Monument to Memories

Among the high-rise office buildings, coffee shops and small restaurants that crowd downtown, the Alex Theatre’s marquee and towering spire stand as unique reminders of a glamorous past.

The theater served as a grand showplace for vaudeville extravaganzas and silent-film programs, and from the 1930s through the 1950s as a premiere preview house for major Hollywood releases.

In remembrance of its starry-eyed legacy, the theater opened its doors Saturday to unveil the Alex Theatre History Wall.

The wall--a permanent exhibit of photographs, text and memorabilia--chronicles the history of the landmark entertainment palace from its opening in 1925 to its recent rebirth as a multiuse performing arts space.

Currently, audiences enjoy a wide array of programming that includes concerts of classical, world and jazz music, film festivals, opera and stage and dance performances.

“The wall serves as a real educational tool,” said Martin Kagan, Alex Theatre’s executive director. “It gives an historical perspective to the theater for Glendale residents and the entire Los Angeles area.”

The result of a combined effort from the Glendale Redevelopment Agency, the city’s Historic Preservation Commission and the Glendale Historical Society, the wall is a highlight in the rehabilitation of the facility, which began in 1992.

Standing 8 feet tall by 24 feet long in the building’s lobby, the wall is a three-paneled monument that includes such rare artifacts as the movie poster from the 1925 opening night’s main event, an eight-reel silent film called, “Lightnin’.”

A program register with the names and addresses of all in attendance for a show in the 1920s, and preview invitations from the 1930s are mounted on an enlarged black and white photograph in the wall’s middle panel of a 1945 Alex audience.

Other snapshots of Hollywood celebs, such as comedian Ned Sparks, as well as Bob Hope arriving at a preview screening are also mounted on the timeline.

Andrea Humberger, a member of the Alex Regional Theatre Board who wrote all the storytelling text and spearheaded the acquisition of all artifacts and photographs, said the theater is a “point of pride” for Glendale residents. She added that as a preview house, the Alex was an important trial ground for many studio films before they went into mass release, with the Alex audience greatly influencing many films’ final edit.

“The Alex Theatre played an important role in Hollywood’s movie history as it shaped the films themselves,” said Humberger. “The wall is a way to make people aware of a history largely unknown.”