Los Angeles Theatres: Pantages/Arcade Theatre: stage

Onstage in early 2020 as work was being done in the basement and the lobby. On the far right note a bit of the dimmerboard. The project was primarily one to upgrade the office building floors for creative office occupancy after years of being vacant. The photo is one used in the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation report "L.A. Theatres at Risk 2021." It's on YouTube.

A section through the stagehouse. Also see the full width drawing that includes the office building. It's from the Huntington Library's Morgan, Walls & Clements Archive. On their site the section can be seen as drawing #3810. Thanks to Mike Hume for locating the theatre's drawings on the Huntington site.

A detail of the stage from the 1909 plan set by Morgan & Walls. Also see a full main floor plan, a stage basement detail and a full basement plan. Thanks to William Cervera for providing these. Also see the very similar first floor plan from the Huntington Library's set, their drawing #3802. Also see a plan at flyfloor level.

Proscenium width: 30' 8" is the dimension on the 1909 plans. 30' was the dimension given in the 1919 publication "Vaudeville Trails Thru the West."

Proscenium height: 24'

Stage depth: 29' 6" from upstage side of the smoke pocket to the face of the backwall columns. The smoke pocket is about 6" deep. 26' was the dimension given for the depth in "Vaudeville Trails Thru the West." The exterior dimension of the stagehouse on the plans is 32' 9".

Apron: 2' at center. It curves back to meet the proscenium at the sides.

Depth of "one": It was 6' in the 1919 setup.

Orchestra pit: Currently it's covered. The width at the center is 7' 2" from the front of the apron to the pit rail. They were running with an orchestra of 7 in 1919.

Proscenium plasterline to balcony overhang: 37'

Stage wall to wall: 56'. The theatre is on a 60' wide lot with the stagehouse running the full width.

Wing space: About 13' each side

Stagehouse construction: Reinforced concrete

Stage floor construction: Tongue and groove perpendicular to the footlights with diagonal underlayment. Support below is a combination of concrete and wood.

Traps: One, upstage right

Flyfloors: There were originally flyfloors both stage left and stage right and a bridge along the back wall to connect them. It's all been removed. There are holes in the sidewall concrete where the floors once were and along the back wall where the connecting bridge was. There are access doors to nowhere at fly floor level from the fire escapes both stage left and stage right.

Rigging: Hemp. The current pinrail is bolted to the stage right wall at stage level.

Sets of lines: 38 were rigged in 1919.

Asbestos: Still in place. The bottom edge shows below the proscenium arch. The arbor is up against the proscenium wall stage right.

Grid height: 52'

Grid access: There's a ladder from stage level upstage right. There are also doors at grid level on the downstage left and downstage right walls. These can be accessed by exterior ladders on the fire escapes. Ladders also continue up to the stagehouse roof.

Roof access: In addition to the ladders from the fire escapes, there's also a hatch on the roof upstage right. Currently it's sealed with a layer of roofing material.

Grid construction: Not investigated. As part of the support structure two concrete encased trusses run below the grid parallel to the proscenium.

Loading: Originally there was a loading door stage left into Mercantile Place, although it doesn't show on the plans. Since the arrival of the Arcade Building the only loading means are down the exit passages from Broadway on either side of the building or through the auditorium. There were never any doors out the back of the stagehouse until one was cut for construction in 2020.

Basement access: Stairs are located downstage left and downstage right.

Number of dressing rooms: 12, all in the basement. Later plan versions show one added at stage level offstage left. It no longer exists.

Dimmerboard: Stage right. It's still in place although it looks like a 20s redo.

Borderlights: 3 were still hanging in 2011.

Footlights: Still in place and not covered.

Floorpockets: 3 per side show on the plans. They can be observed in the trap room.

Power: 110 V. AC or DC in 1919. It's unknown when DC service to Broadway was discontinued.

Some of the stage data comes from the 1919 edition of "Vaudeville Trails Thru the West." Thanks to Mike Hume for finding it on Internet Archive. Visit his terrific Historic Theatre Photography site for photos of the theatres he's explored in L.A. and elsewhere. The book notes that Carl J. Walker was the manager. They changed shows on Mondays with three shows during the week, four on Saturdays and four or five on Sundays.

A look onto the Arcade stage from the main floor in 2011. Still hanging were the main drape, screen frame, borderlights, and a few other odds and ends. Thanks to William Cervera for his photo.

A peek offstage right. Note the ladder upstage right to the grid. Photo: Bill Counter - 2007

The dimmerboard stage right. Note that it's not live front and, thus, not original. Probably a 20s re-do. It's squeezed into a very narrow space. The handles at the top controlling resistance dimmers are attached to tracker rods. The dimmers themselves are in the basement. It's not an elaborate system -- less than 20 dimmers for both stage and house. Photo: Joël Huxtable - 2011

A closer look at some of the switches on the board. Photo: Joël Huxtable - 2011. Thanks!

The pinrail, bolted to the stage right wall. Photo: Bill Counter - 2011

A look up to the grid. That's the house teaser and screen frame at the top of the photo. Note the two concrete trusses below the grid. Photo: Bill Counter - 2011

The loading door on the stage left wall. Well, it used to be a loading door that went out to Mercantile Place. But the Arcade Building (1923) was constructed up against the south side of the theatre's stagehouse. Note the "pegs on a board" above the loading door -- it looks like part of the smoke vent release system. Photo: Bill Counter - 2011

Some interesting proscenium lighting, seen here on the stage left side. It's not a cove all the way around the proscenium -- this just goes up about 8 feet. Photo: Bill Counter - 2011

A post-retail view of the empty stage. To the left of the ramp note the new access into the basement, used during the rehab of the office building. There's a new door cut in the back wall stage right, going out to the parking lot north of the Arcade Building. Thanks to Hillsman Wright for his February 2020 photo.

Los Angeles Theatres

Pantages/Arcade Theatre: stage

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