Collection: S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962 / Subject: Entertainment - UCLA Library Digital Collections Search Results

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

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

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

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

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

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

Description:: As built the circular front kiosk and tower perform the function of advertising the theatre as a destination and display the posters for shows to passersby.
Date:: 1942
Resource Type:: still image
Collection:: S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962

Description:: Distinctive grilles on side wall handle return air for ventilation. Shiny metallic painted designs on the ceiling and the walls, as well as the shiny surface of the elaborately draped curtain enhance the air of sleekness.
Date:: 1939-41
Resource Type:: still image
Collection:: S. Charles Lee Papers, 1919-1962

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