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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

Drive-in theatre, Arcadia, photograph of bird's eye rendering

Description:
The drive-in theatre concept was first tried in the mid-1930s but only after World War II did the idea gain widespread acceptance. Lee designed several drive-in theaters, a type especially suited to the mild climate and car-dependent economy of Southern California. The drive-in allowed the whole family to go to the movies in the family car, with no need for a baby-sitter. It also proved especially popular with dating teen-agers, who found drive-ins the ideal refuge from watchful adult eyes. The drive-in was also cheap to build. A large piece of land, a structure to display the screen and smaller buildings for tickets, refreshments and the projector were all that was needed. The parking lot was usually graded to provide the parked cars with a good angle for viewing the screen, and each space was equipped with a speaker that could be hooked to the dashboard to bring the sound into the car.
Date:
1948
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Hoffman-Luckhaus
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Drive-in theatre, Arcadia, photograph of bird's eye rendering

Puente Theatre, Puente, rendering

Description:
Lee's sketch offers a prototype for a theatre that could be built cheaply and quickly. The simplest means of quickly constructing a theatre-sized space was to build a Quonset hut, a method devised in the late 1930s using small wood members to create an arched truss frame, which was then often clad in metal for warehouse purposes. A number of motion picture theatres were built in this way. They offered inexpensive rapid construction of theatre spaces in small towns such as Puente, an agricultural community east of Los Angeles.
Date:
1947-48
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Puente Theatre, Puente, rendering

La Tijera Theatre, Los Angeles, exterior, day

Description:
In the late 1940s and 1950s architects combined the fluid forms of the Streamline Moderne style with the square modules favored by International Style architects. In California a new form of modernism was developing that favored the use of natural materials, especially stone and wood, in architecture, foremost in residential building. These influences, however, were also felt in commercial buildings, especially in the suburbs. Hence La Tijera Theatre, on Sepulveda Boulevard in a growing suburban area near the airport. A streamlined automobile is entering the porte-cochere on the left.
Date:
1948-49
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Blakeslee, Alpheus A.
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
La Tijera Theatre, Los Angeles, exterior, day

Visalia Theatre, Visalia, photograph of rendering, night

Description:
This night view is a simplified design for a one-story building, retaining the downlighting in the lobby area, but eliminating the curved Streamline effects of the daytime view. Here the sign at the corner becomes the principal element of the design. Lee uses a series of recessed frames highlighted by indirect lighting, around the entire entrance, the poster cases, the false windows on the façade, and above the box office as a unifying motif.
Date:
1946-49
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Visalia Theatre, Visalia, photograph of rendering, night

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

Drive-in theatre, San Diego, screen, street view

Description:
The Rancho Drive-In in San Diego was built in the same year (1948) as the Edwards Drive-In in Arcadia. Although no construction photos survive, the construction technique was presumably similar. In this example, Lee used the street side of the screen structure to feature a colorful mural-like scene of the Mexican landscape illuminated from behind, a cultural reference appropriate to the border city of San Diego.
Date:
April 10, 1948
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Drive-in theatre, San Diego, screen, street view

Drive-in theatre, Arcadia, construction

Description:
A series of snapshots taken at the construction site shows how the screen structure was framed on the ground and then tilted up using wooden wheels as fulcrums. This innovative construction technique was borrowed from concrete tilt-slab construction pioneered in Southern California in the early part of the century by Irving Gill and later used by other Southern California modernists.
Date:
October 4, 1948
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Drive-in theatre, Arcadia, construction

Drive-in theatre, Arcadia, construction, pouring concrete

Description:
A series of snapshots taken at the construction site shows how the screen structure was framed on the ground and then tilted up using wooden wheels as fulcrums. This innovative construction technique was borrowed from concrete tilt-slab construction pioneered in Southern California in the early part of the century by Irving Gill and later used by other Southern California modernists.
Date:
October 5, 1948
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Drive-in theatre, Arcadia, construction, pouring concrete

Drive-in theatre, Arcadia, construction

Description:
A series of snapshots taken at the construction site shows how the screen structure was framed on the ground and then tilted up using wooden wheels as fulcrums. This innovative construction technique was borrowed from concrete tilt-slab construction pioneered in Southern California in the early part of the century by Irving Gill and later used by other Southern California modernists.
Date:
October 15, 1948
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Drive-in theatre, Arcadia, construction

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

Newsreel Theatre "Rio," photograph of rendering

Description:
This design makes good use of a small urban lot by maximizing the advertising space. The design above the marquee is one unit, the design below another. The projecting marquee attracts the attention of both Driver and pedestrian. The exterior could be of concrete, plaster, terra cotta, glass or plastic, the lettering in copper or white metal.
Date:
[between 1919-1962]
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Newsreel Theatre "Rio," photograph of rendering

Newsreel Theatre "Park," photograph of rendering

Description:
This theatre is designed with a glass front. The box office has an automobile entrance to the parking lot with an automobile exit on the other side of the building. At night varicolored lights play on the façade and the building forms its own reflective background. This design marks a transition to the drive-theatre type.
Date:
[between 1919-1962]
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Newsreel Theatre "Park," photograph of rendering

Drive-in theatre, Arcadia, construction detail

Description:
A series of snapshots taken at the construction site shows how the screen structure was framed on the ground and then tilted up using wooden wheels as fulcrums. This innovative construction technique was borrowed from concrete tilt-slab construction pioneered in Southern California in the early part of the century by Irving Gill and later used by other Southern California modernists.
Date:
October 15, 1948
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Drive-in theatre, Arcadia, construction detail

Drive-in theatre, Arcadia, construction

Description:
A series of snapshots taken at the construction site shows how the screen structure was framed on the ground and then tilted up using wooden wheels as fulcrums. This innovative construction technique was borrowed from concrete tilt-slab construction pioneered in Southern California in the early part of the century by Irving Gill and later used by other Southern California modernists.
Date:
October 15, 1948
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Drive-in theatre, Arcadia, construction

Newsreel Theatre "Correa," photograph of rendering

Description:
Lee produced a number of designs for newsreel theatres, a type of theatre that would show newsreels on a continuous basis. All the renderings describe in this archive as Theatre Design Concepts are newsreel theatres. The newsreel had been introduced as a short shown before the feature during the 1930s. World War II heightened interest in the newsreel, giving rise to the idea of small theatres showing newsreels only. As technology allowed, Lee began to increase his use of glass and later plastic, both transparent materials that could be used to great effect for buildings whose primary use was at night. Lee's renderings for these designs all show the buildings at night. By using transparent materials, Lee was creating illuminated sculptures that were their own advertisements for the film.Note on reverse: This modern idea has been designed to be inviting, entertaining and smart, to stand out in a busy location. The name on the theatre indicates the design was prepared for Mexico, probably in early 1940s.
Date:
[between 1919-1962]
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Newsreel Theatre "Correa," photograph of rendering

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

Drive-in theatre, Ventura, photograph of rendering

Description:
This earliest-known concept for a drive-in theater by Lee, the Ventura Drive-In, shows a sophisticated use of illuminated triangular forms massed alongside the large illuminated screen structure and along the edges of the parking lot, creating an advertising sign for the theater out of the drive-in form itself. The sharp-edged forms are clearly Art Deco in character, a style that is sometimes called Zig-Zag Moderne. The design vocabulary was adapted from usage current in theatre design at the time.
Date:
[between 1919-1962]
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Morris & Monroe
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Drive-in theatre, Ventura, photograph of rendering

Helix Theatre, La Mesa, photograph of rendering

Description:
A later concept drawing shows a scaled-down design which is more conventional in massing. Streamline forms can still be seen in the sign area and in the porthole window on the right wall. However, the chief design elements have evolved from the smooth to the angular, with walls, marquee and canopies project out and up at angles.
Date:
1947-48
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Hoffman-Luckhaus
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Helix Theatre, La Mesa, photograph of rendering