The Pantages Theatre

The Glory of Old Hollywood

One of the great things about living in the Los Angeles area is being able to go to venues such as the immortal Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.

The Pantages Theatre, a palatial monument to art deco, was actually built for vaudeville theatre. It's in the heart of old Hollywood.  The famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine is only about a block away.

The Pantages opened in 1930 as part of the Pantages Vaudeville Theatre Circuit.  As vaudeville began to decline and the great depression hit, it became primarily a movie theatre.

Afternoon Matinee Theatre-goers milling about

Howard Hughes acquired the theatre in 1949 and moved his offices to the second floor of the huge building. Good for Howard!  I think it would be fun to have had offices there, back in the day.

For a while the theatre hosted the Academy Awards (Oscar) Ceremonies.  It finally closed as a movie theatre in 1977, reopening a month later with a stage production.  It has presented stage shows of all kinds since then, including Disney's The Lion King and the Broadway musical Wicked.

The Ceiling is a marvel

I love this old theatre.  It is just a joy to see all the fabulous architectural details - from the incredible ceilings to the velvet draperies and statuary.

I went to see a show there recently.  It had been a while since I had been to the Pantages, and the place was even more awesome than I remembered.  I had fun just gawking at the ceiling for a while.  I'm like that.  

This theatre is HUGE

 The theatre got a $10 million dollar restoration and upgrade in 2000.  It was worth every penny.

View from the balcony

If the theatre looks familiar to you, it may be because it is also a popular location for filming movies.

Stay tuned for my next blog to find out what I saw there!