Paul Leni was born on July 8, 1885 in Stuttgart, Germany as Paul Josef Levi. He was an art director and director, known for The Man Who Laughs (1928), Das Rätsel von Bangalor (1918) and The Last Warning (1928). He died on September 2, 1929 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Paul Leni was born on July 8, 1885 in Stuttgart, Germany as Paul Josef Levi. He was an art director and director, known for The Man Who Laughs (1928), Das Rätsel von Bangalor (1918) and The Last Warning (1928). He died on September 2, 1929 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Jan 17, 2010 · In addition, the theater has been fully restored to its original, vintage 1940s art deco design; and also updated for the modern age with a …
Feb 23, 2012 · Harold Lloyd: Building at 908 S. Broadway in downtown Los Angeles was filmed in Lloyd’s 1923 “Safety Last!” movie; haroldlloyd.com.
During the next few decades, John Hampton was responsible for the restoration of countless silent films, protecting these treasures of cinema history. Sadly, the Hamptons closed the theater in the 1970s, but it was reopened by a family friend, Laurence Austin, in 1991. However, in an odd turn seemingly pulled straight from a movie, ...
One of the most beloved theaters in the country, the Silent Movie Theater is also the last of its kind. It was opened in 1942 by John and Dorothy Hampton, an Oklahoma couple, at a time when silent films had all but ceased to exist.
Located in the heart of Hollywood, the theater currently holds screenings every week. It continues the tradition of silent films, with live organ accompaniment, on the first Wednesday ...
Located in the heart of Hollywood, the theater currently holds screenings every week. It continues the tradition of silent films, with live organ accompaniment, on the first Wednesday and one floating Sunday afternoon of every month. In addition, the theater has been fully restored to its original, vintage 1940s art deco design; and also updated for the modern age with a larger screen, state-of-the-art sound, and nicer seating (including some very comfy sofas).
Star homes of that period often reflected the images on the screen and magazines published photographs of the grandest of them, among which was the mansion (recently seen in Woody Allen's "Cafe Society") of Hollywood's top art director, Cedric Gibbons and his actress wife, Dolores Del Rio.
Silent films were giving way to the "talkies" and it was the dawn of the age of the "silver screen" with art directors, costume designers and lighting experts worked together to create tonal varieties with black and white.
Designed by one of Art Deco’s leading architects, Claud Beelman, it opened in 1930 as the headquarters of furniture and clothing stores Eastern Outfitting Company and Columbia Outfitting Company, hence the building’s name. The 13-story structure's turquoise terra cotta exterior is accented with blue and gold terra cotta, as well as a whole array of geometric designs—sunbursts, zigzags, chevrons. It also boasts a distinctive clock tower emblazoned with the word “Eastern.”
Los Angeles, CA 90014. Visit Website. This glorious Art Deco and Beaux Arts structure was completed in 1928 for Alexander and Oviatt, “one of the most prestigious and expensive haberdasheries in the city,” according to the LA Conservancy.
The Wiltern and the Pellissier office building it’s attached to are covered in an eye-catching blue-green terra cotta tile. Designed by Stiles O. Clements of the firm Morgan, Walls, and Clements, the structure was completed in 1931 as a theater, the Warner Bros. Western Theatre. Now it’s a music venue, but the interior retains its gold-leaf detailing, elaborate murals, and an enormous sunburst on the ceiling of the theater. The interior was designed by the same man that did Downtown’s Palace and Orpheum theaters, G. Albert Lansburgh, according to the LA Conservancy.
Art Deco, which is usually associated with the 1920s and ’30s, is recognizable by its use of geometric and zigzag patterns, bold colors, and clean lines. In Downtown Los Angeles alone, there are a handful of statement buildings featuring these types of dazzling details inside and out: the Eastern Columbia, the Oviatt Building, the Central Library.
“ [A] glamorous refuge during the dark days of the Great Depression,” according to the LA Conservancy, the interior features a carved wooden ceiling with a sunburst design and fabulous Art Deco tile and lighting fixtures. In 1999, the theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Jack Warner of the Warner Brothers film studios called the movie palace the “Castle of our Dreams.”. The Warner Grand represents Art Deco “on a smaller scale,” says Dishman. “It's not as tall as, say, the Wiltern, but it fits into the context of its neighborhood.”.
The architectural diversity of Los Angeles is vast, pulling in styles from Craftsman to Googie and from midcentury modern to Victorian. It’s no surprise then that the area holds a crop of amazing Art Deco buildings.
The one Art Deco building allowed to exceed height restrictions was City Hall . The architectural team of John C. Austin, Albert C. Martin and John Parkinson created a tall central tower, built with concrete mixed with sand from each of California’s 58 counties.
From the late 1920s until the early 1940s, Art Deco was at the height of its popularity in the city. The design style included Zigzag Moderne — characterized by classic zigzag patterns and setbacks, where buildings featured a wide base, becoming narrower as they rose in height.
Pershing Square , originally known as La Plaza Abaja and dedicated in 1866, is one of the oldest parks in the city. Taking up an entire city block and almost centrally located downtown, the park is a perfect starting point for exploring Art Deco in Los Angeles. In the early 1920s, Los Angeles was in an enviable position.
Some cities have a single architectural identity but Los Angeles is known for many. It was an incubator of the American Craftsman style, and it embraced Beaux-Arts, as well as Spanish Colonial Revival and Mayan Revival, which found a powerful advocate in Frank Lloyd Wright. But then Art Deco arrived and proliferated during the decades when movie studios became the cornerstone of an economy that had previously relied primarily on oil. It left a stunning cache of public buildings in its wake.
The footprints of the retail past of downtown Los Angeles are one of the more interesting characteristics of the neighborhood. The area around South Hill Street and South Broadway near Pershing Square boasted some of the busiest and most fashionable stores in the entire region in the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1960s, urban decline and rapid population growth in the western edges of the city lured many customers away from downtown, but the buildings remained.
When I saw the Los Angeles Central Library building from a distance, I first thought it was a temple. It had Byzantine, Egyptian, Spanish Colonial and Roman architectural influences and, at 90 years old, it truly exemplifies the grandeur of early Art Deco.
There was a burgeoning retail market downtown, with stores including A. Hamburger & Sons, Bullock’s and the J. W. Robinson Company strengthening their economic footholds.
The 1950’s Art Deco style cinema still charges only $3 for a ticket. World Theater, Kearney, Nebraska. At one time Kearney, Nebraska must have been all that. It had not one but two theaters in town. Unfortunately only one is currently showing films. The World Theatre opened in 1930 but closed in 2008.
The 750-seat Babcock Theater was built in 1907 and is currently undergoing a renovation by its new owners. Unfortunately I was there a few weeks too early for the Yellowstone Valley Bellydance Festival. But I heard it was a hoot.
High-end department stores have dwindled, Westlake is no longer the lap of luxury and the copper turret on the Bullocks Wilshire has since tarnished green—but none of that diminishes the elegance of this Art Deco landmark.
Claud Beelman, 1930 As Broadway continues to bounce back, the Eastern Columbia Building stands as a reminder that the Downtown street has always been beautiful. The stunning Art Deco tower never seemed to make its way into L.A. iconography, but since a major 2004 renovation, it’s become a beloved landmark for Angelenos.
John C. Austin, Frederick M. Ashley, 1933 "If all mankind could look through that telescope," declared Griffith J. Griffith, "it would change the world." We think a simple trip to the hilltop scientific sanctuary is enough to do the trick; the dignified building exudes quiet and calm as Los Angeles twinkles below.
Walker & Eisen, 1928 The Oviatt Building’s facade may not call as much attention to itself as some other Art Deco structures, but look lower down and you’ll spot easily the glitziest gate and foyer in the city. The ground floor forecourt exudes French flair from its triangular, swirling glass cutouts.
Allison & Allison, 1931 Though these days it sits in the shadow of the US Bank Tower, the former Southern California Edison Co. headquarters once pushed up against the city’s 13-story height limit.
John and Donald Parkinson, 1930 This graceful structure from architects John and Donald Parkinson immediately draws the eye upward. Its most distinctive feature is its gothic tower—you’ll have a head-on view from atop Perch —but the details are decidedly deco. Inside, you’ll find a half-dozen historic murals by Hugo Ballin.
Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, 1926 The city’s main library is worth a look even if you’ve no interest in borrowing books. The exterior is an Egyptian and Mediterranean beauty, topped with a dramatic, tiled pyramid tower and decorated with bas-reliefs.