Los Angeles Theatre

Built in 1931

615 South Broadway
Downtown

Located at 615 S Broadway, the Los Angeles Theatre was the last and most elaborate of the movie palaces built on Broadway. The Los Angeles Theatre was designed by architect S. Charles Lee in the Baroque style. Lee filled the theatre with glamour, glitz, technical innovations and sumptuous audience conveniences. With a construction cost of over $1.5 million, the Los Angeles was the most expensive theatre built up to that time on a per-seat basis. On opening night, the theatre hosted the premier gala screening of Charles Chaplin’s City Lights. One of the celebrities in attendance that evening was Mr. Albert Einstein. As the fortunes of Downtown declined, attendance of the Los Angeles Theatre waned until it closed its doors to regular screenings in the 1990s. It now operates as a film location and event space.