City Hall bathed by movie lights
April 26, 1928: The motion picture industry orchestrated an extravaganza to dedicate Los Angeles’ new City Hall. Film producer Joseph Schenck was master of ceremonies, Sid Grauman ran the entertainment and Cecil B. DeMille arranged part of the celebratory parade, which, according to The Times, stretched over five miles and included a lion in a cage.
That night, the city experienced “the greatest illumination feat in the history of the West, when the entire lighting equipment of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studios illuminated it for its dedication,” The Times reported. Irving Berlin sang at the ceremonies. From the White House, President Calvin Coolidge pressed a telegraph key to light the Charles Lindbergh Beacon atop City Hall’s pyramidal tower.
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