The glory days are coming back for a trio of classic theaters in downtown Los Angeles thanks to a film series that will take people back in time to the golden age of cinema with the return of the Los Angeles Conservancy’s Last Remaining Seats series.
“For people who may not know about L.A. history or its historic buildings but who love film and film history, or who love architecture, this is something you have to experience,” said Sarah Lann, director of education for the Conservancy.
The popular summer series features classic films screened in historic theaters in downtown Los Angeles with double features at three movie houses on June 1, 8 and 15. The venues this year are the Orpheum, the Palace and the Los Angeles theaters.
“There are so few opportunities to come into theaters as glorious and magnificent as these ones are and to sit down and see a classic film. It’s like stepping back in time to a period when Los Angeles was home to this new and innovative industry called the movies,” she said.
Here’s what you need to know about the classic venues and the films that will be screened there as part of the Last Remaining Seats.
The Orpheum Theatre
The Orpheum opened at 842 S. Broadway in 1926 and was renovated a few years ago. It was built in the Beaux-Arts architectural style. “It’s opulent, it’s fancy. It has all of the architectural details that you could possibly want,” Lann said. The theater is decked out in marble-clad walls, stained-glass rose windows and two huge chandeliers. “It really does make you feel like you should be going in to attend some grand opera instead of just watching a movie,” she said. The theater also houses a Mighty Wurlitzer organ, which will come in handy for the opening film of the series.
The Films
The Orpheum will open the series at 2 p.m. on June 1 with the 1920 silent classic “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.” The German horror classic tells the story of an insane hypnotist who uses a sleepwalker to commit…
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