Tower Theatre (Los Angeles)
United States historic place & Apple Store location
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tower Theatre (known as Apple Tower Theatre since its refurbishment by Apple[3][4]) is a historic movie theater that opened in 1927 in the Broadway Theater District of Downtown Los Angeles.[5] It is currently an Apple Store, and serves as Los Angeles flagship for the company.
Tower Theatre | |
The building in 2025 | |
  Location within the Los Angeles metropolitan area | |
| Location | 800 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34.043375°N 118.254444°W |
| Built | 1927 |
| Architect | S. Charles Lee |
| Architectural style | Baroque Revival |
| Part of | Broadway Theater and Commercial District (ID79000484) |
| LAHCM No. | 450 |
| Significant dates | |
| Designated CP | May 9, 1979[1] |
| Designated LAHCM | August 16, 1989[2] |
History
Tower Theatre was commissioned by H.L. Gumbiner,[6] the businessman who also commissioned Los Angeles Theatre in 1931, and was the first theater designed by S. Charles Lee.[5] The theater replaced Garrick Theatre and sat 900 on a 50 by 152 feet (15 m × 46 m) site.[7][8]
Tower Theatre opened in 1927 with the silent film The Gingham Girl.[9] The theater was the first in Los Angeles wired for talking pictures and was the location of the sneak preview and Los Angeles premiere of Warner Bros.' revolutionary part-talking The Jazz Singer (1927).[6][9][10] The theater was also the first in Los Angeles to be air conditioned.[6]
The theater's name changed to Newsreel Theater for a short period in the early 1950s.[11] It closed as a theatre in 1988[12] and was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #450 the following year.[13]
Modern use
As with many other historic theaters in downtown Los Angeles, Tower Theatre was abandoned for many years. In recent times,[when?] its lobby was leased to various vendors and the auditorium was used by Living Faith Evangelical Church.[5]
Apple expressed interest in leasing Tower Theatre as a retail location as early as 2015,[14] and in 2018, the company submitted plans to renovate the building.[15] Refurbishing was completed by 2021 and the theater reopened as Apple's Los Angeles flagship Apple Store on June 24, 2021.[16][17][18]
Architecture and design
Tower Theater was designed in Baroque Revival style with French, Spanish, Moorish, and Italian elements executed in terra-cotta.[5] The theater's interior was modeled after Paris Opera House,[6] while its exterior features a prominent clock tower, the very top of which was removed after an earthquake.[19]
Filming location
Tower Theatre's exterior and/or interior can be seen in:
- The Omega Man (1971)[5]
- The Mambo Kings (1992)[10]
- Last Action Hero (1993)[5]
- Fight Club (1999)
- Coyote Ugly (2000)[5]
- Mulholland Drive (2001)
- The Prestige (2006)
- Transformers (2007)
- Twin Peaks (3rd season, 2017)
- Nike, Inc. Dream Crazy (2018 ad)[20]
