427 W. 5th St. and Olive Street near 5th | map | Los Angeles, CA 90013 Opened: November 7, 1906 as the Temple Auditorium with a production of "Aida." It was a $350,000 project funded by the Temple Baptist Church and local businessmen. It had been built on the site of the 1887 Hazard's Pavilion. Architects:
Charles F. Whittlesey, Otto H. Neher and engineer E.R. Harris designed
what was the first reinforced concrete building in Los Angeles and the
largest theatre west of Chicago. It was structurally advanced for its
time and used no columns to support the balcony. The auditorium was
much influenced by the design of Sullivan's Auditorium Theatre in
Chicago. Claud Beelman did a remodel in 1938 which removed the mansard roof and gave the building a moderne facade. The main auditorium entrance was moved to Olive St. Beelman did many other notable Los Angeles buildings including the Eastern Columbia Building (1930).  From Jeffrey Carlson's collection comes this postcard showing the remodeled exterior. full size view The eight story building had retail on the 5th Street side, a basement banquet hall, two 950 seat halls on the second floor, 118 office/studio spaces plus the main auditorium. The theatre was used on Sundays by the Temple Baptist Church. In 1914 it was leased to pioneer showman Billy Clune and became the grandest movie palace west of New York. There was church on Sundays, lots of concerts, and feature films with elaborate prologues. It was known until 1920 as Clune's Auditorium and (sometimes) Clune's Theatre Beautiful.
Even through its movie career was brief, given the size of the theatre,
the impressive architecture and Clune's dazzling productions, this
building ranks as the first true Los Angeles movie palace. Clune used a 20 piece orchestra and reserved the biggest pictures he could get for this venue. "The Clansman" (later known as "Birth of a Nation" ran 26 weeks. Moving
Picture World for July 15, 1916 mentions the sign: "The Auditorium has a very elaborate sign six stories in height on top of a nine story building. It contains 6,000 lamps and has the largest flasher in the world, making 150,000 contacts per minute." See the Cameo Theatre page for an exhibition timeline for Billy Clune's other ventures. In 1920 it became known as Philharmonic Auditorium in when the orchestra moved in. It was also used by the LA Civic Light Opera for 27 seasons. After the LACLO and the LAPhil moved to the Music Center in 1964, the building was again known as Temple Baptist Church. Seating: The capacity was originally announced as 5,000 but in later years was 2,680. It's listed in the 1907-1908 Henry's Theatrical Guide as having a capacity of 2,226. Stage Specifications: The 1907-1908 Henry's Theatrical Guide says the proscenium was 46' wide and 32' high. Stage depth: 42' Grid height: 80' Wall to wall: 90'. The Philharmonic in the Movies: In "The Outfit" (1973) starring Robert Duvall and Karen Black we get
this view looking north on Olive St. --  That's the Biltmore on the left and the beige exterior of the Philharmonic Auditorium on the right. Thanks to Jeffrey Carlson for the screenshot. full size view Status: Demolished in 1985 without much outcry. More information: See the Cinema Treasures page for a great history by Joe Vogel, a lively discussion by various contributors and links to many photos of the Pershing Square area.See the L.A. Times 2011 story "Mildred Pierce remembers downtown L.A.'s Philharmonic Auditorium" about re-creating a visit to the theatre for the mini-series. Unfortunately, they didn't use a Los angeles theatre. Filmed Performances at the Philharmonic: John Downe advises us that the Philharmonic was used for the filming of famed singer John McCormack in 1929. It's a great record of 2 of his songs but, unfortunately, we don't see anything of the theatre. On YouTube: "Ireland, Mother Ireland " and "I Hear You Calling Me." California State Library The State Library has this 1915 view in its collection. At this time the theatre was called Clune's Auditorium. full size view History of Palos Verdes Estates
L.A. Public Library Collection A view back into the dome at the Auditorium in 1966 by Rothschild Photo from the Library's collection. full size view
More interior views in the Library's collection: Also: stage view of recital hall?? -- undated.  A 1951 view looking east toward the marquee on 5th. full size view | on Photos of LA More exterior views from the LAPL collection: | 1905 construction photo | vintage postcard exterior | aerial view in the 20's | | early exterior with "Philharmonic Auditorium" vertical | 30s postcard | | corner and Olive St. facade - c.1920 | | looking west on 5th | east on 5th - 1935 | east on 5th - mid 30s | | entrance - 1948 | panoramic view -- Auditorium is on far right with Temple office building beyond | lining up for "Music Man" tickets - 1958 | | south on Olive - 1963 | later view of 5th St. facade | | from across Pershing Square - 1966, William Reagh | | same view at night | site as parking lot |
forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread  Another view on the same post. Note the "Paris
Grand Opera" signage atop the marquee. Here we're looking west on 5th. full size view USC Archives
 A c.1910-1919 view
from the now demolished State Normal School. Note in the lower right the roof of the Auditorium and the two turrets that face onto Olive St. full size view Also in the USC Archives: | 5th St. facade - 1905 | 5th St. facade - 1910 | | looking east on 5th - 1910 | looking east from Grand - 1910 | | looking north - 1913 | another 5th St. view - undated | | looking west on 5th - 1915 - note "Clune's roof sign and marquee | | facade - 1920 | Olive St. entrance - 1952 | | south on Olive - 1948 -- Smog! | | about photos from other We've tried to give appropriate credit. Please
contact us if there are incorrect attributions, links that no longer work or other issues. A link near each image will direct you to a full size version on the website hosting it. Assume that all the images are subject to copyright restrictions. Contact the webmaster of the site in question concerning reproduction or other use. Big Orange Landmarksbigorangelandmarks.blogspot.com
Elizabeth Fuller's Old L.A. Postcards
 A closer view of the 5th Street Facade shown in this card sent in 1909. The top of the card says "Largest Concrete Building in the World." full size view  The main building entrance on 5th St. -- we're looking east full size view Also in Elizabeth's collection: | north across Pershing Square | | another square view -- north on Olive - 40s | Brian McCray - Hollywood Postcardspicasaweb.google.com/henrypeavey/HollywoodPostcards A great postcard view of the facade in Mr. McCray's collection. You've gotta love those striped awnings. full size view Also in Mr. McCray's collection is the card looking toward the rear of the auditorium that also appears in several other collections: | auditorium interior | Neat Stuffneat-stuff-blog.blogspot.com A lovely 1965 view looking north across Pershing Square toward the Auditorium. It's on theNeat Stuff Blog from a 2009 post called "Vintage Los Angeles." The photo is credited to "nicepictures," a seller on eBay. full size view Note the "Auditorium Bldg." vertical on the left side of the building. Photos of Los Angeleswww.facebook.com/groups/244565982234863 A neat card advertising the "Auditorium Hotel." The building in question is what was later called the San Carlos Hotel -- across the street on the NW corner of 5th & Olive. full size view  Here we get the Auditorium Hotel and the Auditorium building itself in an early postcard view.  An early view looking at the corner of 5th & Olive. Note the exuberant roof sign. full size view  A look north at the Hill St. tunnels on the right. Over on the left, note the wonderful view of the Clune's signage atop the Auditorium Building. Clune operated the theatre until 1920. full size view  A postcard view looking north toward the tunnels -- the Auditorium building is over on the left. full size view  Looking north on Olive Street in 1927. full size view  Fans lining up for Judy Garland in 1952. full size view  A view looking west on 5th in 1960. It's a view added by Kenneth McIntyre to his Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page . full size view Also see: | early postcard | | east on 5th - 1910 | lining up in 1958 - 5th & Olive | | across Pershing Square - from above -- 1984 | | looking north from Hill St. - 1985 | Theatre Talks - Cezar Del Vallewww.flickr.com/photos/theatreposts  A stunning interior postcard view of the Auditorium in Cezar's collection on Flickr. It was postmarked 1908. Cezar is a Brooklyn-based theatre historian. See lots more Los Angeles theatre cards in Cezar's Flikr collection. For other interesting material see his website Theatre Talks and visit him on Facebook.  Another rare item in Cezar's collection is this 1915 program for "The Clansman" -- later retitled "Birth of a Nation." full size view A Visit To Old Los Angeles A view of the Philharmonic Auditorium building from across Pershing Square Brent Dickerson's tour: Hill Street Part 2. full size view The page has many more vintage views of Hill Street and the park.  A view of the stage of the Auditorium on Mr. Dickerson's Olive Street Tour. Here it looks like we're set up for church services. full size view  Looking toward the rear of the house. full size view |
The Philharmonic Auditorium |
