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Egyptian Theatre, photograph of rendering

Description:
Lee's concept rendering for a storefront theatre in the popular Egyptian theme betrays little attention on the façade to Egyptian-derived elements. The tall pylon sign, the illuminated marque extended out over the sidewalk, and the dramatically curved forms all serve to advertise the product to the audience on the street.
Date:
1936
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Egyptian Theatre, photograph of rendering

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

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

De Anza Theatre, photograph of rendering

Description:
The De Anza is a modest, simplified Streamline Moderne style theatre appropriate for a small city. Differences between the rendering and the exterior of the finished building show that much of the streamlining was eliminated, with the exception of the curved façade at the corner and the curved form of the pylon. The photographer, Julius Shulman, captured the new theatre in full sunlight with deep shadows; his image accentuates the dramatic black and white contrasts and the sculptural forms of the building. The gently curved blond wood-paneled walls of the auditorium, and the flowing figures executed in bas relief flanking the screen, carry out the Streamline Moderne theme. The curving, wood-paneled foyer displays a bas relief wood-on-wood mural depicting the arrival of Spanish explorer De Anza in California. An extravagantly curved couch, streamlined settees with curved arms and backs, and a table with curving legs furnish the ladies' lounge. The boxed chandelier suspended from the ceiling is typical of the Moderne taste for soft, indirect lighting. Shulman's photograph takes advantage of the strong natural light from the windows to create a study in light and shadow.
Date:
1937-39
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
De Anza Theatre, photograph of rendering

Miami Theatre, Miami, rendering, foyer stair

Description:
See 40816,40817. The curving lines and delicate tracery of the stair railing contrast with the heavily embellished stairway arch. Porthole windows, typical of the Streamline Moderne style, open up the staircase walls. A mural with sea-life motifs decorates the curved wall to the right of the staircase. The recessed lighting panels in the ceiling and the diamond-patterned mirrored walls echo similar features in the foyer.
Date:
1946-47
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Miami Theatre, Miami, rendering, foyer stair

Vogue Theatre, South Gate, photograph of colored rendering

Description:
Lee's rendering for the Vogue Theatre,Vogue Market and Vogue Beauty Shop was executed almost precisely as initially conceived. The elaborate decorations on the tower are in the spirit of Art Deco, but the executed decorations are of a more traditional character. The interior spaces are more streamlined than the exterior design suggests. Both the name "Vogue" and the details of the interior suggest an elegant experience to the moviegoers of Southgate, an industrial working-class suburb of Los Angeles.
Date:
1937-38
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Vogue Theatre, South Gate, photograph of colored rendering

Disney Theatre, photograph of rendering

Description:
The Disney Theatre was used for private screenings on the Disney lot. Lee's concept shows a glistening exterior of shiny materials, perhaps glass or ceramic tile. To add height and presence to the building, Lee set the entrance up on a podium and accented the semi-circular Streamline Moderne façade with vertical tower forms. A broad overhanding marquee echoes the circular form of the façade; its recessed lights illuminate the glass-walled foyer and the area around the entrance.
Date:
Between 1939-1941
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Hoffman-Luckhaus
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Disney Theatre, photograph of rendering

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

Lakewood Theatre, Lakewood, photograph of rendering

Description:
Probably hoping to get a larger commission than just a theatre, Lee produced this perspective sketch of his concept for a theatre integrated with a bank and a retail store. The Los Angeles suburb of Lakewood was a post-war phenomenon, when thousands of houses were built in record time, creating an entirely new community. Lakewood needed everything for its shopping center, banks, stores and of course a motion picture theatre.
Date:
1944-45
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Hoffman-Luckhaus
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Lakewood Theatre, Lakewood, photograph of rendering

Picwood Theatre, Los Angeles, rendering

Description:
The Picwood was designed as a neighborhood theatre on Pico Boulevard in West Los Angeles. The design epitomized the modern post-war aesthetic, which required simple lines, inexpensive building materials and quick construction to satisfy the post-war boom. The simple curved pylon was a landmark in the flat landscape of one- and two-story buildings.
Date:
1946
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Hoffman-Luckhaus
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Picwood Theatre, Los Angeles, rendering

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

Linda Vista Theatre, Mexico City, photograph of rendering

Description:
Lee's concept for a large theatre in Mexico City uses circular domed forms borrowed from the Arabic tradition in Spain and applies elaborate encrustations of Churrigueresque ornament typical of the Spanish Baroque around the monumental central entry, at the cornice line and to frame the windows. Elaborate finials top the parapets and the suggestion of a minaret can be seen on the right.
Date:
1942
Resource Type:
still image
Collection:
S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962
Linda Vista Theatre, Mexico City, photograph of rendering

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