Tower Theatre | |
 The building in 2025 | |
  Location of building inLos Angeles County | |
| Location | 800 S. Broadway,Los Angeles, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°02′36″N118°15′16″W / 34.043375°N 118.254444°W /34.043375; -118.254444 |
| Built | 1927 |
| Architect | S. Charles Lee |
| Architectural style | Baroque Revival |
| Part of | Broadway Theater and Commercial District (ID79000484) |
| LAHCM No. | 450 |
| Significant dates | |
| Designated CP | May 9, 1979[2] |
| Designated LAHCM | August 16, 1989[1] |
The Tower Theatre (known as theApple Tower Theatre since its refurbishment byApple Inc.[3][4]) is a historicmovie theater that opened in 1927 in theBroadway Theater District ofDowntown Los Angeles.[5]
It is currently anApple Store, and serves as a flagship location for the company.
The Tower Theatre, at SouthBroadway and West Eighth Street, was commissioned by H.L. Gumbiner.[6] He would also build theLos Angeles Theatre in 1931.
The Tower was the first theater designed by architectS. Charles Lee.[5] Seating 900 on a tiny site (50 feet wide by 153 feet long[7]), replacing the 650-seat 1911 Garrick Theatre,[8] it was designed in powerfulBaroque Revival style with innovativeFrench,Spanish,Moorish, andItalian elements all executed interra-cotta.[5] Its interior was modeled after the Paris Opera House.[6] Its exterior features a prominentclock tower, the very top of which was removed after anearthquake.[9]
The Tower was the first film house in Los Angeles to be wired fortalking pictures, and it was the location of thesneak preview andLos Angeles premiere ofWarner Bros.' revolutionary part-talkingThe Jazz Singer (1927), starringAl Jolson.[10][6][11] It was the first theater in Los Angeles to be air conditioned.[6]
The theater opened in 1927 with the silent filmThe Gingham Girl starringLois Wilson andGeorge K. Arthur.[11] For a while during the early 1950s, the name was changed to the Newsreel Theater.[12] It closed as a theatre in 1988.[13]
The Tower Theatre's exterior and/or interior can be seen in the following films and TV series:
The Tower Theatre has been declared aLos Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, HCM #450, by the Office of Historic Resources, Department of City Planning, City of Los Angeles.[15]
As with many other historic theaters in Downtown Los Angeles, though largely intact, the theater was abandoned for many years because of migration ofcinema attendance toHollywood Boulevard and other Los Angeles locations. Over the years,[when?] its lobby has been leased to various vendors, and the auditorium has been used by the Living Faith Evangelical Church.[5]
In November 2015, the website DTLA Rising reported thatApple was interested in leasing the Tower for a retail store.[16] Six months later,The Los Angeles Business Journal reported that Apple was "in the process of securing a lease".[17] On August 2, 2018,The Los Angeles Times reported that Apple was submitting plans for the renovation of the building. The company also released an artist's rendering of the converted space.[18] The refurbished space opened on June 24, 2021 as anApple Store, with the store serving as a flagship Apple Store for Los Angeles.[19][20][21]
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