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Old 05-25-2014, 12:35 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
2,436 posts, read 2,795,985 times
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Yesterday, I went on a walking tour of the old, yet amazing and historical Broadway Theatre District in Downtown Los Angeles. I had been wanting to take this tour for a while. Last year, I began finding a lot of interest in the old theatre palaces on Broadway. I visited the United Artists theatre this February, and it's beautiful. I finally got the chance to take the full tour, and I would highly recommend it to any and everyone. We only got to go in one theatre, but it was still a lot of fun. The DTLA Broadway Theatre District is the largest movie palace district in the country.

The first theatre we visited was the Roxie. The Roxie opened in 1932. I believe our tour guide said the Roxie is the youngest movie palace on Broadway. It is now used for a shop, but we were told the stage and everything is still there, albeit in really bad condition.

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Old 05-25-2014, 01:01 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
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For some reason, all the photos I took vertically come out sideways here on the site. I'm sorry about that!



Up next was the Cameo, which opened in 1910. The Cameo is also a shop now.



The Arcade opened also opened in 1910. It is the first theater Alexander Pantages opened in the States. Check out the details on the building and the old Pantages sign!





As we continued walking, our tour guide told us to look around the sides of buildings to catch old signage. That was a really neat part of the tour. We came upon a building that had the Paramount logo on the side (for a Paramount theater that is now gone) with an arrow and the streets.

So cool!



We then took a little detour and headed to a century-old Dutch chocolate shop. Talk about amazing. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. The walls were filled with all kinds of mosaics and tiles...details everywhere. Towards the entrance of the shop were two Dutch children, one on each side, and boy and a girl. The shop looked like an old, European-style train station of some sort. The owner of the shop is trying to re-open it, but he can't until the exit is available. Right now, it's boarded up. until it's free, the shop won't be opening. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any photos. A simple Google search will bring up the shop, though!

We then took another detour to a jewelry shop...or so we thought. As we approached the gorgeous building, we were told the building used to house the Warner Bros Theatre (opened in 1920). Our guide pointed out the outlining Warner Bros logo, which was still on the building (a jewel was sitting in it). Since it was clear the place was now a jewelry shop, we didn't think we were going to go in, but we did. We went in from the side, and what we saw amazed us all. Right after taking a few steps, in front of us was indeed the jewelry shop, but also the balcony, seats still intact, and the chandelier from the Warner Bros. It was fascinating! We had been standing on the stage/lower pit of the theater. Absolutely amazing. We were also standing near the exact spot where Barbra Streisand performed Funny Girl in 1968. We took a few steps forward, looked behind us and saw the red curtains. As we kept walking, into the jewelry store now, we noticed the sideway exits and entrances to the theater. This blew my mind. I wish we were allowed to take photos! Truly one of a kind. It's a shame the theater now inhabits that jewelry store.
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Old 05-25-2014, 01:19 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
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Heading back to the main block, our next visit was to the Los Angeles. This was the one theater that I REALLY wanted to go in, but it was unavailable. Oh, well. The Los Angeles opened in 1931, premiering one of Chaplin's films. The architecture of this one is exquisite. The theater is in use, so that's good! Hopefully I get the chance to see a show or a movie here one day.



Details, details, details:



The Palace across the street opened in 1911, and it was an Orpheum theater. I can't remember if this one is functioning as a theater or not. Fans of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" will recognize this as the movie theater featured towards the beginning of the music video.

Another sign and gorgeous architecture!







Taking another detour, we arrived at the original Clifton's Cafeteria, another treat to see. The original opened in 1931. Clifford Clinton opened his cafeteria to everyone, and even let those who couldn't pay for their meals eat for free (the restaurant opened during the Great Depression). He was a fan of redwoods, and covered the restaurant with fake redwoods. The current owner plans on refurbishing the building and re-opening the cafeteria! During repair, workers found a neon light that had been on since the thirties. How cool is that?!



The windows express Clinton's love for redwoods:

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Old 05-25-2014, 01:37 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
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We passed by the State (1921) and the Globe (1913) Theatres, but we didn't stop and talk about them.

Again, check out the details:



The theater we were able to go in was the Tower. It's a beautiful theater! It's not being used for anything, I believe. The Tower debuted in 1927. The place oozed history...it was so cool.









Sorry for the blurriness:



The ceiling:





We headed to the basement, which was really interesting, though a little creepy, too.









The ladies bathroom:



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Old 05-25-2014, 01:39 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
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I will post more later on today.
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Old 05-25-2014, 02:01 PM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
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Great photos. I don't think critics of LA's architecture were ever talking about DTLA. They're talking about the SF Valley, the south/east/west side, etc.
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Old 05-26-2014, 01:54 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
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After the basement, we went up to the balcony.



Beautiful stained glass above the entrance way:



Loved the vintage chandelier:





Detailed lighting fixtures at the entrance:



We passed by the Rialto Theatre (1917), which is now an Urban Outfitters. UB decided on their own to fix up the marquee of the theater with their own money. I didn't get a chance to get a shot of the store from the inside.



The Orpheum was next. The Orpheum opened in 1926, and is still in use today. American Idol and America's Got Talent use the theater for auditions. Julianne and Derek Hough will be performing there this summer, I believe. I remember seeing a couple of shot of the Orpheum in Transformers. The Oprheum's organ is a Wurlitzer, and we also stopped at the old Wurlitzer building, which now hosts offices. We couldn't take pictures, but it was beautiful.











Our last theater on our tour was the United Artists Theatre, which opened in 1927. Mary Pickford was behind opening this venue, as well as others, like Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks. This theater just fairly recently came back from a refurbishment, and it looks great. Back to the Future will be playing there this July. Unfortunately, we didn't spend much time here. I do have photos of this theater from my February tour, but they're all on my phone and I don't know how to get them on here. Some of the theater is now Ace Hotel. I've seen what the rooms look like online, and they're nice!



I would recommend this tour to anyone. The price was cheap ($10.00) and it was a lot of fun. I learned a lot of history and I would take this tour again. I'm now interested in the other Downtown tours. Thanks for reading!
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Old 05-26-2014, 04:37 PM
 
Location: Riverside
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Great photos, Raven, thanks.

I think the Los Angeles is the marquis in the background in Blade Runner, when J.S. Sebastian has his fateful meeting with Pris.

LA's architecture is AMAZING, for people who know what they are looking at. One of the happy accidental effects of years of neglect DT, is that no one bothered to demolish the old buildings. Now, they are really coming into their own.
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Old 05-26-2014, 06:40 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GatsbyGatz View Post
Great photos. I don't think critics of LA's architecture were ever talking about DTLA. They're talking about the SF Valley, the south/east/west side, etc.
Thank you!

I don't understand, I think the architecture in and around Los Angeles is nice. Maybe I haven't been around the country enough.
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Old 05-26-2014, 06:44 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gurbie View Post
Great photos, Raven, thanks.

I think the Los Angeles is the marquis in the background in Blade Runner, when J.S. Sebastian has his fateful meeting with Pris.

LA's architecture is AMAZING, for people who know what they are looking at. One of the happy accidental effects of years of neglect DT, is that no one bothered to demolish the old buildings. Now, they are really coming into their own.
Thank you, Gurbie! I need to take a look at Blade Runner.

You make a great point, the fact that these buildings weren't demolished while Downtown was crumbling is great. I'm happy Los Angeles has preservationists to help save old neighborhoods and buildings.
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