Hollywood Masonic Temple
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Hollywood Masonic Temple
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Hollywood Masonic Temple, 2008
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| Location | 6840 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, California |
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| Coordinates | 34°6′4.73″N 118°20′24.5″W / 34.1013139°N 118.340139°WCoordinates: 34°6′4.73″N 118°20′24.5″W / 34.1013139°N 118.340139°W |
| Built | 1921 |
| Architect | John C. Austin |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 85000355 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 28 February 1985 |
| Designated LAHCM | 12 June 1984 |
Hollywood Masonic Temple, now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre, is a building on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The building, built in 1921, was designed by architect John C. Austin, also noted as the lead architect of the Griffith Observatory. The Masons operated the temple until 1982, when they sold the building after several years of declining membership. The 34,000-square-foot building was then converted into a theater and nightclub, and ownership subsequently changed several times, until it was bought by the Walt Disney Company's Buena Vista Pictures Distribution in 1998 for Buena Vista Theatres, Inc.
Buena Vista Theatres uses it as a promotion tool by creating themed environments to go along with movie premieres. The center is also rented out for industry parties, premieres, record releases and product roll-outs. Since 2003, the building's theater has been the home of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
The building is rumored to have had a secret tunnel to Grauman's Chinese Theater that would allow movie stars to evade mobs at movie premieres. If it existed it is possible that the Red Line subway construction destroyed the tunnel.
In 1922, the Hollywood Lodge of the Masons relocated from their existing lodge on the current site of the Dolby Theatre. The construction of the new three-story building was led by lodge master Charles E. Toberman, who was responsible for the Hollywood Bowl, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Roosevelt Hotel and the Max Factor Building. The original building cost $176,678, with a sum of $56,421 allotted to furniture and fixtures and $36,295 for the purchase of the lot. Toberman and fellow member Charles Boag formed a Hollywood Masonic Club to partly finance the building offering membership subscriptions for $100.
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