Tower Theatre (Los Angeles) facts for kids
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Tower Theatre
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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The building in 2025
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 Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
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| Location | 800 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California |
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| Built | 1927 |
| Architect | S. Charles Lee |
| Architectural style | Baroque Revival |
| Part of | Broadway Theater and Commercial District (ID79000484) |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Designated CP | May 9, 1979 |
The Tower Theatre is a famous old movie theater in Downtown Los Angeles. It first opened its doors in 1927. Today, it is known as the Apple Tower Theatre because Apple Inc. bought and fixed it up. It is now a very important Apple Store for the company.
Contents
History of the Tower Theatre
The Tower Theatre was built by H.L. Gumbiner. He also built another famous theater, the Los Angeles Theatre, a few years later. The Tower Theatre was the first building designed by a well-known architect named S. Charles Lee.
Design and Style
The theater was built on a small piece of land. It could seat 900 people. Its design is called Baroque Revival style. This means it looks like grand buildings from the 1600s and 1700s in Europe. It has cool details from France, Spain, Moorish (North African), and Italy. These details were made using a special kind of baked clay called terra-cotta. The inside of the theater was even designed to look like the famous Paris Opera House!
The outside of the theater has a tall clock tower. Part of the very top of this tower was removed after an earthquake.
Firsts for Los Angeles
The Tower Theatre was very modern for its time. It was the first movie theater in Los Angeles to be set up for "talking pictures." These were movies with sound, which was a new invention then. The theater even showed a special early screening of The Jazz Singer in 1927. This was a very important movie because it had sound. The Tower Theatre was also the first theater in Los Angeles to have air conditioning, which was a big deal in 1927!
The theater first opened in 1927 with a silent movie called The Gingham Girl. For a short time in the 1950s, it was called the Newsreel Theater. It stopped being a movie theater in 1988.
Seen in Movies and TV Shows
The Tower Theatre has been a popular spot for filming movies and TV shows. You might have seen its outside or inside in these:
- The Omega Man (1971)
- The Mambo Kings (1992)
- Last Action Hero (1993)
- Fight Club (1999)
- Coyote Ugly (2000)
- Mulholland Drive (2001)
- The Prestige (2006)
- Transformers (2007)
- Twin Peaks (2017 TV series)
- Nike, Inc. Dream Crazy (2018 ad)
Special Landmark Status
The Tower Theatre is considered a very important building. It has been named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. This means it is a protected building because of its history and special design.
Modern Use of the Building
Like many old theaters in Downtown Los Angeles, the Tower Theatre was empty for many years. This happened because people started going to movies in other parts of the city. Over time, different businesses used the lobby. The main theater area was even used by a church for a while.
Becoming an Apple Store
In 2015, people started hearing that Apple wanted to rent the Tower Theatre for a new store. By 2018, Apple was making plans to fix up the building. They even showed pictures of what the new store would look like. The newly fixed-up building opened on June 24, 2021. It is now a big, important Apple Store for Los Angeles.
See also
- Los Angeles Theatre
- Million Dollar Theater
- Orpheum Theatre (Los Angeles)
- List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Downtown Los Angeles
- List of contributing properties in the Broadway Theater and Commercial District
