Riddle of the Sphinx : CRA Is Figuring Out How to Preserve Hollywood Theater

At one time the Egyptian theater was Los Angeles’ leading movie palace, hosting world premieres for films ranging from Charlie Chaplin’s “The Gold Rush” to “Ben Hur,” and pioneering an architectural style that gave early Hollywood cachet.

Today, the theater, built in 1922 and featuring a large gold scarab on the ceiling and sphinxes and hieroglyphics on the walls, is for sale and in disrepair, charging $1.50 for third-run movies at its three screens. Preservationists fear that the Egyptian might be sold and turned into a giant indoor swap meet, like some other aging downtown theaters, or be demolished.

But the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which is waging what some consider a futile campaign to reverse Hollywood’s long decline, recently decided that it will try to buy the Egyptian, and seek a private firm to operate it.

“In the last decade, we’ve seen more theaters torn down than restored. . . . We feared the Egyptian could be another one,” said John Miller, president of the Los Angeles Historic Theater Foundation. “The Egyptian is in a historic district, but who knows if that would protect the theater. In L.A., no building is really safe.”

The City Council recently allocated $2 million to the CRA for the purchase of the theater, and additional funds could be allocated for its renovation. CRA officials are preparing to make an offer to United Artists Theatres, which owns of the Egyptian. If the offer is accepted, the agency plans to feature art, revival or avant-garde films, said Cook Sunoo, a CRA project manager.

This would add variety to Hollywood’s six-block cinema district, designated last summer as a marketing strategy in the hopes of reviving the boulevard, once known for its glitz and glamour. A new complex of six theaters recently opened in the area, and the Disney company spent $6 million renovating the El Capitan Theater, which opened last summer.

“By making movies available at the Egyptian that are not usually shown in commercial houses . . . this will help reconfirm Hollywood as the center of the motion picture industry,” Councilman Michael Woo said. “We want the theater to be something special.”

The theater was designed to look like a Spanish hacienda with a large patio and reflecting pools. The discovery of King Tut’s tomb in the early 1920s inspired theater impresario Sid Grauman to change the design during construction. It was too late to change the red tile roof, which can still be seen. But Grauman and his architects designed the rest of the theater in an Egyptian motif.

Its entrance was modeled after the gateways to Egyptian palaces during the days of Cleopatra, with hieroglyphics on the walls and a cascading fountain, complete with bulrushes and lotus. Four enormous stone pillars lined the entrance to the theater, and on the roof a man wearing a long white robe, dressed as an Egyptian sentry, called out the times of the movies. Egyptian ruins were painted on the theater curtain, ornate arches and pillars framed the stage, and huge sphinxes flanked the sides.

The theater still reflects a faded glory, with many of the Egyptian ornaments and designs intact. But the paint is peeling around the hieroglyphics, the noses have broken off a few of the sphinxes and the theater’s glass marquee is broken, with letters missing. The theater is flanked by a pizza parlor and a boarded-up restaurant, where three-card monte dealers often hustle tourists.

The Egyptian was the first of the period revival theaters in Hollywood, inspiring the design of the Chinese, the El Cid and others that followed, said Miller of the Historic Theater Foundation. That is why theater buffs are particularly concerned about the Egyptian’s future.

About 25 historic theaters in the Los Angeles area have been demolished in the last decade, Miller said. The CRA’s interest in the Egyptian is welcome news, he said, because the theater’s condition has been deteriorating and a buyer is needed soon to prevent irreparable damage.

It will cost more than $1 million to renovate the Egyptian, and CRA officials hope to divide the cost with the operators of the theater. Sunoo is optimistic that the CRA will be able to close the deal because the theater is on the market for $1.75 million. The success of the recently renovated El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, he added, has encouraged city officials.

This would be the first time that the CRA has moved to purchase a movie theater, although similar efforts to save the Los Angeles Theater Center turned into a financial disaster. The city invested almost $30 million in the center since it opened in 1982, and the CRA made 15 financing agreements with theater operators.

But Sunoo said CRA officials have learned from the collapse of that project. With the Egyptian, the CRA will be removed from the operation of the project, Sunoo said, and will act as more of a landlord than a partner.

Some activists foresee other problems, contending that the extension of the Metro Red Line subway into Hollywood will disrupt activities on Hollywood Boulevard and doom new theater projects. But Woo contended that the problems during downtown Metro Rail construction can be avoided in Hollywood.

Renovation of the Egyptian, Woo said, will help revitalize the eastern end of Hollywood Boulevard, an area that has long been neglected. But the project also has nostalgic appeal for many longtime residents.

“Many people in Los Angeles have fond memories of going to the movies years ago at the Egyptian,” Woo said. “It’s important that we preserve these links to the past.”