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Helix Theatre, La Mesa, entry doors and marquee

Description:
The design evolved into a storefront remodel using every device to capture attention from the passerby. The strong diamond pattern applied to the upper story, the series of vertical posts applied at street and the paneled entry doors draw attention to the centerpiece, the curving neon-outlined marquee. A curved box office at the sidewalk and poster cases framed in wavey edged box frames are overwhelmed by the other design elements. Here the chief purpose of the design is to draw attention to the storefront, using a variety of cheap applied elements without regard for design integration.
Date:
1947-48
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Lee, S. Charles, 1899-1990
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Helix Theatre, La Mesa, entry doors and marquee

Hopkins Theatre, Oakland, auditorium

Description:
The simple interior design illustrates the Streamline theme with the use of painted curves on the walls and semicircular ceiling panels that conceal lights, creating indirect lighting of the ceiling. Instead of a balcony, the rear of the auditorium is raked and separated from the main floor by a low partition and steps.
Date:
1938-41
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Hopkins Theatre, Oakland, auditorium

La Tijera Theatre, Los Angeles, auditorium

Description:
The auditorium walls curve towards the screen, interrupted in each side by a scalloped wall edge where the screen curtain, lit by indirect lighting begins. The effect is further enhanced by the continuation of a vine pattern on the walls in cut-out form over the front exit openings. Globes of light at the center of grilles concealing the ceiling fans neatly combine two functions. The ceiling is further decorated by a scalloped design painted around the light and ventilation fixtures.
Date:
1948-49
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Todd, L. A.
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
La Tijera Theatre, Los Angeles, auditorium

La Tijera Theatre, Los Angeles, exterior, night

Description:
Lee designed his theatres to be most effective at night. The tall neon sign seems to hang in the air above the building. A grid of round lights underneath the canopy forms a high marquee and illuminates the entrance. Translucent panels on the lobby walls glow invitingly and the aluminum frames reflect the light. The poster cases are illuminated internally and outlined by neon strips.
Date:
1948-49
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
La Tijera Theatre, Los Angeles, exterior, night

Miami Theatre, Miami, auditorium, front

Description:
The simple lines of the long narrow auditorium, its shape dictated by the urban lot, all lead the eye toward the proscenium,, which is framed by bands of indirect lighting and flanked by large scale designs in relief. A sumptuous curtain hung in swags fills the upper portion of the proscenium, scaling the immense arch down to cinema size.
Date:
1946-47
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Miami Theatre, Miami, auditorium, front

Miami Theatre, Miami, foyer: mural and seat

Description:
All the elements in the rendering (40802) were realized in the building, although the spaces are necessarily compressed and the elements appear crowded. The scale and drama of each feature, the lighting panels, the entrance arch, the mezzanine walls and railing, the mural, and the giant cartouche above. Mirrored walls above the banquettes to the left and the right, with the mirrors set in a diamond pattern, enhance the complexity of the space, while at the same time enlarging it.
Date:
1946-47
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Miami Theatre, Miami, foyer: mural and seat

Studio Theatre, Hollywood, façade

Description:
Revealing the mechanical equipment through a glass wall was an innovation in 1931.Leeýs Moderne theatre façade set into the façade of a French Revival style building located next to a Spanish Colonial style building on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood epitomizes the competition of forms for attention on the commercial streetscape of Los Angeles.
Date:
1931
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Woodcock, W.P.
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Studio Theatre, Hollywood, façade

Tower Theatre, Compton, auditorium, front

Description:
Designed for a working class community in Los Angeles, the Tower Theater is a modest design which presents a stylish black and white Deco exterior (62701). The night view shows the effective use of neon and spotlighting to illuminate the fluted Moderne tower (62702). The box office is surrounded by circles of light bulbs on the lobby ceiling and a sunburst design on the lobbyýs terrazzo floor (62703). Poster cases are framed by scrolled pediments and simulated columns. The interior uses exaggerated columns, mirrors, white traditional-style furniture, and gilt to suggest a palatial elegance that is distant from the lives of the theatreýs clientele (62704-62705). Hanging lanterns and striped upholstery in the auditorium impart a subdued elegance (62706-62707).
Date:
1935-36
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Tower Theatre, Compton, auditorium, front

Tower Theatre, Compton, façade, day

Description:
Designed for a working class community in Los Angeles, the Tower Theater is a modest design which presents a stylish black and white Deco exterior (62701). The night view shows the effective use of neon and spotlighting to illuminate the fluted Moderne tower (62702). The box office is surrounded by circles of light bulbs on the lobby ceiling and a sunburst design on the lobbyýs terrazzo floor (62703). Poster cases are framed by scrolled pediments and simulated columns. The interior uses exaggerated columns, mirrors, white traditional-style furniture, and gilt to suggest a palatial elegance that is distant from the lives of the theatreýs clientele (62704-62705). Hanging lanterns and striped upholstery in the auditorium impart a subdued elegance (62706-62707).
Date:
1935-36
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Tower Theatre, Compton, façade, day

Tower Theatre, Compton, façade, night

Description:
Designed for a working class community in Los Angeles, the Tower Theater is a modest design which presents a stylish black and white Deco exterior (62701). The night view shows the effective use of neon and spotlighting to illuminate the fluted Moderne tower (62702). The box office is surrounded by circles of light bulbs on the lobby ceiling and a sunburst design on the lobbyýs terrazzo floor (62703). Poster cases are framed by scrolled pediments and simulated columns. The interior uses exaggerated columns, mirrors, white traditional-style furniture, and gilt to suggest a palatial elegance that is distant from the lives of the theatreýs clientele (62704-62705). Hanging lanterns and striped upholstery in the auditorium impart a subdued elegance (62706-62707).
Date:
1935-36
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Tower Theatre, Compton, façade, night

Tumbleweed Theatre, Five Points (El Monte), street elevation, night

Description:
Lee illuminated the "barn" to highlight its forms in light and dark. The windmill tower with its illuminated revolving wheel attracted attention from afar, while the tower structure was used to display the name of the theatre. For good measure, a standard box sign on a pylon was added at the street frontage.
Date:
1939
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
P.A.C Photographers
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Tumbleweed Theatre, Five Points (El Monte), street elevation, night

Vern Theatre, Los Angeles, auditorium

Description:
Two strips of neon, one blue and one white, in the ceiling cove, illuminate the auditorium. Neon is on a dimmer, which creates a theatrical atmosphere as well as controlling the light during picture operation. Pairs of buxom nudes painted in shiny metallic paint fly along the wall toward the screen.
Date:
1939-41
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Vern Theatre, Los Angeles, auditorium

Vern Theatre, Los Angeles, street elevation

Description:
Lee developed a simplified design which relied on the porthole motif to evoke the streamlined character of the great ocean liners of the era. Note on reverse: "Exterior, surfaced form concrete. Modern in appearance, it is three tones in color. The ribbed portion was created by casting concrete against corrugated forms."
Date:
1939-41
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Vern Theatre, Los Angeles, street elevation

Visalia Theatre, Visalia, auditorium

Description:
The auditorium interior reveals Lee's use of the inexpensive Quonset hut truss system, also used in the Puente Theatre (51101-51110) and the Garmar Theatre ((30301-30305) from the same period. In the immediate post-war period the system was used to build housing, commercial and factory buildings to satisfy the pent-up demand for new construction.
Date:
1946-49
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Visalia Theatre, Visalia, auditorium

Visalia Theatre, Visalia, exterior

Description:
The finished theatre conforms closely to the design of the night-time rendering. The box office and sign focus attention on the corner. The use of artificial brick cladding was fashionable for both commercial and residential building of the period. (See also the Garmar Theatre in Montebello 30301-30305 for similar treatment of the exterior.
Date:
1946-49
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Visalia Theatre, Visalia, exterior