El Capitan Theater Building
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El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored
movie palace A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is a large, elaborately decorated movie theater built from the 1910s to the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 1925 and 1930. Wi ...
at 6838
Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It runs through the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Los Feliz districts. Its western terminus is at Sunset Plaza Drive in the Hollyw ...
in the
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
neighborhood in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, United States. The theater and adjacent
Hollywood Masonic Temple Hollywood Masonic Temple, now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre and formerly known as Masonic Convention Hall, is a building on Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S. ...
(now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre) are owned by
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
and serve as the venue for a majority of the Walt Disney Studios' film premieres.


History


El Capitan early years

In the early 1920s, real estate developer
Charles E. Toberman Charles Edward Toberman (February 23, 1880 – November 10, 1981) was a real estate developer and stenographer who developed landmarks in Hollywood, California, including the Hollywood Bowl, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, El Capitan Theatre, Roos ...
(the "Father of Hollywood") envisioned a thriving
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
theater district. Toberman was involved in 36 projects while building the Max Factor Building (now the Hollywood Museum), Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and the
Hollywood Masonic Temple Hollywood Masonic Temple, now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre and formerly known as Masonic Convention Hall, is a building on Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S. ...
. With
Sid Grauman Sidney Patrick Grauman (March 17, 1879 – March 5, 1950) was an American entrepreneur and showman who established two of Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood's most recognizable and visited landmarks, the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Chinese The ...
, he opened the three themed theaters:
Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
(1922), El Capitan (1926), and
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
(1927).
Barker Bros. Barker Bros. was a retailer of furniture, home furnishings, and housewares based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded as Barker and Mueller in 1880, the business operated under various names through 1992. History Obadiah Truax Ba ...
Furniture Emporium took up the rest of the building in the 1920s. El Capitan, dubbed "Hollywood's First Home of Spoken Drama," began presenting live performances on May 3, 1926, with ''Charlot's Revue'' starring
Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born in 1 ...
and
Jack Buchanan Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1890 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Gr ...
. El Capitan continued presenting live theater for a decade, with over 120 productions including such legends as
Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...
and
Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was an English-American actress best known for her roles in Hollywood films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Fontaine appeared in ...
. By the late 1930s, El Capitan felt the economic effects of the Depression, showcasing fewer and fewer productions. This period saw a cycle of experimentation with entertainment. In an effort to boost attendance at the theater, its management attempted to lure revues, road shows and benefits. Despite these efforts, business was faltering, and the theater then began showing movies. When
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
was unable to locate a theater owner willing to risk screening ''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by, produced by and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's List of directorial debuts, first feature film. ...
'', he turned to the El Capitan, and in 1941, ''Citizen Kane'' had its world
premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...
there. The theater then closed for one year as
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
purchased the theater.


Hollywood Paramount

The building was remodeled in the modern style, with the decor covered with curtains and removing the box-seat balconies. The theater reopened in 1942 as the Hollywood Paramount Theater. Its inaugural film presentation was
Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...
's feature ''
Reap the Wild Wind ''Reap the Wild Wind'' is a 1942 American adventure film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Ray Milland, John Wayne, and Paulette Goddard, with a supporting cast featuring Raymond Massey, Robert Preston (actor), Robert Pres ...
''. The theater remained the West Coast flagship for
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
until the studio was forced by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the
antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
case '' U.S. vs. Paramount Pictures, et al.'' to divest itself of its theater holdings. After this, the Hollywood Paramount was operated by
United Paramount Theatres American Broadcasting Companies (originally United Paramount Theatres, and American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, Inc.) was the post-merger parent company of the American Broadcasting Company and United Paramount Theatres. History United Par ...
for some years, then by a series of other companies, culminating with ownership by the Pacific Theatres Circuit in the 1980s. After a 50-year stay, Barker Bros. Furniture closed its location in the building in the 1970s. In 1985,
Pacific Theatres Pacific Theatres was an American chain of movie theaters in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of California. Pacific Theatres was owned by The Decurion Corporation which also owned and operated ArcLight Cinemas. In 2008, it sold its store loca ...
purchased the theater from SRO Theaters. The building's owners, Nick Olaerts and Thomas L. Harnsberger, had assigned authority for the theater's facade to the
Los Angeles Conservancy The Los Angeles Conservancy is a historic preservation organization in Los Angeles, California that works to document, rescue and revitalize historic buildings, places and neighborhoods in the city. The Los Angeles Conservancy is the largest m ...
in exchange for historical building tax credits.


Disney and restoration

Late in the 1980s, Disney purchased a controlling stake in one of
Pacific Theatres Pacific Theatres was an American chain of movie theaters in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of California. Pacific Theatres was owned by The Decurion Corporation which also owned and operated ArcLight Cinemas. In 2008, it sold its store loca ...
' chains, leading to Disney's Buena Vista Theaters and Pacific renovating the El Capitan Theatre and the Crest by 1989. These theaters became Disney's flagship houses. They spent $14 million on a complete renovation of the Paramount, restoring much of the building's original decor as well as the theater's original name. El Capitan reopened in 1991 with the premiere of '' The Rocketeer''. The 1992 National Preservation Honor Award from the
National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...
was bestowed on the restorers of the theater. In 1984, the
Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District The Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District is a historic district that consists of twelve blocks between the 6200 and 7000 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. This strip of commercial and retail busines ...
was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
, with El Capitan/Paramount listed as a
contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...
in the district, and in 1990, the city designated El Capitan a
Los Angeles Cultural-Historic Monument Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria. History The Historic-Cul ...
. A
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
mural was approved by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
to be placed on the side of the building in December 1992. After the
1994 Northridge earthquake The 1994 Northridge earthquake affected Greater Los Angeles, California, on January 17, 1994, at 04:30:55 PST. The epicenter of the moment 6.7 () blind thrust earthquake was beneath the San Fernando Valley. Lasting approximately 8 seconds ...
, the building's frame was compromised and the theater had been flooded by its sprinklers and was considered uninhabitable by building inspectors. The owner walked away from the theater leaving the building to its mortgage company,
CUNA Mutual Group TruStage Financial Group, Inc., formerly known as CUNA Mutual Group (pronounced ), is a mutual insurance company that provides financial services to cooperatives, credit unions, their members, and other customers worldwide. TruStage Financial Gr ...
. CUNA Mutual, having Disney as a continuing tenant, not only refurbished the theater but the office floors above for $10 million . In July 1995, Buena Vista purchased the Lanterman organ from Glendale City Redevelopment Agency. From the November 18, 1995, ''
Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the Firsts in animation, firs ...
'' premiere to January 1, 1996, Disney rented the Masonic Convention Hall, the next-door building, for Totally Toy Story, an instant theme park and a promotional event for the movie. In July 1998,
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and ...
purchased the convention hall to continue using it as a promotional venue. A
Disney Store The Disney Store is a chain of specialty stores created on March 28, 1987, and sells only Disney-related items, many of them exclusive, under its own name and Disney Outlet. It is a business unit of the Disney Experiences division of The Walt Disn ...
location opened next to the theater in the El Capitan Building in 1998. The $3 million seismic retrofitting was finished in time for the June 21, 1996, premiere of ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame''. The building's full restoration was completed in December 1997, which included the sign tower. The Hollywood Entertainment District, a self-taxing
business improvement district A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within whichever businesses elect to pay an additional fee (or assessment) in order to fund projects within the district's boundaries. A BID is not a tax, as taxes fund the government. BID f ...
, was formed for the properties from La Brea Avenue to McCadden Place on Hollywood Boulevard. The office space's first tenants were TrizecHahn Centers, builders of the 425,000-square-foot development on the other side of the boulevard. In conjunction with the '' Herbie: Fully Loaded'' premiere on June 22, 2005, the Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store opened up in the El Capitan Building on the ground floor replacing a Disney Store. CUNA Mutual, having leased the building to full capacity, placed the building up for sale in 2008 at a price of $31 million, and eventually sold it for $28 million . In November 2013, Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop co-located with the Disney Studio Store next to the theater in the El Capitan building. On March 17, 2020, the theatre temporarily closed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in California The COVID-19 pandemic in California began earlier than in some other parts of the United States. Ten of the first 20 confirmed COVID-19 infections in the United States were detected in California, and the first infection was confirmed on Janua ...
. The theatre eventually reopened a year later with a reduced capacity of just 100 seats. The first film shown after its reopening was ''
Raya and the Last Dragon ''Raya and the Last Dragon'' ( ) is a 2021 American animated fantasy action adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, co-directed by ...
''. Disney Parks opened a theme ride called
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway is a trackless dark ride located in the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, and in Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The attraction, the first Mickey Mouse-themed ride-through attraction at ...
at
Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
on January 27, 2023. The facade is meant to resemble a movie theater in Toontown called "El CapiTOON Theater" based on the El Capitan.


Features

The theater is built into a six-story office building built in the 1920s. The design featured an exterior done in
California Churrigueresque Churrigueresque (; Spanish: ''Churrigueresco''), also but less commonly "Ultra Baroque", refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th c ...
style of
Spanish Colonial Revival architecture The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. Thes ...
exterior designed by Stiles O. Clements of the architectural firm of
Morgan, Walls & Clements Morgan, Walls & Clements was an architectural firm based in Los Angeles, California and was responsible for many of the city's landmarks, dating back to the late 19th century. History Morgan, Walls & Clements earliest precursor, Kysor & Hennes ...
, and mixed interior by G. Albert Lansburgh. The interior is a lavish East Indian in the main auditorium, English Tudor in the wood-paneled lower lobby and Italian Baroque on the facade. The refurbished theater features a large
Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
theatre organ A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements of ...
originally installed in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
's Fox Theatre in 1929. Below the theater is a small exhibit space, often used to display props from the films, such as costumes or set pieces. Next door is the adjacent Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store, where patrons can purchase
ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...
themed to the film currently playing in the cinema next door. A wide variety of Disney and movie merchandise is available there. File: File: File: File: El Capitan Theatre Marquee, Los Angeles, California LCCN2010630907.tif, Marquee, 2005 File: El Capitan Seating 1926(2).jpg, Interior, 1926 File: El Capitan Seating 1926.jpg, Seating, 1926 File: LA El Capitan organist 1.jpg, Organ, 2009


See also

*
List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Hollywood This is a list of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. The list includes Hollywood, as well as Griffith Park and the communities of Los Feliz LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science a ...
*
List of contributing properties in the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District The properties on this list are contributing properties to the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. References External links National Register ...
*
Hollywood Masonic Temple Hollywood Masonic Temple, now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre and formerly known as Masonic Convention Hall, is a building on Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S. ...
*
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, also known as Egyptian Hollywood and the Egyptian, is a historic movie theater located on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Opened in 1922, it is an early example of a lavish movie palace ...
*
Grauman's Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre, known as the Chinese colloquially and officially billed as TCL Chinese Theatre for sponsorship reasons, is a movie palace on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, Unite ...


References


External links


El Capitan Theater
Official Website

Renaissance of El Capitan Theater – Hollywood, CA
El Capitan Theater
at Cinema Treasures {{Portalbar, Greater Los Angeles, Theatre 1926 establishments in California Movie palaces Cinemas and movie theaters in Hollywood, Los Angeles Hollywood Boulevard Walt Disney Studios (division) Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Theatres completed in 1926 Morgan, Walls & Clements buildings Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California Spanish Revival architecture in California History of Hollywood, Los Angeles Culture of Hollywood, Los Angeles Historic district contributing properties in California Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles