The Pellissier Building and adjoining Wiltern Theatre is a 12-story,
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 Unite ...
landmark at the corner of
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal ...
and Western Avenue in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center. Clad in a blue-green
glazed architectural terra-cotta
Glazed architectural terra cotta is a ceramic masonry building material used as a decorative skin. It was popular in the United States from the late 19th century until the 1930s, and is still one of the most common building materials found i ...
tile
Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...
and situated diagonal to the street corner, the complex is considered one of the finest examples of
Art Deco architecture
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 ...
in the United States. The Wiltern building is owned privately, and the Wiltern Theatre is operated by
Live Nation's Los Angeles division.
Location
The Wiltern Theatre is located at the western edge of the
Los Angeles neighborhood of
Koreatown
A Koreatown ( Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula.
History
Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...
, at the southeast corner of
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal ...
and Western Avenue. The Koreatown district is served by bus and Metro Rail; the Wiltern Theatre sits directly across from the
Wilshire/Western Station, currently the westernmost station of the
D Line subway.
Description
Named after the family that owned the land upon which it was developed, the Pellissier Building is a 12-story steel-reinforced concrete office tower. Set upon a two-story pedestal that contains ground floor retail and the theater entrance, the tower has narrow vertical windows that sweep the eye upward and create the illusion of a much taller building (buildings in Los Angeles were restricted from being higher than the city hall until the late 1950s). The tower is an example of French
Zig-Zag
A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular.
In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...
Moderne styling.
The entrance to the Wiltern Theatre is flanked by large vertical neon signs, while patrons approach the ticket booth set back among colorful
terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bind ...
paving. The Wiltern's interior was designed by
G. Albert Lansburgh
Gustave Albert Lansburgh (January 7, 1876 – April 1969) was an American architect largely known for his work on luxury cinemas and theaters. He was the principal architect of theaters on the West Coast from 1900 to 1930.
Life and career
Lan ...
and is renowned for its Art Deco design containing decorative plaster and tile work along with colorful murals painted by
Anthony Heinsbergen. The most dramatic element of the design is the
sunburst on the ceiling of the auditorium, with each ray its own Art Deco skyscraper—Lansburgh's vision of the future of Wilshire Boulevard. When the Wiltern first opened, it also housed the largest theater pipe organ in the western United States.
Both the Wiltern Theatre and the Pellissier Building have been named to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
and declared a
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural 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-Cult ...
by the City of Los Angeles.
History
![Wiltern Theatre Facade](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Wiltern_Theatre_Facade.jpg)
Originally built in 1931, the Wiltern was designed by architect
Stiles O. Clements of
Morgan, Walls & Clements
Morgan, Walls & Clements was an architectural firm based in Los Angeles, California and responsible for many of the city's landmarks, dating back to the late 19th century. Originally Morgan and Walls, with principals Octavius Morgan and John A. ...
, the city's oldest architectural firm. The Wiltern Theatre was originally designed as a
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 ...
theater and initially opened as the
Warner Brothers Western Theater, the flagship for the theater chain. The building and theater were built by the William Simpson Construction Company. After closing a year later, the theater reopened in the mid-1930s and was renamed the Wiltern Theatre for the major intersection which it faces (Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue).
In 1956, the building and theater were sold to the Franklin Life Insurance Company of Springfield, Illinois. The Los Angeles chapter of the American Theater Organ Enthusiasts worked to restore the theater's 37-rank Kimball pipe organ—reputed to be the largest one in Los Angeles at the time—and held recitals there through the late 1960s and into the mid-1970s.
However, the owners ignored the landmark building, and by the late 1970s, the Wiltern had fallen into disrepair. Only the intervention of a group of local preservationists saved the complex from being demolished on two occasions in the late 1970s, when the owners filed for demolition permits. (The preservation of the Wiltern was one of the
Los Angeles Conservancy's first victories in its fight to preserve the architectural heritage of the city.)
![EddieVedderWiltern](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/EddieVedderWiltern.jpg)
In 1981, the Wiltern was purchased by developer Wayne Ratkovich, who worked with architect
Brenda Levin
Brenda A. Levin is a Los Angeles-based architect and advocate for historic preservation. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), her major projects include the restoration of iconic L.A. landmarks like the Bradbury Building, the G ...
to restore both the theater and the office building to their former glory. Previous successes with the
Fine Arts Building and the
Oviatt Building renovations in downtown Los Angeles and the refurbishing of the nearby Chapman Market complex on Sixth Street convinced many in the city that they were the right people for the job.
The renovation of the office building was complete by 1983, but the Wiltern Theatre presented a much more difficult problem and took another two years to complete. The theater had been poorly maintained. Many of the murals and plasterwork were damaged, many of the fixtures had been sold off or pillaged, and portions of the ceiling had crashed onto the ground floor seats. It had also been used as the primary location for the film ''
Get Crazy
''Get Crazy'' is a 1983 American musical comedy film directed by Allan Arkush, and stars Malcolm McDowell, Allen Garfield, Daniel Stern, Gail Edwards, and Ed Begley Jr.
Plot
It is December 31, 1982, and the Saturn Theater is preparing fo ...
'', which caused further damage.
To restore the theater to its original state required expert craftsmanship by A.T. Heinsbergen, son of the original painter, and some creativity to replace what had been lost. This included salvaging vintage Art Deco seats from the soon-to-be-renovated
Paramount Theater in Portland, Oregon. Furthermore, while it was originally designed and run as a movie theater, Ratkovich wanted to convert the Wiltern into a performing arts center that could host live concerts and Broadway-level stage performances—which entailed opening up the rear wall and extending the stage and stage house of the theater back .
After a four-year renovation the Wiltern Theatre opened again to the public on May 1, 1985, with performances by the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate ...
company.
Bill Graham Presents was retained to provide the oversight of the theater booking and operations. The Wiltern was operated as a producing theater, and hosted its own live performances and those sponsored by Avalon Attractions,
Goldenvoice, Concerts West, Universal Concerts, Timeless Entertainment, and many others, and was used for many televised events, commercial filming and feature film locations.
On August 7, 1985,
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...
and the Heartbreakers played a show at the theater, and most of the live show was subsequently used for Petty's first official live release
Pack Up the Plantation: Live! The concert was also filmed.
The Wiltern originally seated 2,344. Subsequent modifications in 2002 removed the 1,200 permanent seats on the ground floor to allow for a variety of configurations from a standing-room-only crowd of 2,300 to a more intimate seated arrangement holding 1850 people. The loge and mezzanine levels in the balcony continue to offer fixed theater seats. The venue remains one of the largest theaters in Los Angeles.
SFX obtained the lease for the operation of the Wiltern in July 2000, and its successor companies
Clear Channel Entertainment
Live Nation was a former American events promoter and venue operator based in Beverly Hills, California. Founded in 1996 by Robert F. X. Sillerman as SFX Entertainment, the company's business was built around consolidating concert promoters int ...
and
Live Nation have continued to present a wide range of performances at the Wiltern.
LG, a South Korea–based consumer electronics company, held the naming rights to the theater, which was then renamed the Wiltern LG from October 2003 until October 2006. Today, the theater is known familiarly as the Wiltern.
In October 2018, Sugar Studios LA expanded its post-production facilities from the 9th floor in the Art Deco-era Wiltern Theater Tower in L.A.’s Koreatown, unveiling a dual-purpose 25-seat Dolby Atmos mix stage and 4K color DI theater on the building’s penthouse floor.
In November 2019, Madonna played a 10-night tour of Madame-X, and was notably late to take the stage.
In the midst of the Coronavirus in April 2020, The Wiltern posted a message on the marquee saying, "Be Kind. Stay healthy. Visit Wiltern.com for updates"
In November 2020, The Wiltern was used as a polling place for the
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
.
See also
*
*
*
House of Blues
House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at Ha ...
References
External links
Cinema TreasuresLos Angeles ConservancyThe Wiltern Seating ChartSugar Studios LA*
{{Authority control
Movie palaces
Music venues in Los Angeles
Skyscraper office buildings in Los Angeles
Theatres in Los Angeles
Koreatown, Los Angeles
Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles
Wilshire, Los Angeles
Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles
Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles
1931 establishments in California
Event venues established in 1931
Office buildings completed in 1931
Theatres completed in 1931
1930s architecture in the United States
Morgan, Walls & Clements buildings
Art Deco architecture in California