The Pantages | |
 The theater in 2012 | |
  Hollywood Pantages Theatre Location within the Los Angeles metropolitan area | |
| Former names | RKO Pantages Theatre |
|---|---|
| Location | 6233Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood, California 90028 |
| Coordinates | 34°06′07″N118°19′34″W / 34.102°N 118.326°W /34.102; -118.326 |
| Public transit |   Hollywood/Vine |
| Operator | Nederlander Organization |
| Type | Indoortheatre |
| Seating type | Reserved |
| Capacity | 2,691[1] |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1929 |
| Opened | June 4, 1930 |
| Renovated | 2000 |
| Website | |
| hollywoodpantages | |
| Designated | July 5, 1978[2] |
| Reference no. | 193 |
| Architect | B. Marcus Priteca |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| Designated | April 4, 1985[3] |
| Part of | Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment National Historic District |
| Reference no. | 85000704 |
Hollywood Pantages Theatre, formerly known asRKO Pantages Theatre andFox-Pantages Theatre, also known asThe Pantages, is a live theater and former movie theater located at 6233Hollywood Boulevard, nearHollywood and Vine, in theHollywood neighborhood ofLos Angeles,California. Designed by architectB. Marcus Priteca, the theater was the last built by the vaudeville impresarioAlexander Pantages and also the lastmovie palace built in Hollywood.[1][4]
Hollywood Pantages Theatre, the last theater built in thePantages Theatre Circuit and also the lastmovie palace built inHollywood, was built byAlexander Pantages in 1929 and opened on June 4, 1930. The theater was designed to seat 3,212, but it opened with extra legroom and wider seats, reducing seating capacity to 2,812.[4]
The Pantages opened withMGM'sThe Floradora Girl starringMarion Davies on screen andFranchon & Marco'sThe Rose Garden Idea on the stage.[4] However, while the theater originally programmedfirst-run movies and vaudeville acts, it was forced to economize due to effects of theGreat Depression. Therefore, starting in 1932, the theater operated primarily as a movie theater, though live entertainment was presented occasionally.[5]
Alexander sold the Pantages toFox West Coast Theaters in 1932, and in 1949,Howard Hughes acquired the theater for hisRKO Theatre Circuit; he also moved his personal offices to the building's second floor. From 1949 to 1959, the theater hosted theAcademy Awards, in 1965 it was purchased byPacific Theatres, and it continued to be a major venue forroadshow movies into the 1970s,[1][4][5] with notable screenings during this period including the west coast premieres ofSpartacus andCleopatra, which ran for 61 and 72 weeks, respectively.[6] In 1974, theEmmy Awards were held at The Pantages.[7]
The Pantages closed as a movie theater in January 1977 and re-opened the following month withBubbling Brown Sugar, followed byBeatlemania,Man of La Mancha,La Cage Aux Folles,Ann Miller andMickey Rooney inSugar Babies andYul Brynner inKing and I. Stage productions have been its regular fare ever since.[4][6][8]
In 1978, the Pantages Theatre was designated aLos Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument,[2] and in 1984, theHollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District was added to theNational Register of Historic Places, with Pantages Theater listed as acontributing property in the district.[3]
In March 1999, the theater hosted theBlockbuster Entertainment Awards.[9]
In 2000, the theater underwent a $10-million ($18.3 million in2024)[5][8] restoration and upgrade, for which it received a Conservancy Preservation Award in 2001.[1][4] In December 2007, plans were revealed to complete the building's original design, which consisted of two stories dedicated to theater and ten additional floors of office space, but it was never realized.[10]
Now operated by a subsidiary of theNederlander Organization, the Pantages is one of Los Angeles's highest-grossing venues for live stage andBroadway-style productions.[4] The five highest-grossing weeks in LA theater history were all at this theater,[5][11] and the theater has presented large-scale Broadway musicals such asWicked,Hamilton,The Book of Mormon, and more.[1]Disney'sThe Lion King played at the theater for 27 months straight, from October 2000 to January 2003.[9]
The theater still hosts the occasional film, including theworld premiere ofRogue One in 2016.[9] The theater has also hosted music concerts.Alice Cooper played the Pantages in 1990[12] and 2016.[13] In 1997, bothPrince andShakira performed at The Pantages,[14][15] the latter being her first show in the United States. In 2006, Mexican pop-groupRBD recorded their CD/DVDLive in Hollywood at the Pantages.[16] Other musicians who have performed at the Pantages includeDream Theater,Foo Fighters, andMark Knopfler.[citation needed]
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Designed byB. Marcus Priteca and opened in 1930,[3] the Pantages was originally meant to be a twelve-story building, with two stories of theater space and ten stories of office space above, but the office space was never built.[17] The cost of construction for the two-story theater was $1.25 million ($23.5 million in2024).[4]
The theater is a two-storyconcrete construction designed in theart deco style with anersatz stone exterior. The building features first story windows outlined with metal zigzag frames,Egyptianlotus patterns that highlight the second story, and a sculptured goddesses that highlights the roofline.[3] The theater's forecourt features a lavish ceiling with gold, silver, and bronze-coloredstarbursts that radiate in multiple geometric patterns.[1]
Inside, the lobby is a 110-feet wide by 60-feet deeppoly-chromaticfan vault, decorated in a zigzag geometric design with gold and henna shades. The entire area is illuminated by three hugeModerne frosted glasschandeliers hanging from three star-shapeddomes. At each end of the lobby is a 20-foot wide carpeted stairway, lined with vaguely Egyptian andAssyro-Babylonian styled statues, one of which depicts in anArt Deco style, acamera crew filming.[4] Also in the lobby,bronzesunbursts are featured above the elevator doors.[3]
The theater'sproscenium is 54 feet wide, and above the proscenium are three painted panels, one depictingApollo leading his snortingsteeds, another depicting Californiaoil riches, and the third depictingNative Californians. On each side of the proscenium were originally two small side-stages flanked on the side-walls by largeorgan chambers. Theorchestra pit was on an elevator, and the stage, measuring 180 feet wide and 70 feet deep, is the second largest west ofChicago, after theShrine Auditorium indowntown Los Angeles.[6][17]
The crowning beauty of the theater'sArt Deco decorations is its double ceiling. Designed byAnthony B. Heinsbergen, the ceiling features a series offretworksunray effects that converge from the center, from which a largefrosted glass andbronzechandelier is hung.[4]
Disney California Adventure'sHollywood Pictures Backlot façade is based on The Pantages, but only the part of the theater left of its entrance and marquee, hence why the façade doesn’t look like a theater.[4]
Many concert scenes have been shot at the Pantages, including the 1980 filmThe Jazz Singer,[18]Michael Jackson's 1995 music video "You Are Not Alone",[9] theTalking Heads 1984 concert filmStop Making Sense,[19] and more.
The Academy Award scenes inThe Bodyguard were shot in The Pantages, and the theater's interior was used for the Ritz Gotham Hotel inBatman Forever. Other films that shot at The Pantages includeEd Wood andFriends with Benefits.[20]
In October 1995,George Burns taped a TV special commemorating his 100th birthday at this theater.[9]
Rickie Lee Jones's 1979 self-titled debut album includes a reference to The Pantages in her song "Chuck E.'s In Love".[citation needed]
