ad noted
that Macloon had:
J. Craig Owens, in a history he did for his Facebook page Bizarre Los Angeles, notes that the theatre was
An ad for a 1926 Pauline Frederick production at The Playhouse, where she did a number of shows. It's in a program for "The Butter and Egg Man" at the Mason Theatre. It's from the collection of Danni Bayles-Yeager. The full program is on her Online Archives of the Performing Arts site.
Cast members, including silent film star Jobyna Ralston, the stage manager, and the author of the play "Bad Babies" were among those arrested in a raid by nineteen detectives. This item appeared in the October 8, 1929 issue of the L.A. Times. J. Craig Owens notes that in 1930 the play was ruled "indecent" and the
cast members were required to pay a $300 fine. That Girlesque Theatre that was also raided was in the Adams Hall Building, 537-547 S. Main St.
Bookings became scarce in the 30s. J. Craig Owens notes:
"By 1930, the Playhouse was struggling to book new plays. After going dark for months, theatrical producer Victor Neuhaus of the locally renowned German National Theater signed a five year lease in August of 1931, where he attempted to produce 'English, French and Spanish playwrights of the world.' The theater was renamed the Neuhaus World Theater and its first production was 'The Living Mask' by Luigi Pirandello, starring Arnold Korff, reprising his role as 'Henry VI' from the Broadway version of the same play. The play received critical acclaim, however, the economic slump brought on by the Great Depression and the rising popularity of talking pictures made it difficult for a serious minded theater to exist."
In the 1934 city directory it's the Figueroa Playhouse. In the 1935 and 1936 city directories, it was listed as the Major Theatre with J.L. Crown as the manager. From 1937 to 1939 it's back to being the Figueroa Playhouse. Owens notes that from 1932 to 1938 CBS used the theatre for the "Burns and Allen Show" and that there were also broadcasts by Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor and, allegedly, a speech by Eleanor Roosevelt. Dorothy Parker once spoke at the theatre as well.
A program cover for the Los Angeles Repertory Theatre's first production at the Playhouse, "The Beggar's Opera." The company's 2nd production was to be Molnar's "The Guardsman." Thanks to Brady Westwater for finding the program.
A 1948 lecture by noted theosophical author Manly P. Hall. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing the ad in a post about the theatre on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
In 1958 the Times was used for two plays produced by Moral Re-Armament. "Turning of the Tide" was a musical presented in November featuring a cast of 75 from ten Asian nations. In December it was "He Was Not There," a play by Phyllis Konstam about an American family encountering an escapee from East Germany.
The theatre kept the Times name at least until 1959. As the Playhouse it was running Spanish language films and occasional Chinese double bills as late as 1973.
Becoming the Variety Arts Center: The Society for the Preservation of
the Variety Arts bought the building from the Friday Morning Club in
1977 and renamed it the Variety Arts Center. Milt Larsen, of Magic
Castle fame, headed the organization. Programming in the theatre
included a mix of shows intended as a tribute to variety and vaudeville
entertainers. The famed annual Larsen presentation "It's Magic" at
times used both the main and smaller theatre upstairs. Larsen was also running the Mayfair Music Hall in Santa Monica during this period.
Under
Larsen, many different areas of the building were used as bars, exhibit
areas and performance spaces. The smaller 3rd floor theatre was known at different times as The Masquers Theatre and the Tin Pan Alley Little Theatre Cabaret. The organization also had a library focused on
vaudeville and related topics.
Mark Barrett reports that in 1982 he worked on a show called the "Variety Vanities of 1938" in the 4th floor ballroom that was called the Roof Garden Theatre.
Alexandra Leh notes that the stage of that space had the original
"Tonight Show" set. The building was granted City of Los Angeles landmark status
on August 9, 1978. It's also on the National register.
In 1982 Larsen installed a 52' boat on the roof, a model made for the 1948 MGM film "Luxury Liner." Noirish Los Angeles contributor Noir Noir talks about it on Noirish post #47095. The photo appears on page fifteen of a pdf of a twenty-eight page "Variety Arts Center Commemorative Edition" brochure that's on the Los Angeles Public Library website. Floyd Bariscale comments that "you could see the ship from blocks away. I used to see it at night time, and... if I remember correctly... the ship was actually lighted, making it visible during the night."
Larsen wanted to save the boat and noted "When we sold the building the new owner was supposed to let us know when he needed us to remove the boat. He forgot that part and told a crew to get rid of the trash on the roof. They made the Queen Minnie into firewood." Thanks to Scott Charles for coming up with the story's final chapter for his Noirish post #47101. The boat was mentioned as going by the name U.S.S. Variety Club in a July 7, 1987 article about the club by Jack Smith in the L.A. Times. Noir Noir found the 1982 permit for the boat installation as a "sign." It's on Noirish post #47104.
One event in 1987. Thanks to Michael Rocchio for the scan of this poster. In 1987 and 1988 the theatre's calendar
was filled with rock and pop shows in an attempt to generate enough
revenue to save the building. Larsen
end up closing the building at the end of 1988 on New Year's Eve due to an
inability to pay the bills and back taxes. He had filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection in 1986 and had been shopping it around for an
asking price in the $2.5 to $3.5 million range.
The Los Angeles
Community Redevelopment Agency had loaned Larsen's group $500,000 for
restoration work and the CRA now had to come up with an additional $1.7
million to forestall an IRS auction. This bought some time to find a
buyer for the property. The CRA held the first trust deed on the
property.
Later operators: A number of operators used the
building as a nightclub and concert venue. Paul Sehdeva had purchased
the building in 1989 and operated one short-lived nightclub venture
there. It ended up in the hands of Anschutz Entertainment
Group, developer of Staples Center just to the south of the Variety Arts
Building, for a purchase price of about $8 million. After they
couldn't come up with a viable plan for the property, the building was
sold in early 2007 to David Houk, who formerly owned the Pasadena Playhouse.
Houk
(partnered with Robert Abassi of RTI Properties) intended to produce
original shows in the main theatre but the project was later put on hold
awaiting more financing or an additional partner, neither of which
materialized. There were only occasional rentals for the building. Houk
was also involved in the sad end of the Philharmonic Auditorium in the 1980s.
Status: The building was sold again in 2012 to Robhana Management, Inc. (213-683-8000), a unit of Robert Hanasab's Partners Capital
(213-684-4800). Prior to the sale it had been on the market for
several years with an asking price just under $10 million. Houk had
earlier been looking for $12.5 million.
In late 2015 Robhana signed a fifteen year lease on parts of the building with a church group called Hill Song L.A. and proceeded to embark on an extensive renovation project. Eddie Kim had a January 2016 story in the L.A. Downtown News about the deal. Hillsong was scheduled to move in sometime
in late 2017 after the upgrades were completed.
More exterior views:
A 1924 Mott Studios view of the Playhouse featuring one of their regular attractions, Pauline Frederick. At this engagement she was in the play "Spring Cleaning." It's in the California State Library collection, one of twelve photos in their set #001384324.
A 1924 Mott Studios photo in the California State Library collection indexed as their #001384378.
A view from the Los Angeles Public Library collection that they date as 1926. On the marquee: "Coming Pauline Frederick."
Another "Abie's Irish Rose" view from the Los Angeles Public Library.
A photo of the building taken in 1980 as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey. It appears on the Library of Congress website. Also see the HABS index page and the ten page data pdf.
Another 1980 photo on the Library of Congress website. The show at the time: "It's Magic," an annual presentation that went through many editions. There's no attribution on the LOC site but Hunter Kerhart has determined that these two are photos by Julius Shulman. The Getty Research Institute has two very similar shots he took at the same time.
A facade view from the 2012 Curbed L.A. story "Touring South Park's...1924 Variety Arts Theatre," about the use of the building for a haunted house extravaganza. It features a wonderful 25 photo set by Elizabeth Daniels.
The side exit passage on the north side of the building looking toward Figueroa St. Photo: Elizabeth Daniels / Curbed L.A. - 2012
A fall 2012 facade view by Hunter Kerhart. He reported at the time that the lower portion of the front had been repainted, the doors refinished and lots of debris had been hauled out. Keep up with Hunter's explorations: on Facebook | hunterkerhart.com | on Flickr
Floyd Bariscale, in his Big Orange Landmarks article on the building, notes: "Next to the front entrance, you’ll find a memorial tablet dedicated to Caroline Severance. The words, taken from a speech given by Severance on her 71st birthday, had earlier been carved in bronze and were placed on the old clubhouse. Unveiled on January 12, 1923, on what would’ve been Severance’s 103rd birthday (she died at the age of 94 in 1914), the new tablet was later incorporated into the current building’s façade."
The helicopter view. The Variety Arts, shrouded, is in the center of a whole district getting rebuilt. The orange building behind the crane, the Hotel Figueroa, was also getting a renovation. Photo: Hunter Kerhart - February 2016. Thanks, Hunter!
Up on top:
Outside on a balcony along the south side of the ballroom, looking toward Figueroa St. Photo: The Location Portal - c.2014
The balcony on the north side of the ballroom. We're looking west toward Figueroa St. Photo: Cap Equity Locations - 2014
A roof view on the east end of the building. Just beyond the corner of the ballroom note the smoke vent with the flip top for the theatre down on the main floor. Photo: Cap Equity Locations - 2014.
The earlier Friday Morning Club building:
J. Craig Owens, in his post on the Facebook page Bizarre Los Angeles about the Variety Arts Center, discusses the Friday Morning Club:
"In 1891, at the age of 71, she founded the Friday Morning Club, Los Angeles’ first women’s political club and is credited as being the first woman to register and vote in the State of California. In 1899, Severence formed a corporation and issued stock to its membership of the Friday Morning Club. The money raised from the stock, made it possible to purchase a parcel of land on Figueroa between Ninth and Tenth to build a clubhouse, which would eventually be leased back to the club.
"On September 14, 1899, the cornerstone for the clubhouse was laid. On January 19, 1900, four months later, a $13,000, two-story Mission revival structure was completed and opened for meetings. Severence died in 1914 at the age of 94; however, the club that she stared continued to prosper and grow its membership. In April of 1922, the Friday Morning Club hired architects James & David Allison to design and build a brand new five-story, Italian Renaissance clubhouse on the site of the original building. At a cost of $750,000, the old clubhouse was razed and the new clubhouse was built."
The Variety Arts is used for the auditorium of Windsor College, the site of much of the action late in Wes Craven's "Scream 2" with Neve Campbell (Dimension Films, 1997).
A view from the stage out into the house in "Scream 2." The dangerous man on the right with the gun is Liev Schreiber. "Scream 2" opens with lots of action at the Rialto Theatre in South Pasadena and also used the Vista Theatre for interiors. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more Variety Arts shots as well as those showing the other theatres.
John C. Reilly onstage at the Variety Arts. The theatre was the scene for one his big concerts in "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" (Columbia, 2007). See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for several more shots at the Variety Arts as well as views of the Palace, Warner Grand and Shrine Auditorium from the film.
The Variety Arts gets a credit on Catherine Hardwicke's "Plush" (Blumhouse Productions, 2013) but none of the theatre's public areas are seen in the film. Perhaps it was used for dressing room shots, etc. The theatre was also used for "Vanished" (Advanced Visual Media, 2013).
J. Craig Owens' 2011 Bizarre Los Angeles Facebook post has a fine history of the building along with photos. His article came from digging into various Los Angeles Times articles. The Cinema Treasures page on the Variety Arts Center has some data and photos.
Curbed LA had a 2012 Adrian Glick Kudler story (with many photos by Elizabeth Daniels) about the building when it was being used for a haunted house: "Touring South Park's (Fake-Haunted) 1924 Variety Arts Theatre." Alas, the photos have vanished from the version now online.
BifRayRock's Noirish Los Angeles post #9393 includes a number of photos. Danni Bayles-Yeager has a page on the Playhouse as part of her Performing Arts Archive. Wikipedia has an article about Variety Arts Center founder Milt Larsen.
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On October 7, 1991, Procol Harum played the old 1,100-seat Variety Arts Theatre on Figueroa at 9th St in Downtown LA. I reviewed the concert for the Pasadena Star-News, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune & the Whittier Daily News (collectively, the San Gabriel Valley Newspsper Group)
ReplyDeleteOf course, it was a great show!
Afterward, we were invited to the post-concert reception in the private club on the 5th floor that used to be run by a wonderful old English character actor, Alan Mobray (you've seen him in countless movies, including 1946's "Sherlock Holmes in Terror By Night" in which he played Professor Moriarty's right hand man, Colonel Sebastian Moran, who was on a train trying to steal the Star of Rhodesia Diamond).
Group leader Gary Brooker manned the door greeting everyone. What a pleasure to meet the great man! He worked the room so we chatted for a minute or two & then he left for the evening.
My buddy Randy& I ended up hanging out with keyboardist Matthew Fisher and the band's lyricist Keith Reid for a couple hours, partaking of the open bar & discussing music and baseball with the guys. Reid moved to the States & fell totally in love with The Great Game - so we had an absolute blast with those guys!
We were the last four in the pace around 2am. Matthew Fisher had the keys to both the 5th floor club & the theatre and after he locked the place up we all said what a pleasure the evening had been & we all bid each other a good night.
What a memorable night!
I saw the LA debut of the British band The Chameleons somewhere in the early to mid-80's. Only was in the main auditorium, had no knowledge about the rest of the building and its history. Have stayed at the Hotel Figueroa directly across the street many times and watched the VAC seem to fall into ruins. Funny I was just up there at the Hotel Fig. in June '24 to see the Chameleons again, but at the Belasco, and it looks like someone is really fixing the VAC up and maybe restoring her.
ReplyDeleteThe fixup and restoration was begun several years ago and has come to a standstill. As noted on the page, the owners thought they had a tenant, who then bailed. It's now been in limbo, unfinished, for some time.
Delete