Hollywood Masonic Temple | |
 Hollywood Masonic Temple, 2008 | |
    | |
| Location | 6840Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood,California 90028 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°6′4.73″N118°20′24.5″W / 34.1013139°N 118.340139°W /34.1013139; -118.340139 |
| Area | 34,000 square feet (3,200 m2)[1] |
| Built | 1921 |
| Architect | John C. Austin |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| Part of | Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District (ID85000704) |
| NRHP reference No. | 85000355 |
| LAHCM No. | 277 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 28, 1985[3] |
| Designated CP | April 4, 1985[4] |
| Designated LAHCM | June 12, 1984[2] |
Hollywood Masonic Temple, known as theEl Capitan Entertainment Centre and previously known asMasonic Convention Hall, is a building onHollywood Boulevard in theHollywood neighborhood ofLos Angeles,California, U.S., that was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Built in 1921, theMasons operated the temple until 1982, when they sold the building after several years of declining membership. The building was then converted into a theater and nightclub, and ownership subsequently changed several times, until it was bought by theWalt Disney Company'sBuena Vista Pictures in 1998.[5] Since 2003, the building's theater has been the home to the DisneyABC television programJimmy Kimmel Live!
In 1922, the Hollywood Lodge of theMasons relocated from their place at the future site of theDolby Theatre. Development was led by lodge masterCharles E. Toberman, who was also responsible for theHollywood Bowl,Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel,Chinese Theatre, andMax Factor Salon,[5] while design and construction was led byJohn C. Austin who along with his associates was also responsible forLos Angeles City Hall,Griffith Park Observatory,Shrine Auditorium, and more.[3] The original building cost $176,678 ($3.32 million in2024), $56,421 for furniture and fixtures, and $36,295 to purchase the lot. Toberman and fellow member Charles Boag formed a Hollywood Masonic Club to partly finance the building, offering membership subscriptions for $100.[6]
When the new temple opened, it was one of the most impressive structures in Hollywood. It had a billiard room, pipe organ, ladies parlor, ballroom, and lodge rooms. One writer described the building as "unsurpassed for beauty, attractiveness and richness of equipment."[5] TheLos Angeles Times described the building this way in 2002:
It's an impassive presence that seems to transcend the ebb and flow of Tinseltown glamour — a somberNeoclassical temple that stands in stark contrast to the evolving parade of movers, shakers, panhandlers and paparazzi that have passed before it.[5]
The grand ballroom was opened in February 1923; the opening ball featured a program on "the evolution of dance" featuring dancer Lucille Means.[7] Many of Hollywood's elite over the years have been Masons, includingOliver Hardy,Harold Lloyd,Douglas Fairbanks,W.C. Fields,Cecil B. DeMille,D.W. Griffith,John Wayne,Roy Rogers, andGene Autry.[5]
During theGreat Depression, many of the Masons lost their savings, and the Masons were forced to rent the ground floor to a social club that installed an illegalslot machine.[5][6] AfterWorld War II, the Masons resumed full use of the structure, and in 1948, more than 300 people crowded into the Masonic Temple to attend a memorial service forD. W. Griffith.[8] In 1969, longtime MasonHarold Lloyd was honored in a ceremony as his name was placed on theHollywood Walk of Fame, directly in front of the Masonic Temple.[9]
By the late 1970s, Masonic membership had declined, and the Masons rented out ground-floor space to a restaurant. In 1980, the lodge moved out of the building to Van Nuys and renamed the Hollywood-West Valley Lodge.[5] By 1982, the Masons could not afford upgrades to meet revised fire and seismic codes. The Masons sold the building to singerRosita LaBello who converted the structure into the Hollywood Opera & Theater Company. The building's time with LaBello's opera and theater company was short-lived with only a few operatic productions.[6] At the opera and theater company's failure, the building was sold back to the lodge.[5]
InFebruary 1986, Detroit developer James Hoseyni signed a 20-year lease with a $2.7 million ($7.75 million in2024) three-year option to buy with building owner 6840 Hollywood Associates, an affiliate of Westmark Development. Westmark Development at that time had Nicholas Olaerts and Thomas Harnsberger as general partners,[6] and they owned theEl Capitan Theatre by 1992.[10] Donald Bruce Randall, an architect of the Randall/Baylon Partnership of Los Angeles, and Tehran-born Kamal Kamooneh, the project's creative architect, with Hoseyni lead a renovation costing $1.5 million ($4.3 million in2024) to house a 250-seat cabaret, 500-seat jazz theater and an 800-person dance club. The Blue and Red Halls were restored then modified for a disc jockey's podium, special electronic and lighting equipment and bars. The bathrooms were moved to the basement to create more floor space.[6] In September 1987, the building was renovated again and reopened as the Hollywood Live Entertainment Pavilions with a cover charge for all venues.[6] Hollywood Live lasted only a short time.[5]
For the 1995Toy Story premiere at the next doorEl Capitan Theatre, Disney rented the building forTotally Toy Story, a multimediafunhouse promotional event for the movie.[11] In mid-July 1998,Buena Vista Pictures Distribution purchased the building from a bankrupt individual for $3.6 million ($6.94 million in2024) to continue using it as a promotional venue.[1]
In 2002, after extensive renovation,Disney reopened the building as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre. Disney restored original fixtures, including backlighted stonefiligree, wrought irontorchieres,Batchelder tiles and old post boxes once used by Masonic officers.[5]
OnJanuary 26, 2003,ABC—which is owned by Disney—premiered thelate-night talk showJimmy Kimmel Live!; the series has been broadcast from the Masonic Temple's theatre since its premiere.[12][13]
The Hollywood Masonic Temple is a two storybrick andconcrete structure designed in theNeo-Classical style.[3] TheUnited States Department of the Interior has described the design as "a fine small scale example of its style"[4] and "an excellent example of classical architecture on a modest scale."[3]
The principal exterior feature is acolonnade of six outsizedionic columns in front of a recessed entrance. Eight stone steps lead up to the entrance, which consists of heavy wooden double doors decorated with inserts of glass covered with ornamental irongrillwork. Above this entrance, second story windows covered by crosscut iron grillwork create a continuoustransom. Additionally, there are two slightly recessed street level entrances framed by tallpilasters at the east and west corners of the building.Molding around the entry doors mirrors the patterns of the stonework on the exterior, whileiron and carvedwood provide additional exterior detail.[3]
The building is topped by aparapeted roof decorated withacanthus leaves, a Masonic motto flanked by circularmedallions incised in the parapet. Thearchitrave and thefrieze are of patterned stone and have no embellishment.[3]
The interior, reminiscent of Spanish Renaissance design, has undergone significant alterations over the years. On the first floor, a wide, tiled hallway culminates in a stepped-down entrance to the main auditorium at the rear of the building. Meeting spaces with tiled fireplaces are located on either side of the hall, and a stone stairway withwrought iron railings leads to the second floor, where two additional auditorium spaces are located. Each auditorium features elaborate beamed ceilings with carved wooden balconies, with the stages framed by carved and painted borders depicting Masonic ritual.[3]
The building is rumored to have had a tunnel underHollywood Boulevard toGrauman's Chinese Theatre that would allow movie stars to evade crowds atpremieres. If the tunnel existed, it is possible that theB Line construction destroyed it.[5]
Media related toHollywood Masonic Temple at Wikimedia Commons
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