Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre | |
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Former names | Wiltern Theatre The Wiltern Center |
General information | |
Status | Complete |
Type | Commercial offices cinema |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
Location | 3780 Wilshire Boulevard |
Coordinates | 34°03′40″N 118°18′28″W / 34.0611°N 118.3078°WCoordinates: 34°03′40″N 118°18′28″W / 34.0611°N 118.3078°W |
Construction started | 1930 |
Completed | 1931 |
Renovated | 1983 |
Height | 155 ft (47 m) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 12 |
Design and construction | |
Architect | Stiles O. Clements G. Albert Lansburgh |
Website | |
http://www.wiltern.com/ | |
Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre
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Built | 1931 |
Architect | Stiles O. Clements G. Albert Lansburgh |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
NRHP Reference # | 79000488 |
LAHCM # | 118 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | February 23, 1979 |
Designated LAHCM | 16 May 1973 |
References | |
The Pellissier Building and adjoining Wiltern Theatre is a 12-story, 155-foot (47 m) Art Deco landmark at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center. Clad in a blue-green glazed architectural terra-cotta tile and situated diagonal to the street corner, the complex is considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the United States. The Wiltern building is owned privately, and the Wiltern Theatre is operated by Live Nation's Los Angeles division.
The Wiltern Theatre is located at the western edge of the Los Angeles neighborhood of Koreatown, at the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue. The Koreatown district is served by bus and Metro Rail; the Wiltern Theatre sits directly across from the Wilshire/Western Station, the westernmost station of the Purple Line subway.
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 late 1950s). The blue-green glazed architectural terracotta tile-covered tower is an example of 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.