The Alex Theatre is a landmark located at 216 North Brand Boulevard in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is currently owned by the city of Glendale and operated by Glendale Arts. The theater’s capacity is 1,400.

Architecture

The Alex Theatre originally opened in 1925 as the Alexander Theatre, and was designed by architects Arthur G. Lindley and Charles R. Selkirk Associates, although at least one written source attributes it to the architectural firm of

Meyer & Holler Meyer & Holler was an architecture firm based in Los Angeles, California, noted for its opulent commercial buildings and movie theatres, including Grauman’s Chinese and Egyptian theatres, built during the 1920s. Meyer & Holler was also known as ...

. Lindley & Selkirk Associates also designed the Hotel Glendale. The unique interior has distinct neo-classic Greek and Egyptian architectural elements, similar to the Greco-Egyptian period of Ptolemaic Egypt. A long walkway and courtyard separating the ticket booth from the lobby was inspired after the famous

Grauman's Egyptian Theatre Grauman's Egyptian Theatre is a historic movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater ...

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, ...

. In 1940, notable theater architect

S. Charles Lee S. Charles Lee (September 5, 1899 - January 27, 1990) was an American architect recognized as one of the most prolific and distinguished motion picture theater designers on the West Coast. Life Early life Simeon Charles Levi was born in Chicag ...

was commissioned to redesign the exterior of the ''Alexander''. Lee's portfolio included the Tower Theatre and the

Los Angeles Theatre The Los Angeles Theatre is a 2,000-seat historic movie palace at 615 S. Broadway in the historic Broadway Theater District in Downtown Los Angeles. History This Los Angeles Theatre was constructed in late 1930 and early 1931. It was commissioned b ...

, both in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

, the Academy Theatre in Inglewood, as well as the Tujunga Theatre in Tujunga. His contributions included a

art-deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the United ...

column with neon lights, topped by a spiked, neon sphere that gave it a starburst appearance. A neon, angled marquee emblazoned the theater's new name, the Alex, which was shortened to fit the larger letters. At this time the two-story retail and office building on the south half of the forecourt lot was demolished.

History

The Alexander officially opened its doors on September 4, 1925. It was operated by the West Coast-Langley Theatre Circuit and featured

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performances, plays and

silent movies A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

on a single screen. It was named after Alexander Langley, the son of Claude L. Langley, owner of the West Coast chain that included the Raymond Theater in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

, and the Orange Theatre in the city of

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. In addition to the lavish architecture, a huge

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 ...

pipe organ was installed. A regular organist supplied improvised

accompaniment Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles ...

during the silent picture era. Located only a few miles from

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's Hyperion studio, the theater was Disney's favorite place to preview his cartoons to see how they would play to audiences. Several movies had their preview screening at ''The Alex'', inviting celebrities such as

Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as ''On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime B ...

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which l ...

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

for ''

National Velvet ''National Velvet'' is a novel by Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), first published in 1935. It was illustrated by Laurian Jones, Bagnold's daughter, who was born in 1921. Plot summary ''National Velvet'' is the story of a 14-year-old girl named ...

'' and

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

for ''

Going My Way ''Going My Way'' is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest ta ...

'' (both 1944). A backstage fire on August 23, 1948 caused $150,000 in damages. Starting in the 1950s, the ''Alex'' showed blockbuster films such as '' Ben-Hur'' (1959) and ''

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise, and a prequel to the 1981 film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', fea ...

'' (1984). A wide aspect ratio screen was installed in 1954, to accommodate the new

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

pictures, along with a

surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to sur ...

system. The ''Alex'' underwent an extensive renovation in 1993, which restored much of the original wall-painting and decorations, as well as the neon spire added by S. Charles Lee.

The Alex today

The Alex Theatre Performing Arts and Entertainment Center has been the centerpiece of Glendale's arts, culture and community events since it originally opened. It is managed by Glendale Arts, anon-profit organization. The theater's diverse schedule boasts roughly 250 events per year and attracts more than 100,000 patrons annually. Programs range from classical and contemporary concerts, theatre, dance, comedy, fundraising and special events as well as TV and film productions and industry related award presentations. The Alex was the venue in 2017 for the finale of

RuPaul's Drag Race (season 9) The ninth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' began airing on March 24, 2017, on VH1. The returning judges included RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Ross Mathews and Carson Kressley. Fourteen drag queens (including one returnee) competed for the title of " ...

. And in the summer of 2019, the NBC comedy competition series

Bring the Funny ''Bring the Funny'' is an American comedy competition series that aired on NBC from July 9 to September 17, 2019. Hosted by comedian Amanda Seales, the series features various comedy acts performing in front of an audience for a chance to win $2 ...

used the Alex Theatre as the venue for the final two episodes of its first season. Resident companies include the Alex Film Society, Glendale Youth Orchestra, Musical Theatre Guild, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

External links

The Alex Theatre online

The Alex Film Society

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in California Cinemas and movie theaters in Los Angeles County, California Buildings and structures in Glendale, California Theatres in Los Angeles County, California Concert halls in California Music venues in Los Angeles Towers in California Cinema of Southern California Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California National Register of Historic Places in the San Fernando Valley Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in California Theatres completed in 1925 1925 establishments in California Tourist attractions in Glendale, California Art Deco architecture in California 1925 establishments in the United States

Architecture

History

The Alex today

See also

External links

References