Downtown Los Angeles Old Movie palaces

Some of the old theaters of the glory days on the Movie Places are waiting to be refurbished and bring back to its full splendor.

If nothing else one of the benefits derived from the frenetic pace of building out of the city's historic core was the fact that developers were not interested in building downtown, leaving unscathed many beautiful old buildings that would have been gone if downtown LA had a building boom in the 60's or 70's when the conservancy of old structures was not a priority.


Cameo Theatre 1910 by Alfred F. Rosenheim | 528 S. Broadway | Los Angeles
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Los Angeles Theatre 1930 by S. Charles Lee
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Mayan Movie Theater 1925 by Morgan, Walls + Clements | 1038 S. Hill Street
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Million Dollar Theatre 1917 by Albert C. Martin
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Orpheum Theatre 1925 by Albert G. Lansburgh
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Theater's back lot
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Palace 1910 by G. Albert Lansburgh + Robert B. Young
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Roxie Theatre 1930 by John M. Cooper | 518 S. Broadway | Los Angeles
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Tower Theatre 1927 by S. Charles Lee | 800 S. Broadway
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United Artists 1926 by Walker + Eisen | 937 S. Broadway | Los Angeles
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Warner Bros. Downtown 1919 by B. Marcus Priteca | 401 W. 7th Street | Los Angeles
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yeah, some of those theaters could use a lot of TLC


I wouldnt mind seeing some of the tackier store signs being taken off, or at least reduced to something more fitting.

It would be great to see movies in those places. I wonder if there is a chance that any of them will open up for full time use again. It's nice to see that places like Orpheum have some activity again, but a full schedule would be better. At least they are still standing are there is the opportunity to reuse them, instead of them being torn down...

^Thanks for posting those. LAuniverse was giving me some information on movie palaces in LA not to long ago (a topic I'm very interested in). Quick question: What are those being used for today? If nothing, any chance we'll see restoration in the future?

^ definitley. a couple have been restored, with lofts above them and the theater itself being used as a movie palace or stage (orpheum, million dollar and Los Angeles). there are also tons of other theaters in LA from The Alex theater in Glendale to the ones in Hollywood and even more in Santa Monica and the rest of the westside.

So there is activity at the Million Dollar? Last I had heard, it was just sitting there with a for lease sign.

The Los Angeles, Palace and State Theaters are all owned by one guy, Michael Delijani. He has NO interest in restoring the theaters as he make enough money renting the theaters (Los Angeles and Palace) for commercial/movie shoots. The State theater is leased to a Church. As a result, there is no incentive for him to spend big money on fixing them up. Michael Delijani is a Board of Directors for the Downtown Los Angles Neighborhood Council (DLANC) and is always "talking" about how he wants to be a part of turning downtown LA's Broadway district into a "42nd Street" environment with all the theaters as full functioning theaters, but ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. When the LA Conservancy has walking tours of the historic theaters, they can get into all the theaters but the ones owned by Michael Delijani... so much for promoting his theaters and being a good downtown LA neighbor.

The only guy who has made a difference is Steve Needleman. He has put millions into the Orpheum and is a true advocate! Regarding the Million Dollar Theater, it is part owned by the city and part owned by Roy Disney (not Disney Corporate). Roy Disney and the city are looking to start a "Friends of the Million Dollar" grass roots organization to help jump start that theater's renovation.

The remaining theaters are either really small or in really bad condition. The current owners make tons of $$$ on renting them to swap meet type of venues. Its a pretty dismal situation once you know the truth, especially when you know the potential of what Broadway could be.

What really needs to happen is for big movie studios to buy them (a la Disney buying El Capitan) and being a true catalyst for other theaters to buy these historic gems and premier their movies there with big Hollywood glitz.

For now, you can attend events at these venues. Every year, in June, the LA Conservancy puts on a mini-movie series called "Last Remaining Seats" and you can see American Movie classics on some of the theaters, for sure the Orpheum... and maybe the Los Angeles and Palace... that is if Michael Delijani feels like it. Last year he didn't allow them to show anything at the Palace because he "possibly" was going to rent it for a commercial shoot, which never materialized and the theater sat empty.

Intresting... :)

Why does most threater went shut down?

Id like to see a movie stuido purchase a theater and restore it (as well as preview films there)

Id like to see a movie stuido purchase a theater and restore it (as well as preview films there)
Disney did just that with the El Capitan in Hollywood, it has worked out well, because its across from a movieplex (manns) but a theater alone only able to show one picture might not be able to support itself. It certainly wouldn't be able to show big budget pics. What else can you do with a theater? Turn it into play houses?

the mayan theater on hill street is a very successful nightclub - it's actually THE best club in all of los angeles.

Last night on American Idol (I promise I don't really like the show, it was just on at my house) they showed clips for the next episode...and it was taking place in the Orpheum! I was so shocked when I saw the shots from the outside. I don't consider American Idol tryouts to be the best form of activity that could be taking place in there, but it's definitely better than nothing. Plus they showed some beautiful interior shots.

Yeah, they were there a whole week shooting the American Idol show about 2 or 3 months ago. The Orpheum is a great theater!

Second Act for Linda Lea Theater

Investors to Give Rundown Movie House a New Plot Twist

by Kathryn Maese

The projector will roll once again in the long-dark Linda Lea Theater at 251 S. Main St., as part of a partnership between a new owner and a group of community arts leaders.
Plans are underway to reopen the Linda Lea Theater. The space at Second and Main streets has sat vacant since the 1980s. Photo by Gary Leonard.

The Little Tokyo Service Center Development Corp. (LTSC), along with local arts leaders who will operate the space, plan to revive the 500-seat theater with independent film screenings, film festivals, community events and possibly a rooftop bar. In keeping with the theater's Japanese history, a concessions stand will include items such as Japanese sweets, edamame, sake, soju and beer.

"It will be an independent theater, but we're not going to try and compete with places like Laemmles," said Nic Cha Kim, co-founder of Gallery Row, a collection of art exhibition spaces along Main and Spring streets. "We want to make the theater itself an experience."

Broker Sandy Bleifer of DownTown Enterprises represented the seller, the Los Angeles-based Grace family, and the buyer, an undisclosed family foundation. Escrow closed in late December. The purchase price was not released.

"We had maybe half a dozen interested parties, but because of the special nature of the project, the Graces were very attached to the property," Bleifer said. "They always wanted to see it come back to life. One of the things that attracted the new owners to the property was the opportunity to have an ongoing relationship with the Little Tokyo Service Center."

Kim will serve as artistic director, and will operate the theater along with fellow Gallery Row founder Kjell Hagen, and partners Jared Hungerford and James Kirst.

The 7,700-square-foot Linda Lea, which closed in the 1980s, was one of only three theaters in Los Angeles to screen Japanese language films. During its heyday in the 1960s, visitors would flock to see the latest samurai drama produced by the Toei film company.

"I always thought it was a beautiful building. Who wouldn't want it?" said Kim. "We've had this project in our minds for five or six years, and drew up plans to renovate it long before it was for sale."

The LTSC and the operators are applying for a $1.5 million grant from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment. The deadline is April. The dilapidated property is in need of extensive renovation, Hagen said, and the team is in the process of determining a timeline for completion.

"We're currently trying to get support behind us from many different angles, from the city to the L.A. Conservancy," said Hagen.

That's awesome news. I would love to see some Kurosawa or Ozu movies in that theater.

some of these theaters may look unassuming from the outside, but from the inside, they can be the most opulently constructed theaters this side of Vienna.

They are gorgeous, im sure with a little help they could be reused. The owners should be forced to renovate them. Funny how Americans call them theaters and we English call them cinemas.

Thankfully, there is a big effort to clean up broadway and to fix up those cine.. er theaters.

Theres many uses for these old cinemas they could easily be turned in2 theaters ( stageplays whatever you call theaters in the usa) they could also be used for clubs or restaurants, i guess u`d have to remove most of the seats for that, or simply retail.
Its strange to see theaters in Los Angeles in disrepair, being the movie capital of the world!

yeah, everytime I drive through Downtown I always note to whoever's unfortunate enough to be driving with me that all the theaters would make great rennovation projects.

Some of you guys may think this is a dumb idea, but how feasible would it be just to rennovate the signs of these theaters, so that their neon and lighted marquees are glowing again? I think it would be a perfect addition to the plan to add neon/fiber optic lights to the facades of the Historic Downtown buildings, so that the area is more lit up at night, and therefore more accessible to nighttime activities.

Does anybody know how the progress is on that project? I read about it some months ago, but have not seen anything done or heard anything since, except for the re-lighting of the Columbia building.

i think they are planning it out, with crazy neon and laser lighting for the buildings and redoing some of the marquees and all that kind of stuff. its gonna happen, its just a matter of when.

Isn't it usually spelled theatre?