Classic Locations: Pantages Theater

The grand Pantages Theater began its storied life as an Art Deco movie palace on June 4, 1930. Originally, the theater designed by B. Marcus Priteca and built by vaudeville giant Alexander Pantages presented vaudeville acts between screenings of first-run movies. Pantages sold the theater to Fox West Coast Theaters in 1932, and 17 years later Howard Hughes — who, legend has it, haunts its offices — bought it for his RKO Theatre Circuit. The theater was also home to the Academy Awards from 1949 to 1959. Pacific Theatres bought the property in 1965. It closed its doors as a movie theater in January 1977. Over the years, countless movies and TV shows have been shot there, including the Talking Heads’ 1984 concert film “Stop Making Sense.”