Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation

Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation To protect, preserve, restore and sustain the historic theatre resources of Los Angeles County through advocacy and education.

Join us this Saturday for our Coffee & Conversation on the Pasadena Playhouse!We're uncovering the colorful history of t...
09/24/2026

Join us this Saturday for our Coffee & Conversation on the Pasadena Playhouse!

We're uncovering the colorful history of the Pasadena Playhouse, from its 1917 wartime origins right up to the present day. You'll explore its iconic 1925 Spanish Colonial Revival building and courtyard lobby, we’ll share the secret of the theatre’s twin 500 miles away in the Sonoran Desert, and we’ll talk about the famous College of Theater Arts and its alumni including Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, and William Holden.

Beyond the glamour, you’ll discover the Playhouse’s high-stakes survival story through crippling debts, temporary closures, and astonishing comebacks.

We'll highlight its historic preservation and its crowning triumph as the 2023 Regional Theatre Tony Award winner. Reserve your spot now to experience over a century of California theatre history.

Grab your coffee and join us on zoom at 10am for a morning of theatre history!

RSVP: lahtf.org/coffeecon

09/24/2026

The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation celebrates Jim Henson on what would have been his 90th birthday.

Jim and his Muppets have quite a history with the theatres of Los Angeles. “The Muppet Movie” celebrated its Los Angeles premiere with a special benefit screening at the Cinerama Dome on June 21, 1979, while the Muppets themselves made memorable appearances at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Decades later, “The Muppets” would use the El Capitan, Los Angeles Theatre and Roxie Theatre as filming locations.

In this clip from the 1979 television special “The Muppets Go Hollywood,” Dick Van D**e chats with Fozzie Bear, who is scheming to get his footprints into the famous forecourt of the Chinese Theatre.

Ten years later, Jim and Kermit really did put their handprints and footprints in cement — at the Chinese Theatre replica at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida in 1989.

And finally, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem’s tour bus passes the real Chinese Theatre in “The Muppet Movie.”

Happy 90th Birthday, Jim.

In honor of today’s 12th Annual Bob Baker Day at LA State Historic Park, we’re taking a look at the remarkable history o...
09/20/2026

In honor of today’s 12th Annual Bob Baker Day at LA State Historic Park, we’re taking a look at the remarkable history of the building Bob Baker Marionette Theater now calls home.

The York Theatre opened at 4949 York Boulevard on September 18, 1923, designed by Richard R. F. Lehman as a neighborhood house for first-run pictures and vaudeville. Over the decades, the York offered plenty beyond the movies — including beauty contests, appliance giveaways and even cooking demonstrations.

There are some wonderful connections to Bob Baker long before his company arrived. Disney cartoons and features were regular attractions at the York, including “Pinocchio.” Baker’s own decades-long relationship with Disney later included creating licensed Pinocchio marionettes sold at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

After its movie-theatre years, the building became Artisan Music Hall and home to Electronic Organ Arts, presenting organ concerts and silent films with live accompaniment. It later spent decades serving a succession of churches.

Meanwhile, Bob Baker Marionette Theater spent more than five decades at its beloved First Street home. After leaving that location in 2018, the company found an unlikely — and wonderfully appropriate — new home in the former York, opening here in 2019.

Also included here is Frank Escher and Ravi GuneWardena’s concept rendering for the 2019 transformation, the theatre’s GW-4 organ, surviving plasterwork from the York’s original 1923 proscenium, and scenes from the 2019 Grand Opening Gala.

And this year, the words on the theatre’s marquee became more meaningful than ever: Bob Baker Marionette Theater reached an agreement to purchase the York, taking a major step toward making its Highland Park home permanent.

IN LA TO STAY, indeed.

Photos: Winona Bechtle/Bob Baker Marionette Theatre, Rick McGinnis, Gary Leonard, Michelle Gerdes, John Bernstein

09/20/2026

On the eve of tomorrow’s 12th Annual Bob Baker Day at LA State Historic Park, we thought we’d share this video from the 2024 unveiling of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s beautiful new neon marquee.

Jason Segel joined the celebration and emceed the lighting ceremony as the switch was thrown on a marquee proudly proclaiming “IN LA TO STAY.”

And we’ll brag just a little: the marquee was designed by LAHTF Board member Escott O. Norton.

More about the history of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater — and its home, the historic York Theatre — coming tomorrow!

Video: Evan Norton

09/19/2026

Happy 96th Birthday to the Fox Wilshire Theatre! Now called the Saban, it opened September 19, 1930 with the Marx Brothers in "Animal Crackers." It's located in Beverly Hills at 8440 Wilshire. Our pages: https://losangelestheatres.blogspot.com/2017/03/fox-wilshire.html

The theatre, originally with 2,295 seats, was designed by S. Charles Lee. This is a detail from a Mott Studios photo in the California State Library collection.

89 years ago, the Lido Theatre opened on Pico Boulevard just west of La Cienega.You’ll often see the Lido’s opening list...
09/18/2026

89 years ago, the Lido Theatre opened on Pico Boulevard just west of La Cienega.

You’ll often see the Lido’s opening listed as September 18, 1937, but contemporary newspapers point clearly to Friday, September 17: the September 16 Hollywood Citizen-News announced that it would “open tomorrow,” while that morning’s Los Angeles Times advertised “Gala Opening Tonight, 6 p.m.” So September 17 appears to be the actual opening night.

Designed by prolific theatre architect Clifford A. Balch for Pacific States Theatres, the approximately 900-seat Lido opened with Spencer Tracy and Freddie Bartholomew in “Captains Courageous,” paired with “The Road Back.” The theatre later operated under Fox West Coast, National General and Mann, with periods as an art house, revival theatre and bargain house.

The Lido was demolished in 1979 after the property was sold to Bank of America. Today, the site of the theatre at 8507 W. Pico Blvd. is part of the bank’s parking lot.

Photo: Julius Shulman/Getty Research Institute, losangelestheatres.blogspot.com

Join the gang for our Coffee & Conversation on Pasadena Playhouse on September 26 at 10am PT!We’re diving into the color...
09/17/2026

Join the gang for our Coffee & Conversation on Pasadena Playhouse on September 26 at 10am PT!

We’re diving into the colorful history of Pasadena Playhouse, from its 1917 wartime origins to its 2023 Regional Theatre Tony Award win.

We’ll explore the iconic theatre, hear about its twin 500 miles away in the Sonoran Desert, and learn about its famous alumni, including Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, and William Holden.

Plus, we’ll talk about the Playhouse’s incredible survival story and historic preservation.

Grab your coffee and join us on zoom for a morning of theatre history!

RSVP: lahtf.org/coffeecon

We couldn’t let the weekend pass without recognizing the 100th anniversary of Long Beach’s Scottish Rite Cathedral, dedi...
09/13/2026

We couldn’t let the weekend pass without recognizing the 100th anniversary of Long Beach’s Scottish Rite Cathedral, dedicated on September 11, 1926.

Designed by architects Parker O. Wright and Francis H. Gentry, the $500,000 building at 855 Elm Avenue was formally dedicated before a crowd of more than 1,200. Construction had begun with a groundbreaking in July 1925, and its 500-ton steel framework reportedly went up in just 27 days.

At the heart of the building is an 800-seat auditorium created for Scottish Rite ceremonies, complete with a full stage, more than 70 historic scenic backdrops and a Reuter pipe organ installed in 1926 that remains in place today. The building was designated a Long Beach Historic Landmark in 1980.

In 2001, the auditorium was dedicated as the Ernest Borgnine Theatre, honoring the Academy Award-winning actor and 33° Scottish Rite Mason. A century after the building’s dedication, the theatre remains in use for performances, concerts and other events — a remarkable survivor of Long Beach history.

Photos: lbheritage, mikehume/historictheatrephotos.com, Ronald W. Mahan Collection

97 years ago today, the Hillstreet Theatre became the RKO.On September 11, 1929, the theatre at 8th and Hill formally re...
09/12/2026

97 years ago today, the Hillstreet Theatre became the RKO.

On September 11, 1929, the theatre at 8th and Hill formally reopened as the RKO Theatre, with the Western premiere of the all-talking Radio Pictures production “Street Girl,” starring Betty Compson. Opening night also featured a stage show with Jack Benny as master of ceremonies and appearances by a long roster of stage and screen performers.

The theatre itself was already seven years old. The 3,000-seat Hillstreet had opened on March 20, 1922 as a Junior Orpheum Circuit house, offering continuous vaudeville and first-run photoplays and billing itself as “The Pride of Los Angeles.”

Its new RKO identity came amid the rapid transformation of the entertainment business as vaudeville circuits, movie production and the new talking-picture industry converged under Radio-Keith-Orpheum. The Hillstreet continued presenting both stage and screen attractions before increasingly becoming a movie house.

RKO Hillstreet remained a downtown fixture for decades. After a temporary closure in 1963, it reopened, closed for good in January 1965 and was demolished later that year.

Photos: LA Public Library, Dick Whittington Studio, Marc Wanamaker Collection, The Kingsley Collection

Join the gang for our Coffee & Conversation on Pasadena Playhouse on September 26 at 10am PT!We’re diving into the color...
09/11/2026

Join the gang for our Coffee & Conversation on Pasadena Playhouse on September 26 at 10am PT!

We’re diving into the colorful history of Pasadena Playhouse, from its 1917 wartime origins to its 2023 Regional Theatre Tony Award win.

We’ll explore the iconic theatre, hear about its twin 500 miles away in the Sonoran Desert, and learn about its famous alumni, including Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, and William Holden.

Plus, we’ll talk about the Playhouse’s incredible survival story and historic preservation.

Grab your coffee and join us on zoom for a morning of theatre history!

Register at: lahtf.org/coffeecon

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