Earl Carroll Theatre (Los Angeles) facts for kids
The theatre in May 2011 as Nickelodeon on Sunset
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 Earl Carroll Theatre
Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
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List
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| Address | 6230 Sunset Boulevard Hollywood, Los Angeles, California |
| Coordinates | 34°05′52″N 118°19′31″W / 34.097851°N 118.325321°W |
| Type | Indoor theater, restaurant, sound stage |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1938 |
| Closed | 2017 (renovations) |
| Architect | Gordon Kaufmann |
| Official name | Earl Carroll Theater |
| Designated | December 7, 2016 |
| Reference no. | 1136 |
The Earl Carroll Theatre is a famous building in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It was once a stage where many shows took place. A showman named Earl Carroll built it in 1938. The building was designed in a cool style called Streamline Moderne by architect Gordon Kaufmann.
Over the years, this theater had many different names. It was called Moulin Rouge from 1953 to 1964. Later, in the 1960s and 1970s, it was known as the Aquarius Theater. From 1997 to 2017, it became Nickelodeon on Sunset, or Nick on Sunset. During this time, it was a studio for many live-action TV shows made for the Nickelodeon channel.
The theater closed in 2017 for big updates. In 2019, two theater operators rented the building for 10 years. They planned to fix it up and open it again as a new place for entertainment.
Contents
History of the Theater
How It Started
The Earl Carroll Theatre first opened its doors on December 26, 1938. The opening night featured a huge show called "Broadway to Hollywood." This show had sixty dancers climbing 100 steps, reaching a height of 135 feet! Many famous Hollywood stars came to the opening. Some of them included Marlene Dietrich, Dolores del Río, and Betty Grable.
The building was designed in the modern Streamline Moderne style. The inside of the theater was very fancy. Earl Carroll put a famous sign over the entrance. It said, "Through these portals pass the most beautiful girls in the world." The theater could hold 1,200 people for dinner and a show. It had a huge stage with a spinning floor and stairs. Swings could even come down from the ceiling!
A very famous part of the building's outside was a 20-foot-tall neon sign. It showed the face of entertainer Beryl Wallace. She was one of Earl Carroll's "most beautiful girls" and his close friend. This sign stayed for many years, even when the theater changed owners. But it was taken down in 1968. Today, a new version of the sign is on display at Universal CityWalk.
Another cool feature outside was the "Wall of Fame." This wall had over a hundred concrete blocks. Each block was signed by a Hollywood celebrity from the 1930s and 1940s.
The inside of the theater was decorated with special lights called zeon tubes. In 1939, Life magazine said the building had a "super-streamlined interior." It had a shiny ceiling, 10,000 colored lights, and a huge statue. The main part of the lobby was a 15-foot-tall statue called the Goddess of Light. It held a 50-foot zeon tube that went up to the ceiling.
Many showgirls who performed there later became famous in movies and on TV. Some of them were Yvonne De Carlo and Mamie Van Doren. The theater was a popular spot for Hollywood's biggest stars and movie bosses.
Changes Over Time
The theater was sold after Earl Carroll and Beryl Wallace passed away in a plane crash in 1948. It kept running, but by the early 1950s, it was having a tough time.
In 1953, a showman named Frank Sennes reopened the theater. He changed its name to Moulin Rouge. A popular TV show called Queen for a Day was filmed there from 1956 to 1964. The theater was also used for a concert film in 1965.
In late 1965, it became the Hullabaloo. This was a rock and roll club for teenagers. It was named after a popular TV show. For a few months in 1968, it was called the Kaleidoscope. Many top rock bands from the West Coast played there, including local groups like The Doors.
Later in 1968, the theater was renamed the Aquarius Theater. It became the home for a long-running Los Angeles show of the musical Hair. The inside was redecorated in a cool, colorful style by a design group called The Fool. They also created famous designs for bands like the Beatles.
On Mondays, when the Hair cast had a day off, the theater sometimes hosted rock concerts. The Aquarius became famous for performances by The Doors in July 1969. These live recordings were later released for everyone to hear.
In 1977, it was briefly known as the Longhorn Theatre. It was also sometimes called the Sunset Boulevard Theatre.
In 1983, a company bought the building. They turned it into a modern TV studio. For nine years, it was the filming location for the TV show Star Search. The theater was also used for the yearly Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. In 1993, it was the venue for The Chevy Chase Show and was called The Chevy Chase Theater. However, that talk show was canceled quickly, and the theater went back to its old name.
Nickelodeon on Sunset Era
In the mid-1990s, Nickelodeon decided to move some of its live-action TV show productions to the West Coast. They had been filming in Florida. After looking for studios, Nickelodeon leased the building at 6238 Sunset Blvd. They turned it into Nickelodeon on Sunset by 1997.
Because there wasn't a lot of studio space, only a few shows could be filmed there at a time. This also helped keep show plots a secret! Other Nickelodeon live-action shows were filmed in different studios around Hollywood.
Some of the popular shows filmed at Nickelodeon on Sunset include:
- All That (Seasons 3–10)
- Kenan & Kel (Seasons 3 & 4)
- The Amanda Show
- Drake & Josh
- Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
- Unfabulous
- iCarly (Seasons 1–5)
- Victorious
- Sam & Cat
- Bella and the Bulldogs
In 2004, the building was sold to a company. Nickelodeon moved out of the property in 2017.
After Nickelodeon
The Earl Carroll Theatre Building was named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument on December 7, 2016. This means it is an important historical building that should be protected.
In September 2016, the city also approved plans for a new building next to the theater. This new building would be seven stories tall and have shops and 200 homes. It would be connected to the theater. Construction on this new project started on October 17, 2017.
On September 25, 2019, two theater operators announced they had signed a ten-year lease for the building. They plan to restore the theater and turn the whole area into an entertainment complex. It will have spaces for concerts, stage shows, movie premieres, and other special events.
