Historic Hollywood

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Right: Formerly known as the
Hollywood Playhouse Theater, the
Hollywood Palace was built in 1927
and was a home for live theater in
Hollywood. From 1939-1942 it
became the NBC Radio Theater. The
theater was then renamed the El
Capitan, where the stage revue Ken
Murray’s Blackouts was a long
running success. The theater was used
primarily by ABC for television
during the 1950s and 1960s and was
renamed the Hollywood Palace in
1964. This name change was based
on the popular variety television show
which was broadcast from here until
1970. Today it is The Avalon, a
nightclub and concert venue.
Opposite, top: The Egyptian Theater
front entrance was remodeled in the
late 1930s covering the once open
courtyard entryway with a large
elaborate marquee. With the coming
of the 1950s, the Egyptian Theater's
frontage was remodeled again with a
two story “wave” style architectural
marquee banded in neon and attached
to a canopy. Shown here is the
premiere for The Unsinkable Molly
Brown starring Debbie Reynolds and
Harve Presnell in 1964.
Opposite, bottom: After WWII,
Hollywood underwent a building
boom and an influx of new residents
from around the United States. In
1949 the most famous of the
Hollywood Drive-ins was Tiny
Naylors. Built in the 'Moderne
design and shaped like a giant wing
it became a favorite destination for
the 'car culture' of Southern
California for over thirty years until
its demolition for a strip mall
shopping center.
Boulevard, the United California Bank Tower,
and the Holiday Inn near the Chinese Theater
off of Hollywood Boulevard. The new
development brought to Hollywood smaller
businesses and recording, television and
radio companies to the center of Hollywood’s
business district. The most noticeable of these
developments was the construction of the
Cinerama Dome project at Sunset Boulevard
and Ivar Streets in 1963. But by the end of
the 1960s the character of Hollywood’s
residential neighborhoods was overbuilt with
apartment houses taking the place of single
family residences that had dominated the area
32 ✦ HISTORIC HOLLYWOOD