Highland Theatres
5604 N. Figueroa Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90042
5604 N. Figueroa Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90042
18 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 40 comments
The Highland succumbed to the modern entertainment times, like so many other theaters have over the years. I hope someone or some coalition can restore the theater and keep it from being torn down.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-03-01/highland-theatre-highland-park-movie-theater-closed
Three Theaters:
110, 130, and 225 seats
The theater building is up for sale:
https://www.theeastsiderla.com/neighborhoods/highland_park/highland-parks-last-remaining-movie-house-goes-up-for-sale/article_727ec90e-15c4-11ed-bc54-f3a9443bc7ae.html
https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/5600-N-Figueroa-St-Los-Angeles-CA/26235428/
Featured in Season 2 Episode 5 of the Netflix/Judd Apatow series “Love”. How great that this cool neighborhood theatre is still going!
Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation will be doing an ALL ABOUT Tour at the Highland Theatre on November 21 at 10am. The Highland Theatre has been entertaining the local community for 90 years, and is the last theatre remaining in the area. Designed by L.A. Smith, (who also designed the Rialto) and opened in 1925 as a vaudeville house, the Highland has a complete stage, dressing rooms and balcony, all have been hidden from view for decades. LAHTF has been given full access, our ALL ABOUT tour will take you to parts of the theatre that the public hasn’t seen in years, and other places that have never been accessible to the public! Don’t miss this unique opportunity to rediscover a classic treasure! We are also thriled to be screening a special documentary: “The Highland Theatre: A Legacy Uncovered”, created and produced by the Highland Park Independent Film Festival.
For tickets and info: http://tinyurl.com/HighlandALLABOUT
LAHTF Members get $10 off each ticket! Click the REDEEM BENEFITS and enter your email and name as instructed, your discount will be applied.
The main house (#2) is pretty big—definitely in the 300 seat realm—but the other two are very small. All have fixed aspect ratios, so yes, it’s a place for Flat movies only really. The price pretty much reflects what you get.
I visited this theatre on Nov. 17, and saw “Due Date” in Cinema 1. I was rather disappointed in the presentation. First of all, it was a scope picture, but the screen doesn’t have movable masking and everything is shown in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. So on a scope picture, the edges are cropped off. Second, the right side of the screen was out of focus. Third, the CinemaScope lens was not properly set, resulting in a slanted picture. The green scratches in the picture were not straight up and down, but slanted, as were the end credits. It seems that the projectionist is one of those who just turns the projector on, and doesn’t stick around to fine-tune the focus or make other adjustments.
Are all the cinemas the same size? Cinema 1 seemed pretty small considering the size of the building and that there are three auditoriums in it.
I took the Gold Line(via the Red Line from N Hollywood) and on 6/14 saw the Shrek movie. I agree that the area is very historic and gradually improving and relatively safe, even at night. You’re right, what a bargain, especially the senior rate.
Usually, lower economic areas are penalized but you can actually see a first run at the Highland for half the price of the West Side. It would be nice if they occasionally showed some specialty or classic movies like the Art Theater in Long Beach.
The Highland Theater’s marquee turns up in the new John C. Reilly movie Cyrus.
Cool photos hollywood90038.
Love the rooftop sigh,nich looking theatre.
Interesting film by a young local director, RD Hall. It was nice to sit in there for a couple of hours. Many of those who attended had never been in the Rialto when it was in operation. The insides have been pretty much well preserved. Interseting to note that the film was actually projected digitally from a DVD projector in the balcony, and it was able to achieve the standard aspect ratio. I’d say about 200 people made the show. Cant wait for the next show. I think they should do the same at the Highland once in a while, that is, show indie films now and then.
BTW….the show at the Rialto is at 8:30 PM tonight!!!
Sorry Howard…I forget that some of our more obsessive members subsrcibe to several dozen theatres….even if they’ve never even attended those said theatres….just kidding… but seriously, if I was truly abusive, I would have posted on several dozen thetres, instead of those in the immediate area of the Rialto.
Darby, it is abusive to post that on every LA theater page.
Thats the Rialto in South Pasadena.
Hey everybody, local South Pas kid and amateur filmmaker, R.D.Hall, will be premiering him Noir Horror/Gangster movie at the Rialto on May 8th, 2009. The One-Sheet for the film was created by another South Pas/Highland Park kid, local art legend, Jimi(not the tattoo artist)Martinez. Admission is free, as is the popcorn and refreshments. Whoa! Friday night at the movies!!! Lets all go support indie filmmaking…Rialto rocks!!!
Here is part of an LA Times article dated 9/7/75:
Ex-Porno Theater Reopens
HIGHLAND PARK-The Highland Theater, picketed by residents last year when X-rated films were offered, has reopened under new management pledged to show only family-type films. Arman Akarakian, the new owner, says picketing in November and December convinced him that “Highland Park meant business” and would support the theater if non-pornographic films were shown. Akarakian, who owns another movie house in Huntington Beach, said the theater will offer Spanish-language films every Tuesday night and childrens' matinees on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
I just recently ventured to this theater for the first time specifically to see the theater. I found that the rooftop sign, the still visible Moorish architecture on the side of the building and the stairs that were roped off obviously leading to a former balcony, belie the current state of the theater. The auditorium was very dirty and, yes, you could hear the films from the neighboring auditoriums. And not to be forgotten, was the surly ticket seller. However, the price was amazingly cheap compared to the megaplexes. Indeed it is always refreshing to see theaters with history still in operation but the current state of this theater cannot help but make one sad.
It was close to 98 degrees when I took those pictures in March. Frost Belters take note.
Here are some March 2008 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/38j7jn
http://tinyurl.com/2vkw6k
http://tinyurl.com/3yo397
http://tinyurl.com/2jshsh
http://tinyurl.com/2l6a62
http://tinyurl.com/2q92og
http://tinyurl.com/2qnm6x
Well when they tri-plexed the house in 1983. They put the three theatres on the ground floor, leaving the balconey alone. So it is a triplex, but to the untrained person it looks like a quad. They have not used the balconey area in years (1983). So it’s a triplex.
Here is a story about the Highland from the LA Times dated 9/12/91:
The 67-year-old Highland Theatre, the last of a group of 1920s theaters that once formed the heart of Highland Park, has been designated a historic-cultural monument by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission. Members of the Highland Park Heritage Trust, the historical preservation organization that nominated the Highland as a monument, described it as one of the outstanding examples of Moorish theater architecture in the Los Angeles area.
Designed by theater architect L.A. Smith, the Spanish-style Highland at 5600 N. Figueroa St. features arched openings, decorative tile walls and wrought-iron work on its exterior. The once-elegant interior had an orchestra pit, a working stage for vaudeville acts, large ceiling frescoes, and elaborate moldings in the shape of Spanish arches. If approved by the Los Angeles City Council, the monument designation would mean that any plan to alter or demolish the building could be delayed for up to one year, while preservationists seek a means of saving it.
But while the outer walls of the theater are virtually the same as they were when the structure was built in 1924, the interior had already been substantially altered when it was divided into a triplex theater in 1983. The once-outdoor lobby was enclosed and the original walls in the lobby and in the theater were covered with other material. Today, the balcony, where the frescoes and moldings are still exposed, is filthy and closed to the public. The grand chandelier that once hung over the house is lying on the floor there, covered in dust. The seat cushions have been pulled up and stacked in piles.
But Charlie Fisher, a member of the board of directors of Highland Park Heritage Trust, said the building “is restorable.” “The original interior is still there,” he said. “Down the road, if economic conditions merit it, you could convert it back.”
Greg Akarakian, whose father has owned the theater since 1975, said his family has no plans to restore the theater to its original condition. He said that the historical preservationists who want to save the building have come into the picture too late. “Maybe 10 years ago, they would have had a chance,” he said. “If they had shown interest before we remodeled, maybe we could have done something.”
But Fisher said the monument designation will preserve the chance that the building could be refurbished in the future. “You don’t know what’s going to happen in 10 years,” he said. “They may be able to convert it back.”
In documentation submitted with its nomination, the Heritage Trust said the Highland was the largest and most elegant of a cluster of six theaters that formed the cultural heart of Highland Park. Its opening was a grand occasion, with an appearance by the silent film star Norma Shearer. “This technically was probably the finest building for a theater that Highland Park ever had,” said Tom Owen, a local history specialist for the city’s Central Library downtown. “This would have been the major point in town for entertainment.”
Later though, the theater and others in Highland Park fell on hard times as movie attendance dropped. Gradually, the others closed and, by 1963, the Highland was the only one left. In their struggle to keep the Highland open, the operators briefly showed pornographic films and Spanish-language movies, Akarakian said. The triplex now shows first-run feature films.
This theatre is only a couple blocks from the Gold Line train stop.
Westsiders, why not have an adventure. Take the train to Highland Park and check out this historic theatre. Pretend it’s 1950 and you’re taking the Red Cars to Highland Park. Have fun and explore your city.
I still live by this theatre. In the afternoons, the theatre is pretty quiet, and some couples and mostly students out of school will show up (on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s is $3 dollars). Unlike huge megaplexes, the people in the audience are a bit loud, always chattering away, but it’s not bad. It gives you a very lively experince. Usually on a Weekend night ($6), there will be a large line for a movie, especially huge ones like The Lord of the Rings or Pirates of the Carribean. My only complaint is that it’s not keep very clean (sometimes the theatre smells like feet) and the walls are paper thin, so you can hear the movie next door at loud scenes. Still, it’s my favorite theatre just because of the great times.