Los Angeles Theatres: Globe Theatre: basement

Globe Theatre: basement

If you're looking for photos of basement areas under the stage, you'll find them on the backstage page.

A basement plan from the Morgan, Walls & Clements archives at the Huntington Library, drawing #3842. Thanks to Mike Hume for locating the building's plans in the collection.

The original layout of the men's lounge areas, under the house right end of the inner lobby. It's a detail from drawing 3842. A doorway was later cut from the area at the bottom of the stairs to allow access to the plenum space under the auditorium when it became a club area. That toilet room seen at the bottom is for the office building basement, off to the right.

The layout of the ladies lounge areas, under the house left end of the inner lobby. It's another detail from drawing 3842. You can now walk from the "Ladies Boudoir" into the club space in the plenum and, from there, get backstage.

Under the auditorium:

2014 - A wide angle look at the club area under the auditorium floor. At the time of these 2014 photos Erik Chol's restoration project was just beginning. We're looking toward house right with the stage basement off to the left. The exit behind us goes to the ladies lounge and up to the house left side of the main floor. Photo: Wendell Benedetti - LAHTF Facebook page

This area used to be a plenum for supply air to the auditorium. The ceiling slab here has plugged holes that used to be for mushroom diffusers under the seats. Beyond that clump of sofas at the center is a tunnel under the orchestra pit to get you backstage.

2014 - The tunnel under the orchestra pit to the musicians' room and trap room beyond. There used to be a fire door at the other end. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Looking toward house right along the proscenium wall. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - A bar at the house right side of the space. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Looking into the mirrors at the end of the bar. Thanks to Sandi Hemmerlein for the photo, one of many fine views appearing with her Avoiding Regret photo essay "The Globe Theatre Under Construction." They were taken during a Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation tour of the building.

The LAHTF is active in promoting awareness of the historic theatres of Los Angeles and works toward their preservation. They frequently offer tours and sponsor other events related to historic preservation. www.lahtf.org | group Facebook page | official Facebook page

2014 - A set of stairs on the house right wall near the bar. They're blocked off -- it used to be an exit up to the exit passageway along the south side of the theatre. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - The gloom in the house right corner farthest from the stage. There's an exit there to the men's room and house right stairs to the lobby. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - A wide angle vista toward the house left side of the space. Note the filled-in mushroom holes in the ceiling slab. The proscenium wall is off to our right. The door at the far right beyond the couches goes to an electric equipment room. Thanks to Hunter Kerhart for his photo. Keep up with his recent explorations: HunterKerhart.com | on Flickr

The black wall at the left is the west end of the plenum. There's a doorway to spaces closer to Broadway hiding behind the left column. The exit to the ladies lounge is way in the corner at the center of the image. The bar and exit to the men's room are out of the frame to the left.

2014 - Looking toward Broadway down the centerline of the space. The office building portion of the basement as well as former theatre office space and staff changing areas are down the passage. The chairs against the black door were the security precautions at the time. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - A closer look toward the doorway to the electric room in the far house left corner of the space nearest to the proscenium wall. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - The switchboard in the electric room. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Looking toward the corner in the house left side of the space farthest from the stage. The exit door goes to the area outside the ladies room and the stairs up to the house left side of the main floor. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - Looking in from the vestibule at the bottom of the stairs house left near the ladies room. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - A plenum view from house right. The exit seen in the center of the image gets you to the ladies room and the stairs to the main floor. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - The view from house right back near the vestibule outside the men's room. Photo: Bill Counter

Under the inner lobby house left:

2014 - The stripped out ladies room, ready for the renovation. There's a door out of the frame to the left leading to a small vestibule and the stairs up to house left. Thanks to Rebecca Reynoso of Cap Equity Locations [323-375-4192] for her photo. The firm brokers deals between property owners and those looking for filming locations or other special uses.

2014 - Another exciting ladies room view. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - The stairs up from the area outside the ladies lounge. The club area in the former plenum under the auditorium is off to the left. The men's room is similarly situated on the house right side. Photo: Cap Equity Locations

2014 - Looking up from the landing to main floor level. We're directly below the house left stairs to the 1st balcony. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - The area at the top of the stairs at main floor level. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - Looking down to the landing. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - From the landing down to basement level. Take a right and you're in the plenum area. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - A peek into the ladies room. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - Looking across the sink area. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - The view out to the stairs. Photo: Bill Counter

Under the inner lobby house right:

2014 - The house right stairs to the basement. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein

2014 - A pre-renovation peek into the men's room. An entrance to the club area in the plenum is off to the left. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Another men's room view. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - A look back up the house right stairs. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - A post-renovation view down to the landing. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - From the landing to the basement house right. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - The fancifully decorated men's room. Photo: Bill Counter

2020 - Another men's room view. Photo: Bill Counter

Under the outer lobby:

2014 - In the middle of the basement just forward of the plenum space there was lots of electrical gear of various vintages. Photo: Bill Counter

Off to the right it's the club space under the auditorium floor. In the nook there's a lovely marble-backed live front switchboard for the office building. Off to our left you're heading west under the lobby to the "big room" of the office building basement.

2014 - A wide-angle look at the marble office building switchboard. Photo: Hunter Kerhart. See a drawing of this switchboard in the Huntington Library's Morgan, Walls & Clements archive. On their website it's drawing #3838.

2014 - A closer look at the left side of the 1913 vintage switchboard. Note a few later additions at the left and ghosts of meters at the top right. Many of these switches had been feeding sub panels in retail spaces as well as on each floor of the office building for lighting and receptacle loads. Photo: Bill Counter

There were other pieces of abandoned electrical gear of various vintages in the basement as well as areas where equipment has been removed such as in the "big room" and in the boiler room. The current electrical service for the theatre is alongside the building in the north exit passageway. The office building got a new service as part of its 2019-2021 rehab project.

2014 - 3 phase disconnects of various vintages at the left end of the board. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Meter sockets and other gear at the right end of the main board. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Farther around the right end of the board are disconnects for 3 phase theatre loads. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Behind the marble switchboard. A lovely mess it is. At the left, we see that everything had been disconnected from the back of the board. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - A branch circuit fuse panel with a marble interior. At the time, similar panels were on each floor of the office building. Photo: Sandi Hemmerlein

2014 - In the big room. We're centered in the office building basement looking east back toward the stage. Photo: Hunter Kerhart

From this room you could go in all sorts of interesting directions. Through the door at the center of the photo you're heading east toward the club area in the plenum under the auditorium. The time clock for the marquee is just to the left of the doorway. The abandoned electrical gear including the marble-backed board seen in earlier photos is through the doorway and off to the left.

The black door to the right (don't go in there!) took you to a separate basement area for the retail space south of the theatre entrance as well as stairs up to the store. The black boards on the left side of the photo once had all sorts of electrical gear mounted on them. A look through holes in the boards provided a view of the boiler room. The grey item near the corner was yet another piece of abandoned electrical switchgear.

Behind us going to the right there's a corridor heading south (west of the south retail space basement area) leading to theatre office space, staff changing areas and restrooms. Behind us going to the left there's a corridor leading north to an office building elevator. Off to the left of that corridor closer to Broadway and you're under the north retail spaces. Off to the right there are several office/storage rooms and the boiler room.

2014 - Looking along the east wall of the big room. We're just west of the room where the marble switchboard was. The time clock is for the theatre's marquee. Photo: Hunter Kerhart

2014 - A 40s vintage Skouras-style chandelier along the north wall in the big room. It's unknown if the chandelier had been installed here or in another theatre operated by Metropolitan. The boiler room is behind this wall. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - In the big room looking toward Broadway. The wiring mess you're looking at was the main telephone terminal board for the Garland Building. Behind this wall is another storage room with the sprinkler system mains. Photo: Hunter Kerhart

Off to the right we're in a corridor heading north. At the extreme right edge of the photo is a sliver of light from a doorway heading under one of the north retail spaces.

2014 - In the big room under the outer lobby looking down the north corridor. Photo: Hunter Kerhart

Straight ahead and you end up under the office building lobby. The black door is the elevator. Off to the left and you're under the lobby and retail spaces north of the theatre entrance. Off to the right closest to us it's offices and storage rooms. The last doorway on the right gets you into the office building's boiler room.

The north side of the basement near Broadway:

2014 - Along the corridor from the big room to the boiler room -- a peek into a storage room. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Another exciting basement vista. It's a labyrinth. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - In the boiler room under the rear of the office building lobby. We're about 40' back from Broadway. Off to the right from this photo we get a ventilation shaft and stairs up to the office building lobby. On the walls of the boiler room there was still a lot of control gear but all the equipment had vanished: no boiler, no motors, no pumps. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - The east wall of the boiler room. We're looking north. Behind the gate, narrow stairs lead up to the rear of the office building lobby. That void on the left side of the photo is an airshaft up to the roof. The wires perhaps are feeders to office building sub-panels with a missing junction box. Behind us, we're close to the room in the middle of the basement with the main marble-backed office building electrical switchboard. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - The narrow service stairs up to the back of the office building lobby. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - The boiler room airshaft. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - A peek from the corridor into the area under the office building lobby and north retail space. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Abandoned stairs up to the office building lobby. These look like they were never finished. At the time of the photo there was a slab at the top closing them off. They would have come down from the front of the lobby, right off Broadway. Perhaps a tenant never materialized for this basement space. The stairs were nicely opened up and finished with marble during the later office building renovation. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Looking away from Broadway back toward the corridor -- and the boiler room beyond. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Looking back down the corridor toward the big room in the middle of the basement. We're looking south with Broadway off about 40' to our right. The boiler room is off to our left. Directly behind us is the elevator up to the office building lobby. Photo: Bill Counter

The south side of the basement near Broadway:

2014 - We're west of the big room with that wall on the right located under the Broadway sidewalk. Through the door are the building's sprinkler mains. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - A service passage along Broadway. The wall at the left is the west wall of the corridor leading to theatre office and changing areas. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Heading to offices and theatre staff lockers. We're parallel to Broadway looking toward the southwest corner of the basement. Perhaps the skeleton belonged to the Mexican wax museum once on the 4th floor. That drywalled area to the left is the storage area for the retail space just south of the theatre entrance. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - In the front of the basement on the south side looking east toward the stage end of the building. The stairs used to go up to the south retail space. Two restrooms are to the right of the stairs. Near us on the right, it looks like the candy storage room with the shelves and chickenwire. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Looking out toward the stairs from an office in the southwest corner of the basement. Broadway is behind us. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - A closer look at the stairs up to the south retail area. The doorways to the right are to restrooms. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - The restrooms. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - The stairs up -- now blocked. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - Looking back toward Broadway at the storage areas, offices and a staff locker room. Beyond these little rooms at the left is the south wall of the building -- beyond that you'd be in the Chapman Building basement. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - A light fixture, possibly original. This one was used in the club in recent years. The sockets are new and that aluminum quick-link certainly wasn't part of the original hanging hardware. Stylistically, this matches the much larger octagonal fixtures from the Broadway lobby that were found stashed on the 4th floor of the Garland Building. Photo: Bill Counter

2014 - More fixtures from the theatre. Some 40s stuff, some earlier. Photo: Bill Counter

Los Angeles Theatres

Globe Theatre: basement

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