Million Dollar Theater

Nishi Temple

The "million dollar" stage

by Denise Reich

The story of Downtown's first movie palace

How do you get to Grauman’s? If you asked someone in Downtown LA the question, they would probably direct you to the Red Line or the freeway. After all, showman Sid Grauman’s two most well-known venues, the Chinese Theater and the Egyptian Theater, are both in Hollywood. Before either of those, though, there was the Million Dollar Theater, right on Broadway. The Million Dollar was Grauman’s first venue in Los Angeles, and Downtown’s first movie palace. .

The Million Dollar Theater was designed by Albert C. Martin and William Wollett, and opened on February 18, 1918. Joseph Mora sculpted the elaborate terra cotta figures that frolicked across the building’s Churrigueresque exterior. Built during World War I with an eye toward steel conservation, the theater boasted an innovative reinforced, cantilevered concrete balcony. Characters from John Ruskin’s fairy tale King of the Golden River cavorted across the interior; patriotic stars flanked the proscenium arch. Outside, the ancient Egyptian god Thoth and various other deities from several parts of the world presided over the marquee. Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, who would later go on to form three-quarters of United Artists and open their own theater on Broadway, were in attendance for the premiere picture, The Silent Man.

Grauman combined the best of silent cinema with special opportunities for fans to see their favorite stars in person. The Million Dollar Theater’s specialty was the prologue: short, relevant performances before the main attraction. The actors and actresses who were featured in the films occasionally appeared in person to perform short pieces or make speeches as part of the prologue. Sometimes these presentations went awry: child star Baby Peggy, for instance, performing on the Million Dollar stage at the age of 3, dropped one of her props and had to spend a few moments searching for it in the footlights. Rudolph Valentino’s appearance at the Million Dollar Theater was fraught with highs and lows—literally. At the premiere of his final film, The Son of the Sheik, Valentino was knocked out when he accidentally plummeted from the stage to the floor of the orchestra pit.

Within the temple, Japanese and American architectural and cultural conventions were seamlessly blended. Unlike most Japanese Buddhist temples, which tended to be single-story, the Nishi Hongwanji was built with several floors. A wide, winding staircase in the lobby led upstairs to the hondo, or main worship area. When the temple was active, the hondo contained long wooden pews. This was a direct nod to American culture, and a departure from the arrangements found in most Buddhist temples. Another blending of Eastern and Western architectural styles was found on the elegant ceiling, where the exposed wooden beams, a typical feature in Japanese buildings, were lavishly painted and decorated.

Grauman renovated the nearby Rialto in the 1920s, which gave him two venues on Broadway. However, his interests, and those of the movie-going public, shifted increasingly toward Hollywood. Grauman continued to enhance the cinematic experience with the Egyptian and the Chinese Theaters on Hollywood Boulevard, miles away from the Million Dollar.

As the Million Dollar’s fortunes as a first-run cinema waned, it took up the mantle as an entertainment destination for a new audience. In the 1940s, it became known as a choice venue for Spanish-language performers. Audiences converged at the old theater to see Delores del Rio and Jorge Negrete; to listen to mariachi and thrill to the latest movies from Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries. For many, playing the theater was the equivalent of being on the bill at Carnegie Hall or The Palace: it was an indication that one had arrived. The Million Dollar cataloged these successes, too: while film stars from various eras were immortalized in the forecourt at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, plaques outside the Million Dollar celebrated the various Mexican performers who graced its stage.

The Million Dollar Theater eventully fell victim to the same fate that shut down other movie houses up and down Broadway: high costs, low attendance and the changing neighborhood kept audiences away. The theater was closed in the 1980s. For several years, it was used as a worship space by a local Spanish-language church. In 1988, the Million Dollar Theater and the attached office building were purchased by developer Ira Yellin. The terra cotta figures on the structure’s exterior, which had been weakened by both time and seismic activity, were restored, reinforced and given a fresh coat of paint. The office building was converted into loft residences—Nicholas Cage was an early resident—and the theater itself began a slow crawl back to life as a performance venue.

In recent years, the Million Dollar has continued to reemerge as a live performance venue. The entrance is flanked by a botica and an optometrist’s office, reflecting the diverse array of businesses which now call Downtown home. Spanish language performers have returned to its stage; classic films have been shown on its vast screen, and every weekend, tours from the Los Angeles Conservancy explore the empty seats and aisles. Thoth still stands near the marquee, welcoming a new generation of Angelinos to the venue that saw so many firsts, so many achievements and so many decades.

 

The Million Dollar Theater is located at 307 S. Broadway.

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