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Tower Theatre, Los Angeles, Construction, Eighth Avenue elevation 8/3/27

Description:
Construction photos show the odd open steel frame along the top of the building to give it increased strength (70104), the scaffolding along the Broadway elevation (70105), a view down into the interior showing the steel framing (70106), and the process of applying the finish decoration on the balcony interior (70107).
Date:
1926-27
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Dwyer Studio
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Tower Theatre, Los Angeles, Construction, Eighth Avenue elevation 8/3/27

Tower Theatre, Los Angeles, Construction, view from above 5/9/27

Description:
Construction photos show the odd open steel frame along the top of the building to give it increased strength (70104), the scaffolding along the Broadway elevation (70105), a view down into the interior showing the steel framing (70106), and the process of applying the finish decoration on the balcony interior (70107).
Date:
1926-27
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Dwyer Studio
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Tower Theatre, Los Angeles, Construction, view from above 5/9/27

Tower Theatre, Los Angeles, Exterior

Description:
Lee uses elements of religious architecture, such as the tower, central niche with a statue, the large arched opening and the rows of window along the side of the building, as though to bring as much light into the building as possible, although exactly the opposite was true.
Date:
1926-27
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Tower Theatre, Los Angeles, Exterior

Tower Theatre, Los Angeles, Construction interior, showing scaffolding at balcony 7/16/27

Description:
Construction photos show the odd open steel frame along the top of the building to give it increased strength (70104), the scaffolding along the Broadway elevation (70105), a view down into the interior showing the steel framing (70106), and the process of applying the finish decoration on the balcony interior (70107).
Date:
1926-27
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Dwyer Studio
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Tower Theatre, Los Angeles, Construction interior, showing scaffolding at balcony 7/16/27

Tower Theatre, Los Angeles, Construction, Broadway elevation 8/2/27

Description:
Construction photos show the odd open steel frame along the top of the building to give it increased strength (70104), the scaffolding along the Broadway elevation (70105), a view down into the interior showing the steel framing (70106), and the process of applying the finish decoration on the balcony interior (70107).
Date:
1926-27
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Dwyer Studio
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Tower Theatre, Los Angeles, Construction, Broadway elevation 8/2/27

Fox Wilshire, Beverly Hills, auditorium, proscenium

Description:
The stage opening is set back deeply into a much larger proscenium arch. The sloping walls and ceiling surrounding the stage are heavily ornamented in gilt or silver plaster relief; the forms are the abstracted designs from nature and geometry typical of Art Deco design. The stage curtain was designed in separate panels that could be raised individually, adjusting the space to stage productions or motion picture screenings and at the same time introducing a dramatic design element.
Date:
1928-30
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Mott Studios (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Fox Wilshire, Beverly Hills, auditorium, proscenium

Fox Theatre, Bakersfield, auditorium

Description:
The auditorium is a so-called atmosphere theatre, a popular design type which created a stage set surrounding the audience. In this example, the auditorium simulates a Spanish Colonial Revival village into which the audience enters to see the show. Simulated buildings project from the walls, ivy hangs from their balconies and windows, trees painted on the wall behind provide a natural setting, and the whole is illuminated to create a realistic effect. Above is the dark sky, painted with clouds and featuring twinkling lights simulating the stars.
Date:
1929-1930
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Luckhaus Studio
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Fox Theatre, Bakersfield, auditorium

Fox Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, façade

Description:
The Fox Phoenix Theatre of 1930-1931 was one of Lee's largest and most elaborate creations. Designed in the sharp-edged, abstract Zig-Zag Moderne style, the building covered half of one of Phoenixýs giant city blocks and had retail shop fronts at the sidewalk. Colored translucent glass in an Art Deco design decorated the transoms above the display windows. Behind the symmetrical façade the auditorium is offset to the left. The foyer is in the interior of the building. A vertical neon sign mounted on the central pylon above the marquee advertises the theatre, while a temporary sign on the marquee advertises a cool interior, an important advantage in Phoenix's desert climate.
Date:
1930-31
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Fox Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, façade

Fox Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, lounge

Description:
In the commodious upstairs lounge, Lee repeated the sunburst motif in the doors to the menýs and ladiesý rooms. A drinking fountain set into a marble niche was framed by an abstract fountain design painted on the wall. Sculptures of rearing horses set on the tables introduce a Western theme. The large-scale furnishings with their angular forms are similar to those in the foyer.
Date:
1930-31
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Woodcock, W.P.
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Fox Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, lounge

Fox Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, mezzanine

Description:
The foyer ceiling is decorated with large-scale Art Deco designs abstracted from leaf, flower, sun and wave forms. The arched ceiling is squared off and accentuated by wooden moldings forming broad ribs. Furniture, mirror and lights are all squared off with cut corners, contrasting with the curving forms painted on the ceiling. Even the carpet design exhibits angular diagonals.
Date:
1930-31
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Woodcock, W.P.
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Fox Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, mezzanine

Fox Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, auditorium, proscenium

Description:
The walls and ceiling are decorated with swirling Art Deco and Zig-Zag motifs, accented by a pair of leaping mythical gazelles above the proscenium. Above them a gilded sunburst spreads out over the ceiling, an ornament incorporating the air intake grille of the ventilation system. The fire curtain displays an abstracted version of the Arizona desert landscape. Gilded grilles echoing the design of the box office and topped by sunbursts flank the proscenium above the front exits. The theatre organ to accompany silent motion pictures is at the front of the auditorium.
Date:
1930-31
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Woodcock, W.P.
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Fox Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, auditorium, proscenium

Follies Theatre, lobby entrance

Description:
The Lee collection contains a number of photographs of theatres that Lee was charged with remodeling. This series of photos of a turn-of-the-century vaudeville theatre illustrates by contrast the innovations developed by architects for motion picture theatres. The entry to these older theatres was often off the street, through a long hallway. Advertising displays were merely cardboard signs.
Date:
[between 1930-1940]
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Follies Theatre, lobby entrance

Fox Theatre, Long Beach, facade

Description:
Lee designed an elegant Beaux Arts style theatre to be used both for legitimate stage shows and motion pictures for the Southern California beach city, Long Beach. The massive poured-concrete building with its monumental cornice centered by a giant cartouche dominated the urban landscape of downtown Long Beach. The retail shop fronts at street level give a sense of the scale of the building.
Date:
1931
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Haight, George D.
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Fox Theatre, Long Beach, facade

Fox Theatre, Long Beach, auditorium, proscenium

Description:
The Beaux Arts style interior features a proscenium arch framed by pseudo quoins and flanked by giant compositions of paired columns centered by oversize sculptures and cartouches. There is clearly a stage behind the curtain and the organ used to accompany silent motion pictures is seen at the lower left. The perforated panel in the center of the ceiling is a ventilation vent.
Date:
1931
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Haight, George D.
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Fox Theatre, Long Beach, auditorium, proscenium

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, ticket booth

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, ticket booth

Tower Theatre, Fresno, auditorium entrance

Description:
The etched glass panel depicts a hunter with bow and arrow, a wounded stag and a hunting dog. Lee used this motif in other theatres, such as the Miami Theatre, although the motif seems to bear no relationship to any particular wider theme. The depiction itself, however, suggests a moving picture, with several exposures or frames overlaid on each other.
Date:
1935-36
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Tower Theatre, Fresno, auditorium entrance

Tower Theatre, Compton, lounge, entry

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, lounge, entry

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

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, auditorium, rear, side view

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, rear, side view

Tower Theatre, Fresno, etched glass panel

Description:
The etched glass panel depicts a hunter with bow and arrow, a wounded stag and a hunting dog. Lee used this motif in other theatres, such as the Miami Theatre, although the motif seems to bear no relationship to any particular wider theme. The depiction itself, however, suggests a moving picture, with several exposures or frames overlaid on each other.
Date:
1935-36
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Tower Theatre, Fresno, etched glass panel

Tower Theatre, Compton - foyer

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 - foyer

Grand Theatre, Arizona, collage of interior and exterior views

Description:
Probably Lee's simplest design and smallest commission was this 250 seat theatre for the United Verde Copper company in Clarkdale, Arizona. The crowd of people in front of the theatre, the handwritten note on the reverse of the picture, and the letter from the theatre manager all attest to the appreciation of this small theatre in a remote town in northern Arizona
Date:
1936
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Grand Theatre, Arizona, collage of interior and exterior views