Wiltern Center (Los Angeles, California) | building, theatre, Art Deco (architecture), historic landmark, 1931_construction

USA / California / West Hollywood / Los Angeles, California / Wilshire Boulevard, 3780
 building, theatre, Art Deco (architecture), historic landmark, 1931_construction
3780 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90010

The Wiltern Theatre and adjacent 12-story Pellissier Building are an Art Deco landmark located on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as simply the Wiltern. Clad in a blue-green terra-cotta tile and situated on a diagonal to the street corner, the complex is considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the United States.

Named after the family that owned the land upon which it was developed, The Pellissier Building is a 12-story steel-reinforced concrete office tower. Set upon a two story pedestal that contains ground floor retail and the theater entrance, the tower has narrow vertical windows that sweep the eye upward and create the illusion of a much taller building (buildings in Los Angeles were restricted from being higher than the city hall until the 1960s). The blue-green, terra cotta-covered tower has been described as French Zig-Zag Moderne styling.

The entrance to the Wiltern Theatre is flanked by large vertical neon signs while patrons approach the ticket booth set back among colorful terrazzo paving. The Wiltern Theatre's interior was designed by G. Albert Lansburgh and is renowned for its Art Deco design containing decorative plaster and tile work along with colorful murals painted by Anthony Heinsbergen. The most dramatic element of the design is the sunburst on the ceiling of the auditorium, with each ray its own Art Deco skyscraper — G. Albert Lansburgh's vision of the future of Wilshire Boulevard. When the Wiltern Theatre first opened it also housed the largest theater pipe organ in the western United States.

Both the Wiltern Theatre and the Pellissier Building have been named to the National Register of Historic Places and declared a Historic-Cultural Monument by the City of Los Angeles.

bigorangelandmarks.blogspot.com/2008/02/no-118-pellissi...
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Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltern_Theater
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Coordinates:   34°3'40"N   118°18'30"W

Comments

  • Still waiting to see this place. :\
  • How about August?
This article was last modified 5 months ago