The Hollywood Canteen / Golden Spike / Le Grand Theatre

1451 Cahuenga Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028  | map | 

Opening: October 3, 1942. The location was on the west side of the street a half block south of Sunset Blvd. This postcard is one that has appeared many times online from various sellers. 

The project was kicked off with a fundraiser at Ciro's led by John Garfield and Bette Davis that netted $6,500. The entrance, which later featured a canvas canopy, had footprints and handprints of regular GIs in the cement similar to those of the stars in the forecourt at the Chinese.  

Architect: Unknown. Prior to its use as the Canteen, the building had been a nightclub called the Red Barn. That venture had closed in 1937. Hollywood art director Alfred Ybarra was responsible for transforming it into the Canteen with the help of various studios, their employees, and their unions.  

Capacity: As the Canteen it was limited to 500. It's unknown what the seating capacity was later as a legit house. 

The end of the Canteen: It closed after serving Thanksgiving dinner in 1945. In the book "The Hollywood Canteen," Lisa Mitchell and Bruce Torrance note that soon Thomas Lee and Guy Francis, doing business as Creative Enterprises, leased the building and tried to reopen as a nightclub using the Hollywood Canteen name. Bette Davis went to court and got an injunction to stop the unauthorized use of the brand. The authors add that there WAS a later Hollywood Canteen operated by the Hollywood Canteen Foundation during the Korean War. It was a redo of the Florentine Gardens nightclub at 5955 Hollywood Blvd. 

Later theatrical use of the Canteen: The building was later operated as the Golden Spike Theatre. And in 1959 it got another redo and became the Le Grand Theatre. An April 1959 issue of the Hollywood Tourist and Convention Bureau's "Hollywood: Entertainment Capital of the World" newsletter had an article on the venue by Art Weissman:  

"Le Grand Comedy Theatre Now Presenting 'Laff Capades of 1959' - Hollywood Celebrities Throng New Showplace -- Le Grand Comedy Theatre, once the famed Hollywood Canteen where the greatest names in show business entertained and waited upon wartime throngs of service men and women, has opened its doors to initiate another era of live theatrical magic, starring the hilarious histrionics of Joey Faye and Jack Albertson in 'Laff Capades of 1959,' an original musical comedy penned by author Snat Werris and composer Carmino Ravosa. The authors wittily created an international background against which producer Zev Bufman, in association with Ted Chapman, deftly fashioned the singing, dancing and comedy talents of..."

An April 1960 ad in the Times for "Pajama Tops," then in its 114th week. Of course all 114 weren't at this particular theatre. It had also played at the Forum Theatre on Pico beginning in 1956 and the Civic Playhouse on La Cienega. 

 

 The "Smash Sexy Hit" -- "Pajama Tops" in its 122nd week. 

 

 

A 1960 ad for Jack Gelber's "The Connection."

An item on page W-4 of the September 11, 1961 issue of Boxoffice noted: 

"Le Grande Theatre is getting a $15,000 facelifting for the opening of 'Little Mary Sunshine' September 20..." 

 

Part of a 1962 ad listing the Le Grand as one of 36 theatre bonuses you'd get for joining a program called  "Invitation Dinners."

 

 

  

Lenny Bruce at the Le Grand in 1963. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing this May 25 ad from the Times as a post for the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.

 

 

A November 30, 1963 ad for the play "Sunday in New York" spotted by Ken McIntyre for another post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.

Closing as a legit house: 1965. The last production at the Le Grand was the Los Angeles Youth Theatre production of "The Fantasticks."

Status: It was demolished in December 1966. The site at Cahuenga and Sunset is now occupied by the parking garage for the CNN building. 

 

Interior views as the Canteen:

The entry hall. It's a photo appearing as a post on the Facebook page The Hollywood Canteen. The page is from Lisa Mitchell and Bruce Torrence, the authors of the 2012 book "The Hollywood Canteen." They note that it's the coat check straight ahead and the front doors on the right.  

 

 

Looking in toward the stage on the west end end of the building. The photo appears on the Facebook page The Hollywood Canteen where they note: 

 

"This photo of the Hollywood Canteen was taken from the lobby, looking into the main room. On the left wall is a list of the various guilds and unions that volunteered their time and energy to remodel the former cabaret theater into the Canteen."

 

Another view to the stage. It's a photo in the Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection. 

 

 

 

Bob Hope onstage plus a view of the house left decor beyond. Photo: Bruce Torrence / Historic Hollywood Photographs collection.

 

A look across the stage toward the house right murals. Photo: Bruce Torrence / Historic Hollywood Photographs collection.

 

The main serving counter for food and drinks on the house right side near the rear of the room. Thanks to the Facebook page The Hollywood Canteen for sharing the photo.   

 

 

The rear of the room. It's another Bruce Torrence Collection photo appearing on the Facebook page The Hollywood Canteen. They comment: 

"When the Hollywood Canteen celebrated its first birthday, in 1943, celebrities, businessmen and civic leaders were invited to witness the evening's activities. The raised platform, at the rear of the Canteen's main room, was reserved for those guests. The rest of the room was where the servicemen danced, eat, and watched the evening's entertainment. Here, some of the visiting dignitaries are waiting for the night to begin."

There don't seem to be any interior photos available of the building when it was set up for productions as the Le Grand. 

 

More exterior views:  

 

1942 - Getting the building ready. Thanks to Henry Briceno for locating the photo for a post for the Lost Angeles Facebook group. 

 

1942 - Thanks to Martin Turnbull for locating this October 3 opening night photo for a post on his Hollywood's Garden of Allah Novels Facebook page. He comments: 

"This must have been an exciting night to witness: After months of fundraising, cajoling, recruiting, organizing, and building, Bette Davis and John Garfield’s pet project, the Hollywood Canteen opened... As we can see, bleachers were set up in the forecourt so that people could witness the parade of stars (Eddie Cantor was the MC that night.) And word had obviously gotten out already because that long lone of servicemen is already four men deep. From that night until November 2, 1945, the Hollywood Canteen hosted, entertained, and fed nearly 4 million grateful servicemen."

 

 

1942 - A photo from the Bruce Torrence collection. Martin Turnbull posted it, uncredited, on his Hollywood's Garden of Allah Novels Facebook page. He commented: 

"Servicemen were welcomed with refreshments, world-class entertainment, and the chance for Tommy from Tennessee and Ike from Idaho to meet—and possibly even dance with—a real, live movie star. Bette insisted on full integration allowing Black men to dance with white women and vice versa. It doesn’t sound like a bit deal these days, but back then it was a first. This photo is from 1942, so it was taken not long after the Canteen opened."

 

c.1943 - A postcard that was offered for sale on eBay.

 

1945 - A photo from the Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection. 

 

 

1963 - A July photo by Howard D. Kelly that's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. We're looking southwest. The RCA Building was under construction on this side of Sunset. Just above the upper left corner of it look for the red awning of the Le Grand on Cahuenga, one block farther over.  

In the center it's the Cinerama Dome just getting underway. Morningside Ct., this side of the Dome, is a street that no longer exists. It now leads into the ArcLight parking garage. Ivar is the street beyond the Dome. 

 

1963 - A closer look at the red awning of the Le Grand. It's a detail from the previous photo. 

 

1965 - Another view by Howard D. Kelly that's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Also see more Cinerama Dome photos in the LAPL collection. The Library comments about that building in the lower left:

"The 1963 18-story International Style Sunset Vine Tower, designed by architect Douglas Honnold of the firm Honnold & Rex, was the first skyscraper built in Los Angeles after the city repealed its 14-story building height limit."

1966 - A post-closing photo from the Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection. 

 

2022 - The garage now on the site. Sunset Blvd. is off to the right. Thanks to April Brooks Clemmer for the photo. Visit her April's Old Hollywood website.  

 

The Canteen in the Movies: 

Joan Leslie, Bette Davis, John Garfield, the Andrews Sisters and dozens of other stars appear in the December 1944 Warner Brothers film "Hollywood Canteen." This shot looks like the real thing but all of the interiors and most of the exteriors were done on the Warner lot. Delmer Daves wrote the screenplay and directed. The cinematography was by Bert Glennon. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a shot of the Pantages and Hitching Post seen earlier as well as a view of the film's opening at the Warner Hollywood. 

More information: Check out the 2012 book "The Hollywood Canteen: Where the Greatest Generation Danced With the Most Beautiful Girls in the World" by Lisa Mitchell and Bruce Torrence. Joan Leslie did the forward. It's profusely illustrated with photos from Mr. Torrence's collection. You can get it on Amazon. The book's authors also have a Hollywood Canteen Facebook page.

See the over 600 Hollywood Canteen photos in the Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection. The Los Angeles Public Library has over 60 photos of action at the Canteen in their collection. 

Benjamin McVey did a nice 2021 Cinema Scholars article: "The Hollywood Canteen: Service and the Stars." Martin Turnbull has a page about the Canteen. There's also a Messy Nessy Chic article about the venue.

| back to top | Hollywood Theatres: overview and alphabetical lists | Hollywood Theatres: list by address | Downtown theatres | Westside | Westwood and Brentwood | Along the Coast | [more] Los Angeles movie palaces | L.A. Theatres: main alphabetical list | L.A. Theatres: list by address | theatre history resources | film and theatre tech resources | theatres in movies | LA Theatres on facebook | contact info | welcome and site navigation guide |