BEAUTIFUL PANTAGES THEATER PHOTOS

The Pantages Theater, at 6233 Hollywood Blvd. opened its doors on Jue 4, 1930. Designed by architect, B. Marcus Priteca, it was the last theater built by the vaudeville impressario Alexander Pantages.  The gorgeous art deco theater was part of the Pantages Theater Circuit.  The new Hollywood theater programmed first-run movies alternating through the day with vaudeville acts for its first two years. But like other theaters during the great depression, it was forced to economize and thereafter operated primarily as a movie theater, though live entertainment was presented occasionally.

Photos of the early days of the Pantages Theater can be seen on the hollywoodphotographs.com web site.

Alexander Pantages sold the Hollywood landmark in 1932 to Fox West Coast Theaters. In 1949, Howard Hughes acquired the Pantages for his RKO Theatre Circuit and moved his personal offices to the building's second floor. From 1949 through 1959, the theatre hosted the American motion picture industry's annual Academy Awards It continued to be a major venue for movies into the 1970s. In addition, movie premieres for such films as “When Tomorow Comes” and Spartacus” were held regularly at the Pantages Theater.From 1965, it was operated by Pacific Theatres. The Pantages closed as a movie theater in January, 1977, and re-opened the following month with Bubbling Brown Sugar, the first of the many stage productions that have since become its regular fare.

Today the theater is operated by an arm of the Nederlander Organization, the Pantages is one of Los Angeles' leading venues for live theater (the five highest-grossing weeks in L.A.'s theatrical history were all shows at the Pantages). The theater has recently presented large-scale Broadway musicals such as Disney’s The Lion King which ran at the theatre for over two years, and hosted the long-running Los Angeles production of the Broadway musical Wicked.

Other Pantages Theater photos, in the hollywoodphotographs.com collection include both interior and exterior images.  All are available for purchase.