Fox Theatre
6508 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
6508 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
20 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 152 comments
This theater was featured in a 1953 theater owners' documentary about the financial devastation wrought by the 20% federal tax, plus other encroachments on the box office, such as television.
The doc is called “The Case Against the 20% Federal Admission Tax on Motion Picture Theaters” and is a treasure trove of theaters operating but in imminent trouble, including long looks at their still-open theaters, marquees, etc., and interviews with the owners.
There are also plenty of shots of already-closed theaters; the writing was really on the wall already.
TCM ran this movie on 11/1/09 at about 6am and I stumbled upon it by accident; I don’t know when it will screen again but it is well worth seeking out.
And here I thought they put the trees up in front of Studs (the former Tomcat, the former Pussycat) on Santa Monica Blvd to block the marquee with its silly gay porn titles… It seems cities everywhere have something against theater marquees.
The July 2009 photo shows the facade nicely cleaned up, but the trees are still there! Now open as the Playground Nightclub, an adult-oriented venue.
Socal, you are so correct about those idiotic trees. It’s amazing how cities don’t think or use common sense when doing their jobs, such as planting trees. I love trees as much as anyone, but it’s utterly idiotic that these trees were planted up against the marquees of the theaters to begin with.
We just were talking about this in the Gramercy Theater page too in NY, where they just planted a tree up against the marquee of that theater. See here:
View link
In a few years that tree will cause the same ridiculousness as the Hollywood Blvd Theaters. So it’s not just Hollywood, they have no common sense in NY either. Look at the July/August comments here in the Gramercy Theater page:
/theaters/6113/
The diner ‘Sweet Love Hangover’ opened in the lobby of the Fox theater today. Very nice design and cool mirrored ceiling which extends through the glass under the old marquee. The rest of the building is now the popular Playground nighclub. All traces of the theater are gone except for the restored marquee. Nice to have this simple diner added to a still decrepit Hollywood Blvd and saving the facade of this once crumbling movie theater.
I’m all for moving those trees to a more appropriate location! I’ve got a shovel……
Now there is an interesting approach to grammar and punctuation.
Growing Up in Hollywood in the 60s This was The “ Iris” my local Movie House it was well Run by Mann Theaters & I believe Carol Burnett worked there in the Box Office after leaving Hollywood High in late 50s They showed alot of Disney Movies, architectural wise it was built for Motion Pictures as there was no Stage no Balcony
Here are some photos taken yesterday:
http://tinyurl.com/m8b3m3
http://tinyurl.com/nsgeqq
LM, it only opened recently as a nightclub. What Ken saw was probably the kind of trendy event you get at trendy nightclubs.
There was an event at the Fox last night, perhaps a nightclub opening. Around midnight there were cameras outside and a line of people waiting to get in.
I was going to post a June 2009 photo I took of the Fox from across the street; it is very similar to the second link hollywood90038 posted just above so I’ll refrain.
Whatever the intended use, I must say that I was pleased to see the Fox without the front boarded up like it had been these past years.
A good site to look at is “The Great Hollywood Hangover” site. Many photos on there, most from my era The 1960’s.
Oh good, I like that idea better. It would have been sad to see it go to a strip club.
No, Bway, just a regular old trendy nightclub.
So what is it, a strip club? I guess anything is better than the abandoned dump it had been.
Anyone have a current photo of the exterior?
Ken, you just need to have a Facebook account…
I think you need a password for that.
You’ve jumped the gun a bit. The website seems to have gone live in May, but the calendar’s events are all “TBD.” They don’t say when the club will officially open.
I went by this place today, and they’re obviously working on it. The front has been cleaned up, the marquee has been redone, and there was activity inside. Big difference from the last time I saw the place.
…many changes, and no ridiculously placed trees right in front of the marquee!
Here is a February 14, 1955 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/okzgj7
It looks like there was some changes to the marquee between 1954 and 1956.
When I worked there, starting summer of 69, the front was the same as above photo 1983. Thanks again for your photos.
Here is a 1956 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/pkeqvs