Saban Theatre
- Architect
- S. Charles Lee
- Year
- 1930
- Style
- Art Deco
- City
- Los Angeles, CA
- Collection
- l.a. deco
Opened September 19, 1930 as the Fox Wilshire Theatre, this Art Deco house at Wilshire and Hamilton in Beverly Hills was designed by S. Charles Lee with 2,500 seats and a stage built for vaudeville acts ahead of the films. Over 91 years it hosted film premieres, first-run engagements, concerts, and touring Broadway shows before becoming the Saban Theatre. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 2012.
the building
The rotunda lobby. Despite several renovations, the Saban keeps its original columned two-story rotunda lobby, orchestra and balcony seating for 2,000, and a silver, gold, and black proscenium and organ screens flanking the stage.
the style
Lee designed the Fox Wilshire in full Art Deco regalia as a major film presentation house, a style carried from the exterior straight into the surviving proscenium and organ screens.
More on Art Decothe architect
S. Charles Lee was a noted theater architect; the Saban is counted among his defining Los Angeles movie-palace commissions.
significance
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 2012, after 91 years of continuous use as a venue for film premieres, concerts, and Broadway engagements.
nearby
- Johnie's Coffee Shop
- Beverly Hills Main Post Office
- May Company Building
- Memorial Branch
- Tail o' the Pup
- Pavilion for Japanese Art