Philharmonic Auditorium

427 W. 5th St. and Olive St. near 5th Los Angeles, CA 90013 | map |

Opened: November 7, 1906 as the Temple Auditorium with a production of "Aida." It was a $350,000 project funded by the Temple Baptist Church and local businessmen. It was built on the site of the 1887 Hazard's Pavilion. Over on the left is the lobby end of the theatre on Olive St. One could also enter on 5th St. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding this great postcard. 

Architects: Charles F. Whittlesey, Otto H. Neher and engineer E.R. Harris designed what was at the time the largest theatre west of Chicago and nearly the first reinforced concrete building in Los Angeles. It was structurally advanced for its time and used no columns to support the balconies. The title for the first reinforced concrete structure in L.A. perhaps goes to the 1905 Hill St. addition to the department store building that is now Grand Central Market.

The auditorium was much influenced by the design of Louis Sullivan's Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. The nine story building had retail on the 5th Street side, a recital hall and a basement banquet hall. The theatre was used on Sundays by the Temple Baptist Church.

Morgan, Walls & Clements did some renovations in 1934. Their drawings are included in the archives of the firm at the Huntington Library. See drawing #7005 for some stair and aisle reconfiguration, drawing #7006 for mezzanine toilet revisions, drawing #7007 for a section view of new main floor foundations and risers, drawing #7008 for new main floor seating plan, drawing #7009 for more stair and ramp work. Thanks to Mike Hume for locating these.

Claud Beelman designed a major moderne facade renovation in 1938. See details of that project lower on the page.

Seating: The capacity that was originally announced in the L.A. Times before construction was 5,000 but that was quite an exaggeration. The Times article also said there were to be two 950 seat halls called the Choral Hall and Berean Hall on the second floor and 118 office/studio spaces.

It's listed in the 1907-1908 Henry's Official Western Theatrical Guide as having a capacity of 2,226. A c.1940 postcard from Temple Baptist Church listed the capacity as 2,700 with a 2nd floor hall (then called Burdette Hall) at 650 and a chapel with 200.

It was 2,670 according to the 1949 edition of the "ATPAM Theatre, Arena and Auditorium Guide" with 1,040 on the main floor, 619 in the 1st balcony, 373 in the mezzanine, 522 in the 2nd balcony and 166 in the boxes.

Stage: 

The proscenium was 46' wide x 32' high according to Henry's 1907-08 Western Theatrical Guide. 50' x 35' were the measurements given in the 1949 ATPAM Guide. Some of the best backstage views we have are from movies shot at the theatre. Head to the bottom of the page for screenshots and links to pages with more images.

Stage depth: 42' was Henry's number, 45' from curtain to backwall was the ATPAM number. It was 4' from the footlights to the curtain line.

Wall to wall: 90' was Henry's number, 80' according to the ATPAM Guide.

Grid height: 80' listed in Henry's, 76' 6" in the ATPAM Guide. It was a hemp house, rigged with 50 linesets.

Dimmerboard: Offstage right. Originally it was a live front board, later replaced. Henry's guide in 1907 noted that at the time they used both gas and electric for lighting. Road power listed in 1949 was 1,600 amps 110-220V AC and 400 amps at 110V DC.

Dressing rooms: The 1919 edition of Vaudeville Trails notes that there were 3 dressing rooms at stage level and 9 others. The 1949 ATPAM Guide says 2 at stage level, 19 on upper floors, 4 chorus rooms in the basement.

The stage data listed in the 1907-1908 edition of "Henry's Official Western Theatrical Guide can be seen on Google Books. The 1919 edition of "Vaudeville Trails Thru the West," also known as "Herbert Lloyd's Vaudeville Guide," is on Internet Archive. Thanks to Mike Hume for finding it. Among their tidbits they note that there were no Sunday shows. The 1949 edition of the "ATPAM Theatre, Arena and Auditorium Guide" is on Bob Foreman's terrific Vintage Theatre Catalogs site.  

 

The site of the Auditorium as seen on Plate 7 of the 1910 Baist Real Estate Survey Map from Historic Map Works. That's 5th at the bottom of the image, Hill Street on the right. Pershing Square, then known as Central park, is out of the frame at the bottom, south of 5th.

 

 

The cover for the program used for the week of November 19, 1906 for the Lambardi Grand Opera Company's productions of "Carmen" and "Il Trovatore." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a post on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. His post also included several interior pages. In the program they call it "Theater Beautiful" and noted: "The Only Fire Proof Theater in the City." 

 

Ads for attractions playing the "Theater Beautiful" in April 1907. Sparks M. Berry was manager.

A 1911 L.A. Times ad for exhibition at "The Auditorium - Theater Beautiful" of a Kinemacolor feature. It was a British two color process that involved photographing and projecting alternate frames using red and green filters, requiring both a modified camera and a special projector. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the ad. Note in the upper right a mention that L.E. Behymer was manager at the time.

Billy Clune arrives: In 1914 the theatre was leased to pioneer film producer and exhibitor Billy Clune and became the grandest movie theatre west of New York. There was (still) church on Sundays, but on the other six days there were many concerts as well as feature films with elaborate prologues. It was advertised as Clune's Auditorium or Clune's Theatre Beautiful.

A 1915 ad located by Ken McIntyre announcing the February 8th premiere of D.W. Griffith's "startling" picture "The Clansman."

A 1915 program for "The Clansman" at the Auditorium. The film was soon retitled "Birth of a Nation." It opened February 8 for a 26 week run with many screenings sold out. The local censor board had made a few cuts. Thanks to Cezar Del Valle for sharing this item from his collection. Check out his latest explorations at Theatre Talks. An earlier showing in the area had been January 1 and 2 at the Loring Opera House in Riverside.

The July 15, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World mentioned Clune's roof sign: "The Auditorium has a very elaborate sign six stories in height on top of a nine story building. It contains 6,000 lamps and has the largest flasher in the world, making 150,000 contacts per minute." The issue is on Google Books.

"All this Week" - a 1917 ad for the Fox production of "Cleopatra" with Theda Bara at Clune's. The ad appears on a William H. Peck web page "Images of Cleopatra in Films." Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality who found the ad and included it (along with some semi-nude images of Ms. Bara from the film) in his Noirish post #32997.

A September 1919 ad for the world premiere of "The World And Its Woman" with Geraldine Farrar. Thanks to theatre sleuth Ken McIntyre for posting the ad on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.

Although the Auditorium's movie career was brief and it wasn't built as a movie palace, Clune's operation turned it into one. He used a 20 piece orchestra and booked the biggest pictures he could get for this venue. Given the size of the theatre, the impressive architecture, and Clune's dazzling productions, this building takes the prize as the first true Los Angeles movie palace. See the Cameo Theatre page for a timeline of Billy Clune's other exhibition ventures.

The L.A. Phil takes over: They had done their first season in 1919 at the Trinity Auditorium, a less than satisfactory hall in several respects. For the 1920 season they signed a long lease on the Auditorium and renamed it Philharmonic Auditorium.

The theatre was also used for Broadway shows produced by the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera for 27 seasons. Most of the productions also played as San Francisco Civic Light Opera shows at the Curran Theatre there. 

Among many other noteworthy events, George Gershwin conducted his last concerts on February 10 and 11, 1937 at the Auditorium. Brady Westwater commented in a post on the SoCal Historic Architecture private Facebook group: 

"Besides his being commissioned to write 'Rhapsody in Blue' only because of something that happened after WW I at the Alexandria Hotel just down the street (an event which later led to the discovery and signing of Bing Crosby at the Million Dollar Theater), Gershwin later conducted 'Rhapsody in Blue' at this theater for the last time on the night he first felt his brain tumor. After he passed away, the production of 'Porgy and Bess' he had arranged to have produced at the Auditorium was the first financially successful production of the musical/opera." 

Gershwin's appearance was re-created for the 1945 Warner Bros. film "Rhapsody in Blue" with scenes shot at the Auditorium.  

 

The exterior goes moderne:

 

Claud Beelman, L.A.'s King of Deco, did a remodel in 1938 which removed the mansard roof and gave the building a moderne facade. The main auditorium entrance was moved to Olive St. Beelman did many other notable Los Angeles buildings including the Eastern Columbia Building, 1930. The illustration appeared in the March 27, 1938 issue of the L.A. Times along with the article "Notable New Project Told - Plans Prepared For Remodeling of Large Downtown Structure."

A popular series of concerts organized by Norman Granz titled "Jazz at the Philharmonic" debuted July 2, 1944. The initial concert featured Nat King Cole, Les Paul, Buddy Rich and others. Thanks to Carey Fosse for locating a Wikipedia article about the series. Many U.S., Canadian and European tours of the programs continued through 1959.   

 

The cover of the program for the 12th tour of the "Jazz at the Philharmonic" series. Thanks to Thomas L. Graham for sharing this.

In the 50s the building got a huge roof sign again. At one point it advertised Alka Seltzer, later the Temple Baptist Church. Broadway shows in 1963's Civic Light Opera season included "Camelot" and "Carousel." The latter production starred John Raitt and Jan Clayton.

Closing: The end of the Auditorium as a performing arts facility came in 1964 and was noted by the L.A. Times in their November 2 story "Final Curtain to Fall in Old Auditorium -  Violin Concert on Nov. 20 to Mark Finish of Philharmonic as Entertainment Center." The concert was given by Leonid Kogan. 

Both the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera moved their shows to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion when it opened in December 1964. This building was then just known as the Auditorium Building after the Phil departed.  

The Times had a 1979 article about the building's impending demise. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding it. The report:

"For nearly sixty years, the names of Galli-Curci, Tito Schipa, John McCormack, Mary Garden, the Ballet Russe, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and of course the Light Opera Association, as well as many others, graced the marquee above 5th Street. All that changed in 1965, when, except for an occasional production of a Broadway musical, the theatrical lights dimmed at the Philharmonic and the scene changed to the new Music Center. Since then the 2,600-seat auditorium with its vast stage, ceiling of concentric sound circles and acoustically perfect interior has been dark-and silent-except on Sundays when the faithful attend Temple Baptist Church worship services.

"Now that is changing. The auditorium and its adjoining nine-story office building overlooking Pershing Square have been sold by the church to Auditorium Management Company for a reported $3 million. The new group of entrepreneurs, investors and developers has started to renovate the old auditorium to return it to its original grandeur as a showcase for Broadway-type productions.

"David Houk, president of the management company, said the auditorium-office building had been for sale for five years but his group had doubts about purchasing it because, as he put it, 'Downtown is dead.' Enter Stephen Rothman, a specialist in theater restoration who has done similar work at the old Paramount Theater in Aurora, Ill., and the Hartman Theater in Stamford, Conn. 'This is a true Broadway stage,' said Rothman, 'It just needs a little sanding. Otherwise it’s in incredible shape.'"

Demolition: Houk was unable to secure financing for a restoration of the theatre. It was demolished in 1985 with little public outcry. Jerry Belcher commented in "Wreckers' Ball Brings Down Final Curtain at Auditorium," an April 5, 1985 L.A. Times story:

"George Gershwin played his last concert there. Booker T. Washington lectured there. Igor Stravinsky conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra there. Buck and Bubbles, not to mention Pavlova and Nijinsky, danced there. Jack Benny and Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle joked there. In short, almost everybody who was anybody in the performing arts of the 20th Century entertained there from the day its velvet curtains first rose in 1906 until its faded curtains dropped for the last time in 1964. And all during that time--and up until 1978--hundreds of thousands worshiped there...."

Plans for a new building fell through. The site became a parking lot and remained that way for 3 decades. Hillsman Wright of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation noted: "David Houk tore the Phil down and was trying to develop the lot for years. The 76 story condo-hotel being the last failed effort. He did try to atone by saving the Pasadena Playhouse and the Variety Arts Center. Such a shame to lose this one. I can imagine the street scene with both the Metropolitan and Phil with capacity audiences."

Wikipedia has a story about the history of the site and David Houk's efforts to get the Park Fifth project built. It finally stalled for good (for him anyway) in the recession of 2008. The site was in play again in 2013 for a revised version of the project about half the size of the initial version. Adrian Glick Kudler had the story in October 2013 for Curbed L.A.: "Whoa: New Tower Planned..." Curbed has a whole archive of Park Fifth stories to look at.

Site status:  The long delayed residential/retail project is now there. It's in several chunks. The low-rise portion is called the Trademark Residences. The tower is Park Fifth Tower. Strange things were unearthed during excavations. See Morgan Terrinini's September 1, 2016 post on the DTLA Development Facebook page for many photos and comments.

The auditorium:

Looking across to house right. Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this photo from his collection. It's on Flickr where he notes that it carries a March 1948 date. The Los Angeles Public Library has a muddier version of this. Check out the Angel City Press book Eric wrote with Tom Zimmerman: "Spectacular Illumination: Neon Los Angeles 1925-1965." Also see Eric's 2016 book "Signs of Life: Los Angeles is the City of Neon." 

 

 

A box detail from Eric's photo.

 

 

 

A postcard of the house right boxes from the collection of Kevin Walsh. A version with quite different coloration can be seen on the Los Angeles Public Library website. The copy on the back of Kevin's copy: "A Detail, Interior of Auditorium, Los Angeles, Cal. This beautiful building is situated on the corner of Fifth and Olive Streets, and was built by the local Baptists. Robt. J. Burdette, Pastor."  

A box detail from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. They give it a 1931 date. 

 

 

 

The stage with the Sunday church set in place. Thanks to Kevin Walsh for sharing this image of a card in his collection. It was published by Reider. A smaller version of this, as well as other Auditorium views, can be seen with "Olive Street and 3rd Street," Chapter 12 of Brent Dickerson's epic "A Trip to Old Los Angeles."

 

A black and white version appears on page 27 of the great Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres in Los Angeles" by Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, Amy Ronnebeck Hall and Marc Wanamaker. Most of the photos in the book are from Mr. Wanamaker's Bison Archives. There's a preview of the book on Google Books.

 

A c.1934 look across the main floor from the Tom B'hend and Preston Kaufmann Collection, part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick Library Digital Collection.

 

A 40s view of the Philharmonic onstage. Thanks to Matty Pessimist for sharing the photo. He comments: "My great grandfather played in the LA Phil for years. Here's a group photo from the 1940s taken at the Auditorium. Always liked this backdrop."

A view from a house right box. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.   

 

A 1951 view from a proscenium box. It's a Herald Examiner photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 

The rear of the auditorium as seen in a postcard from the collection of Brooklyn-based theatre historian Cezar Del Valle. It has a 1908 postmark. Keep up with Cezar's latest explorations on the Theatre Talks website or his Theatre Talks blog. There's a black and white version of the card in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

A 1923 photo of the 4,229 potential investors in the Palos Verdes Estates development project. Note Clune's projection booth at the rear of the main floor. The photo is from the Palos Verdes Peninsula Library District. Thanks to realtor Maureen Megowan for posting it on her Palos Verde Estates History page.

A wide angle view dated 1928. The photo from the California Historical Society appears on the USC Digital Library website.

A perhaps 1930s look to the rear of the house when it was filled with the followers of  Paramahamsa Yogananda. That's the man himself circled in the lower right. A version of the photo appears on "A Pioneer of Yoga in the West," a page on the site of the Self Realization Fellowship.

An Otto Rothschild photo of the rear of the house. Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing his version of this shot on Flickr. He has a 1964 date for it. It's also in the Los Angeles Public Library collection, where they give it a 1966 date.   

A 30s dome detail in the Los Angeles Public Library collection that was once belonged to the MGM Art Department.

An undated view from one of the balconies that appears in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 

 

 

A 1964 look down from the Eric Lynxwiler collection that he's shared on Flickr. 

A 1966 balcony view by Rothschild Photo. It's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 

Onstage:

A look down on to the stage. Note the hemp rigging. It's a 1962 photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.


Lobby areas: 

 

Would you believe that no photos have surfaced? Except in the movies. Joan Crawford is making a run across the main floor lobby at the end of "Possessed" (MGM, 1931). The Auditorium was being used as the site of a political rally. Clark Gable was running for governor and his opponents tried to make dirt over his affair with Crawford. 

 

 

Crawford is headed out the Olive St. exit doors in "Possessed." Clarence Brown directed, based on a play called "The Mirage" by Edgar Selwyn. Leonore J. Coffee did the screenplay. The cinematography was by Oliver T. Marsh. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for many more shots from thr scene at the Auditorium.

 

A view from a scene in the 1st balcony lobby from "Staying Alive." It was filmed in 1983. Two years later the theatre was gone. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more screenshots from the film.

The recital hall:

An undated photo of the proscenium of the 650 seat hall from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 

More exterior views:
Many of the early views are difficult to date. If you have any ideas or corrections, please leave a comment at the bottom of the page.

1906 - A March 27 construction photo showing formwork in place for the roof trusses and the wall along Olive St. It's from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The one on their site omits some scribbling on the top. Floyd Bariscale has the whole thing on Flickr.

1906 - A construction view from the Security Pacific Bank collection at the Los Angeles Public Library.

 

c.1907 - An early drawing of the building from the collection of Brooklyn-based theatre historian Cezar Del Valle. A caption noted that Sparks M. Berry was manager at the time. Keep up with Cezar's latest explorations on the Theatre Talks website or his Theatre Talks blog. Thanks, Cezar! There was a 1908 postmark on a version of this card that Ken McIntyre shared on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.

 

1907 - A view by an unknown photographer from the California State Library collection.

 

c.1907 - A lovely look across the corner of Central Park. The card is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. That's a monument to the Spanish American War on the corner.

 

c.1907 - Another card with a vista from Central Park. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this one to include in a thread about the building on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. 

c.1907 - Patrons lined up for a show. It's a California Historical Society photo in the USC Digital Library collection. USC also has a very similar version of this one, also from the California Historical Society, under another URL.  

c.1907 - A detail of the Olive St. facade from the USC photo.

 

1907 - Looking east on 5th St. It's a photo that appears on the Water and Power Associates Early Los Angeles City Views Page Two where they credit it to the Department of Water and Power collection. The photo can also be seen on the USC Digital Library website as being from the California Historical Society collection. 

 

 

c.1908 - "Auditorium, Largest Concrete Building in the World..." It's a card with a 1909 postmark in Elizabeth Fuller's "Old Los Angeles Postcards" collection on Flickr. Thanks, Elizabeth! At last look she had 586 cards to browse.

1908 - A panorama looking southeast that was taken by California Panorama Co. It's in the Library of Congress collection.

1908 - A detail from the panorama giving us a look at the top of the theatre. If you had wondered where the fan room was, there it is atop the stagehouse.

1909 - The stage end of the building shows up on the far left in this 1909 panorama looking northwest from 4th & Broadway. The photo by Chas. Z. Bailey is in the Library of Congress collection. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor R Carlton for posting the 1908 and 1909 panoramas (and others) on his Noirish post #9754.

 

1909 - A detail of the left end of Mr. Bailey's photo. That's Hill St. running left to right this side of the stagehouse.

 

c.1909 - Looking east on 5th. Check out that fine Sullivanesque ornament on the corner storefront. It's a card from the collection of Michelle Gerdes. She comments: "Postmarked 1910. It's one of my favorite of this theatre because the have the street wrong. Says west 6th street not 5th. And I love the disco ball over the entrance." 

That's the 1905 vintage California Club down the block, on the northwest corner of 5th and Hill. It was replaced in 1930 by the Title Guarantee Building, a design by Parkinson and Parkinson. For more views of that one and other buildings behind the Philharmonic see the page for the College Theatre, 449 S. Hill St.

 

c.1909 - A version of the card from Elizabeth Fuller's collection on Flickr. Note that the "Robin Hood" lettering across the street has been removed. And that's not all. Michelle Gerdes comments: "I see in this version that all power lines, poles, etc. have been removed. The streetcar looks a little silly with it's power connector reaching to the sky for nothing."

c.1909 - The photo the two cards above were based on, evidently one taken by Martin Behrman. This is on the USC Digital Library website from the California Historical Society. They note that the streetcar says "Washington St."

 

c.1910 - A view from the Ernest Marquez collection at the Huntington Library. Thanks to James J. Chun for locating this one for a post on the SoCal Historic Architecture Facebook page. That's the California Club down the block to the right. 

 

c.1910 - A detail of the Olive St. theatre entrance taken from the Huntington Library photo. It appears that they were already having problems with the stucco.

c.1910 - An early postcard view. Thanks to Brian Michael McCray for sharing this one from his collection on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page.

 

c.1910 -  Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding this view looking up Olive St. It was a post on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. 

 

c.1910 - A view west toward the State Normal School. It's a photo in the California Historical Society's C.C. Pierce Collection that's on the USC Digital Library website. There's a big electric "A" atop the Auditorium's marquee. There's a slightly different version of this in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

1910 - Looking west on 5th toward the State Normal School. The building on the corner is the California Club, replaced in 1930 by the Security Title Building. It's a photo that appears on the Water and Power Associates Early Los Angeles City Views Page Two where they credit it to the discussion forum Noirish Los Angeles. The photo also appears in the California State Library collection where it's credited to Martin Behrman. 

 

1910 - A detail from the Martin Behrman photo. While this has been dated as 1908, look in the next block at the construction fence and stonework going up for the new Auditorium Hotel, opened in early 1911. It was later known as the San Carlos Hotel. See Nathan Marsak's article about the building on the site On Bunker Hill.

 

 

c.1912 - Looking west on 5th toward the State Normal School. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding this one.  

c.1912 - A card looking north across Central Park. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding it. The Auditorium Hotel is on the left.

c.1913 - "Paris Grand Opera" signage seen atop the marquee as we look west on 5th. The building on the far right is the California Club. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Handsome Stranger for finding the photo on eBay and posting it (along with some other nice vintage views) on his Noirish post #4301.

c.1913 - A card looking north on Hill toward the tunnel. That's the California Club at the center of the image. The pointed tower of City Hall is over to the right on Broadway. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding this one.

c.1913 - A great view north across the park. The fountain in the center of the park dates from a 1910 redesign by John Parkinson. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo.

1913 - A lovely view east on 5th with the Auditorium Hotel, later renamed the San Carlos, on the left. The Auditorium itself is beyond. Thanks to Bill Gabel for finding the photo for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.

More pre-1914 views: facade from the park - c.1905- USC | corner view postcard - undated - California State Library | facade from the park - c.1910 - USC | east from Grand - top of west facade - c. 1910 - USC | distance view with mountains - Martin Behrman - c.1910 - CSL | corner view - c.1910 - LAPL | northwest from 2nd & Spring - c.1910 - LAPL | north on Olive from above - C.C. Pierce - 1913 - LAPL | across the park from above - 1913 - USC | through the park looking north - c.1913 - USC |

c.1914 - A look east on 5th after Billy Clune had taken over the theatre. It's a photo that appears on the Water and Power Associates Early City Views Page Two. The streetcar says "West 6th St" and "Melrose Ave."

c.1914 - A detail from the previous photo.

c.1915 - A view of the Clune's roof sign from a building on 6th. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo. Also see a Los Angeles Public Library photo of another Clune's roof sign on top of a three-story downtown office building, an early home of Title Guarantee Co.  

c.1915 - A card from Elizabeth Fuller's terrific "Old Los Angeles Postcards" collection on Flickr.

c.1915 - A view from the soon-to-be-demolished State Normal School, now the site of the L.A. Central Library. Note on the far right the roof of the Auditorium and the two turrets that faced onto Olive St. The C.C. Pierce photo  from the California Historical Society is in the USC Digital Library collection.

c.1915 - A detail from the C.C. Pierce photo.

c.1915 - A panoramic view looking southeast from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The Auditorium, and the back of Clune's roof sign, are on the far right.

1915 - Looking east on 5th. It's a photo in the California State Library collection. The photo is also in the USC Digital Library collection from the California Historical Society.

1915 - A G. Haven Bishop photo from the Huntington Library showing the Auditorium lit up under Billy Clune's management. Somehow when the Philharmonic got the place in 1920 they didn't go in for this sort of thing. It's part of a set taken for the Southern California Edison Co.

1915 - A detail from the G. Haven Bishop photo giving us a closer look at the facade's stud lighting.

1915 - A detail of Clune's waterfall roof sign from the G. Haven Bishop photo. 

c.1919 -  A corner view. Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this image from his collection. It's on Flickr. A muddier version appears on the Water and Power Associates Early Los Angeles City Views Page Two where they credit it to the Los Angeles Public Library.  

 

c.1919 - A look at the Clune's signage from across the park. It's a Martin Behrman photo in the California State Library collection. 

c.1920 - Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this card for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 

1920 - A lovely view west on 5th toward Clune's. The monument we see here in the northeast corner of the park is to the Spanish American War. The park was renamed Pershing Square in 1918. That's a touring car for hire to Pasadena parked at the curb. The photo appears on the site Shorpy. Also see the high resolution version.

1920 - A detail from the Shorpy photo. The theatre is playing "The Confession," a January release with Henry Walthall. Mr. Walthall had been the star and an uncredited assistant director on "Birth of a Nation," which played a big engagement at the theatre in 1915 under its earlier title "The Clansman."

1920 - A detail of the top of the building from the Shorpy photo.

early 1920s - A view of the rear of the building. We're on Hill at the Pacific Electric Hill St. Station before construction of the Subway Terminal Building. The view is southwest toward 5th & Olive. Note that the framework for the Clune's sign is still on top of the building. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo. Two additional Hill St. Station views are on Tourmaline's Noirish Los Angeles post #16126.

1920s? - An Auditorium Hotel postcard. The building, later called the San Carlos Hotel, opened in 1911. It was on the northwest corner of 5th & Olive, in the block west of the theatre. It was a design of Otto Neher (part of the Auditorium team) and Chauncey Fitch Skilling.

 

c.1924 - An aerial view from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The Biltmore (1923) is there but the lot to the west is still vacant. The Central Library would open there in 1926. Note the water tank at the bottom just right of center. It's on the stagehouse of the Metropolitan/Paramount Theatre (1923). 

 

1924 - Cannons on 5th St. It's a photo from the Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection in the UCLA Library Digital Collections. From page A3 of the February 22 Times: "Cannon arrive for monument: brought from San Francisco to Pershing Square - original bronze guardians of Golden Gate - Corner-stone war shaft to be laid today." On the other side of Hill St. note the Pershing Square Building under construction. 

 

 

c.1925 - A postcard in the California State Library collection. The vertical sign had been redone to say "Philharmonic Auditorium."

 

c.1925 - A detail from the California State Library's card. The poster is for English actor and singer Louis Graveure, known as "The Mystery Man." He made a yearly west coast tour. See a Wikipedia article about him.

c.1925 - Looking east on 5th in a view from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The building on the right across Hill St., the Pershing Square Building, opened in 1924.

c.1925 - A Shriners parade on Olive St. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.  

c.1927 - A corner view from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

 

1927 - A parade view north on Olive. It's a photo in the UCLA Digital Library collection. Thanks to Ken McIntyre spotting it for a post on Photos of Los Angeles. 

 

c.1929 - Looking west on 5th St. across Broadway toward the Auditorium. Thanks to Paul Ayers for sharing this photo from his collection on a Facebook post. 

1930s - It's a card from the Brian Michael McCray collection appearing on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles. Brian comments: "Do you know what they did with all that vegetation when they dug out the garage in 1951? Sold it to Walt to put in "The Jungle Cruise" where it exists today."

On the left, the Biltmore opened in 1923, a design by the New York firm Schultz & Weaver. They also did the Biltmore Theatre around the corner on 5th and the Jonathan Club on Figueroa St. The building to the right of the Auditorium with the flag is the Title Guarantee Building, a 1930 design by Parkinson and Parkinson. Across Hill St. farther to the right, the brown building is the Pershing Square Building, dating from 1924.

 

c.1935 - A photo from the Eric Lynxwiler collection that he shared on Flickr. 

c.1937 - A postcard from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

 

 

c.1937 - A detail from the postcard above. Thanks to Christina Rice, head of the Library's photo collection, for supplying the image.

 

c.1937 - A fine view west from 5th & Hill. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the card for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. 

 

1938 - Finishing up the moderne facade renovations designed by Claud Beelman. A look on the far left reveals debris in the street and an unfinished marquee for what would become the Auditorium's new main entrance. Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this photo from his collection. He has it on Flickr. 

c.1939 - Looking west on 5th toward the Auditorium's new facade. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. Joe Vogel notes that across Olive the San Carlos Hotel still had its original facade.

 

1940s? - North across Pershing Square. Note Claud Beelman's 1938 vintage moderne facade on the Auditorium. It's a card in the Elizabeth Fuller collection on Flickr.  

 

 

1940s - A Temple Baptist Church card from Jeffrey Carlson's collection.

1940s - North on Olive. It's a card from Elizabeth Fuller's great collection on Flickr. Thanks, Elizabeth!

1948 - Looking south on Olive toward 5th on a smoggy day in January. It's a L.A. Examiner photo in the USC Digital Library collection.

1948 - A view east on 5th. The marquee is advertising the July world premiere of the opera "Magdalena." Thanks to Sean Ault for locating the photo in the RTD collection. 

1948 - The 5th St. entrance. Note a bit of the neon for the San Carlos Hotel in the next block. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.

 

c.1950 - Protestors at a concert by opera singer Kirsten Flagstad denouncing "Norwegian Axis Sally." It's a photo from the Southern California Center for Social Studies and Research. It had appeared on the USC Digital Library site but seems to have gone missing. The site's caption: "During World War II, Flagstad returned to her native Norway, then-occupied by the Nazis. Flagstad's husband collaborated with the Nazis and after the war was arrested for being a war profiteer. Although Flagstad was not involved with Nazi activities, and refused to sing for the Germans, many people denounced her as a Nazi collaborator."

 

c.1950 - Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this card he included in a thread about the building on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. 

1951 - A view east on 5th to check out the marquee on that side of the building. The Dick Whittington Studio photo is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The marquee was advertising a production of "Where's Charley?" starring Ray Bolger.

 

1951 - Clearing the park to dig it out for the underground parking garage. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo.

 

1951 - A look across while the garage project was underway. It's a photo taken for the L.A. Examiner that's in the USC Digital Library collection. Thanks to Scott Collette for locating this one and nine other 1951 shots for a post on his Forgotten Los Angeles Facebook page. The set is also on Instagram.

 

1952 - Fans lined up for a Judy Garland Concert. It's a L.A. Examiner photo, one of ten in a set in the USC Digital Library. 

 

1952 - Looking across from 6th and Hill. The United Cigar store was in the corner space of the Paramount Theatre building. By November 1952 See's Candies had taken over that space. Thanks to Martin Turnbull for locating the shot by an unknown photographer for a post on his website. It's on Instagram from Vintage Kodachrome Slides.

 

c.1955? - A retouched look at the building from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Note the new Temple Baptist roof sign, replacing the one for Alka Seltzer. On the far left it gives us a rare view of Claud Beelman's modernized Olive St. facade. The buildings to the right have vanished.

 

c.1958 - A new "Auditorium Bldg." vertical on the corner of the building. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this one to include in a thread about the building on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. 

1958 - Lining up to buy tickets for Meredith Willson's "The Music Man." It's a photo from the Herald Examiner collection of the Los Angeles Public Library.

1960 - Looking west toward the Biltmore. The San Carlos Hotel is in the block beyond. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo.

1962 - Looking east on 5th with the Biltmore Theatre on the right. It's a William Reagh photo in the California State Library collection.

1963 - A great look down Olive from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

 

1965 - A lovely view north across Pershing Square toward the Auditorium. It's on the Neat Stuff Blog in a 2009 post called "Vintage Los Angeles." The photo is credited to "nicepictures," a seller on eBay. Note the new light fixtures in the park.

 

1966 - A William Reagh photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

 

1966 - Another William Reagh photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 

 

 

c.1968 - A view east on 5th. The Biltmore Theatre had been on the right where we see the parking lot. It's a William Reagh photo in the California State Library collection. They give it a 1987 date. 

 

 

1974 - A look across to the building from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The parking lot behind the National Tie Shops kiosk had been the location of the Petropolitan/Paramount Theatre. Note the 1925 vintage phone company building on Olive St. getting its new cladding. 

 

 

 

c.1976 - A look north across the park. Ken McIntyre found the photo for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. Note the new cladding on that phone company building on Olive behind the trees. That phone company microwave tower over on Grand dates from 1961.

1980 - A runaway semi on Olive St. It's a photo by Mike Sergieff in the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. They note: "The Philharmonic Auditorium (upper left) was later demolished for a parking lot. The First German Methodist Church, a Googie coffee shop, and San Carlos Hotel (upper right) were later demolished and replaced with the headquarters for the Southern California Gas Company." The photo had appeared on July 31 with this caption:  

 

"Spectators look down Olive Street towards Pershing Square to see all of the wreckage caused by a semi-trailer truck that lost control. Driver Kenny Bus, 28, of Thousand Oaks, was driving at 7 a.m. when the brakes on his truck failed. He struck a light pole (center), set a Chevrolet Maverick afire (left), plowed into five taxis, and ultimately landed on one of the ramps heading down into the Pershing Square parking garage.

 

 

1980s - A look south on Olive with the Auditorium on the left and the San Carlos Hotel on the right. It's from Marsak's lovely article about the hotel on the site On Bunker Hill. It was demolished around 1988.

 

1984 - A California Historical Society photo in the USC Digital Library collection. The photo is also in the California State Library collection.

 

1985 - The Olive St. facade during demolition. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this photo taken by Penni Gladstone that appeared in the Times. The caption: "Church gives way to wrecking ball... and a reflective Dick Harris of wrecking crew."

1985 - A shot taken by William Reagh during demolition that's in the California State Library collection. Over on the left it can be seen that they've been taking down the theatre portion of the building first. 

 

 

1985 - The exciting new parking lot. The William Reagh photo is in the California State Library collection. 

 

1988 - A Chis Gulker photo offering a fine look at the parking lot where the Auditorium had been. It's in the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. It appeared with the caption: "In 1984 the park got a major face lift; phase 2 begins next year." Also see a 1993 shot by Cary Moore with renovations underway.

2016 - Excavation for the Park Fifth project finally began on the site in August. Thanks to Morgan Terrinoni for his photo appearing as a September 1 post the DTLA Development Facebook page. We're looking east toward Hill St. with the Security Title Building on the right at 5th and Hill. See the post for a fascinating array of comments and photos about the remains of the Auditorium unearthed during the dig.

2016 - A look west toward the sidewalk along Olive, at the left where the orange fencing is. At the right is the Subway Terminal Building, now a loft complex known as Metro 417. We're standing about where the upstage left corner of the stage was. Thanks to Hunter Kerhart for his September photo. Keep up with his latest explorations: www.HunterKerhart.com | on Facebook

October 2018 - Looking north toward the new project. Photo: Bill Counter

October 2018 - A closer look at the corner. Photo: Bill Counter

 

November 2019 - The nearly completed building on the Auditorium's site. Photo: Bill Counter  

 

 

The Philharmonic in the Movies: 

 

John McCormack and his longtime accompanist Edwin Schneider are heading onstage to perform four songs in Frank Borzage's "Song o' My Heart" (Fox Film, 1930). The concert sequence, supposedly at a New York theatre, was filmed at the Auditorium both in 35mm and the short-lived 70mm Fox Grandeur process. Only the 35mm version survives. The film also features Maureen O'Sullivan, Tommy Clifford, Alice Joyce and John Garrick. The cinematography of the 35mm version is credited to Chester A. Lyons. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more information about the film as well as six more shots from the sequence at the Auditorium.

 

A production still of Clark Gable on the Auditorium's stage. Thanks to Paul Ayers for sharing this photo from his collection on a Facebook post. Gable was taking a smoke break prior to filming the finale of "Possessed" (MGM, 1931). The theatre was being used as the site of a political rally. Clarence Brown directed, based on a play called "The Mirage" by Edgar Selwyn. Leonore J. Coffee did the screenplay. The film also stars Joan Crawford and Wallace Ford. The cinematography was by Oliver T. Marsh. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for nineteen shots from the film that give us a lovely tour of the building. 

 

We see lots of the theatre, including many backstage views, in Lloyd Corrigan's film "He Learned About Women" (Paramount, 1933). Here Gordon Westcott, playing a destitute theatre manager in New York, is at the proscenium. Stu Erwin stars as Peter Potter Kendall II, a bookish young man who inherits a large fortune and needs to figure out how the world works. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for sixteen additional murky screenshots from the film's scenes at the theatre.

 

Charles Laughton sneaks in an upstage door and we get a rare view of the dressing room levels offstage left in Julien Duvivier's "Tales of Manhattan" (20th Century Fox, 1942). It's a five part film set in New York about how a passed-around tailcoat affects the lives of different groups of people. Later the seams split when Laughton is conducting. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for 19 more shots of the scenes in the theatre.

 

A view up Olive toward the Auditorium Building from Billy Wilder's "Double Indemnity" (Paramount, 1944). The film stars Fred MacMurray as a gullible insurance executive and Barbara Stanwyck as the femme fatale. Thanks to Ed Savage for the screenshot. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for another shot showing the theatre. 

 

Near the end of Irving Rapper's "Rhapsody in Blue" (Warner Bros., 1945) George Gershwin goes to L.A. for a concert of his works at the Auditorium, the last event he played. The film stars Robert Alda, Herbert Rudley, Joan Leslie, Alexis Smith, Charles Coburn, Hazel Scott, Oscar Levant, Al Jolson, Paul Whiteman and George White. The cinematography was by Sol Polito. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for three more shots from the scene at the Auditorium.

 

In "The Outfit" (MGM, 1973) we get this view north on Olive St. with the Biltmore on the left. Across the street beyond is the San Carlos Hotel and Googie's coffee shop. The very beige Auditorium is on the right with part of the Subway Terminal Building up the block. The film, directed by John Flynn, stars Robert Duvall and Karen Black. Thanks to Jeffrey Carlson for the screenshot.

 

A fine view across the parking lot at 6th and Hill from J. Lee Thompson's crime drama "St. Ives" (Warner Bros, 1976). The lot used to be the site of the Metropolitan/Paramount Theatre. Across the park a bit right of center it's the Auditorium Building. The film stars Charles Bronson, Jacqueline Bisset, John Houseman, Harris Yulin, Harry Guardino, Maximilian Schell and Dana Elcar. The cinematography was by Lucien Ballard. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for another Auditorium shot, a look down the alley toward the north side of the Los Angeles Theatre, and five views of a big caper at the Pickwick Drive-In. 

Travolta is back with his Saturday Night Fever character Tony Manero in Sylvester Stallone's "Staying Alive" (Paramount, 1983). He wants to become a dancer on Broadway. New York's Broadway, that is. We see the Orpheum for an audition sequence during the opening credits and lots of the Philharmonic Auditorium for another show. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for twenty additional screenshots from the film.

More information: Floyd B. Bariscale on Big Orange Landmarks has done a fine series of articles about the history of various Los Angeles buildings that have been given City landmark designation. See his Philharmonic Auditorium article for interesting photos and a nice history.

See the Cinema Treasures page for a great history by Joe Vogel, a lively discussion by various contributors, and links to many photos of the Pershing Square area. Curbed L.A. ran a nice story in August 2013 featuring over 30 views of Pershing Square over the years.

On the Ann Dvorak blog, see a post about "Ramona" at Clune's Auditorium. Nathan Marsak has an article on the New Auditorium Hotel, later the San Carlos Hotel, on the site On Bunker Hill.

See the L.A. Times 2011 story "Mildred Pierce remembers downtown L.A.'s Philharmonic Auditorium" about re-creating a visit to the theatre for the mini-series. Unfortunately, they didn't use a Los Angeles theatre.

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