Hollywood Masonic Temple
- Architect
- John C. Austin
- Year
- 1922
- Style
- Neoclassical
- City
- Los Angeles, CA
The Hollywood Masonic Temple went up in 1921-22 for the Hollywood Lodge of the Masons, whose relocation was led by lodge master Charles E. Toberman — the same real estate developer behind the Hollywood Bowl, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and the Chinese Theatre. Architect John C. Austin, who also designed Los Angeles City Hall, gave the lodge a Neoclassical home on Hollywood Boulevard. The Masons sold the building in 1982 after declining membership; since 2003 its theater has been the studio for Jimmy Kimmel Live!, following a stint as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre after Buena Vista Pictures bought it in 1998.
the building
Toberman's Hollywood. Charles E. Toberman, the lodge master who led the temple's development, was also the real estate developer responsible for the Hollywood Bowl, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the Chinese Theatre, and the Max Factor Salon — placing this temple among the landmarks of his Hollywood building spree.
From lodge to late-night TV. The Masons operated the temple until 1982, after which it became a theater and nightclub. The Walt Disney Company's Buena Vista Pictures bought the building in 1998, and since 2003 its theater has been home to Jimmy Kimmel Live!
the style
Austin designed the temple in the Neoclassical style, a formal, symmetrical idiom that gave the Masonic lodge an air of institutional gravity on a boulevard then filling with movie palaces and commercial storefronts.
More on Neoclassicalthe architect
John C. Austin, working with his associates, was also responsible for Los Angeles City Hall among other civic commissions in the city.
significance
The building was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #277 in 1984 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, recognizing a structure that outlived its fraternal origins through conversions into a movie theater, a nightclub, and finally a network television studio.
nearby
- El Capitan Theatre
- Lee Drug
- Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
- Bank of America Building
- Max Factor Make-Up Salon
- Petersen Building