Forum Theatre

Here is a May 1957 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/ywywvg

From the LA Times, 5/11/24:

Private Auto Stalls Break Out Locally

Individual numbered stalls for automobiles is the innovation to be inaugurated by the new Forum Theater which will have its grand opening coincident with the Los Angeles premiere of the D.W. Griffith film “America” on the evening of May 15. The Forum management believes that this will make the first time a theater ever had maintained its own auto park with numbered stalls reserved for patrons just as seats in the theater are reserved.

When a patron buys tickets he can at the same time purchase for the nominal charge of ten cents a parking space reservation, which will be held exclusively for him just as are his seats. Accommodations are provided for 500 cars and because of ample space there will be no delay on entering or leaving the park. No tipping will be permitted and patrons are assured of being able to time their arrival so that they may park their car and reach their seats in time for the opening of the performance, all within five minutes.

No, it looked like they were pulling everything from the interior. I don’t get to that neighborhood much, so I don’t know what’s been done since October.

From the LA Times, 5/16/24:

FORUM’S OPENING BRILLIANT
Carnival Spirit Prevails at New Theater as Stars and Social Leaders See “America”
FORUM MECCA IN FILM DEBUT

Another magnificent climax in bright light history of Los Angeles was attained last night. Far from the usual haunts of the playgoers, the Forum Theater, one of the most unusual of pioneering projects in construction and location, flung open its portals, and Pico and Norton streets, where the house is located, became a dazzling, glittering blazing focal point of interest.

The Pacific Jazz lable used the Forum Theater to record many classic jazz sessions in the mid to late ‘50’s. West coast jazz stars such as Chet Baker, Art Pepper, Bill Perkins, and even Hoagy Carmichael graced the stage of the theater to lay down some remarkable music for Pacific Jazz records. I think it was the only record lable in LA to take advantage of the theater’s acoustics for recording purposes. So even if the Forum is no longer used to show movies, its unique theater sound is preserved on these recordings.

I bribed my Chinese friend with breakfast and asked her to try to pass for Korean to get into this building today. The exterior is pretty much intact, but the auditorium is destroyed. It looks as though a new building was built inside of the theater, so the original might be above the very strange A-frame ceiling of the auditorium. I cannot imagine why anyone would spend the money to construct an A-frame ceiling underneath the huge original ceiling. The building is massive on the outside and when you see the interior space now, it feels as though you are in a tiny church. Most of the detail in the lobby and stairs going up on the sides is still there, although it has been painted over with white and beige glossy paint. I imagine it would have been gold originally. There is no sign of any murals left unless they are behind walls or above the wierd ceiling.

Interior photo, from the California State Library:

View link

I stumbled upon the Forum by accident back in the 1970s. The edifice is so striking that I had to park, get out of my car, and get a closer look.

I recall looking for information about the Forum and seeing drawings of it, inside and out, at the Los Angeles Public Library downtown. (Back then, images that are now available digitally from the LAPL website could seen in hard-copy form.) The auditorium looked interesting, all on one level and circular rather than rectangular. I don’t recall the decor, other than perhaps murals on the walls.

This was so long ago that I’m not sure if my recollection of those drawings is accurate. Has anyone who’s been inside the auditorium describe it? (If I still lived in L.A., I’d definitely attend a church service to find out for myself!)

Here is a picture courtesy of the LA Library. Sometimes you have to know when to say enough…

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015304.jpg

Of course it’s a Korean church. That’s why I needed an interpreter.

I was told by the minister of the church that now occupies the site(through an interpreter) that the Forum was originally an opera house.

Ephraim

There was a fountain near the north east corner of the building, when the theatre opened. It would be on the left side of the above picture.

When this theatre was used as part of testing Cinerama. It had the three Century Cinerama projectors and a pair of Norelco 70/35mm projectors to run and test the single lens Ultra-Panavision (Cinerama) format.