This concept drawing, probably executed before World War II, uses simple curved forms of Streamline Moderne in the building. A huge sign with a spiral or helix-shaped tower dominates the façade
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.
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.
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.
Lee's design for the candy counter incorporated the Streamline Moderne curves initially planned for the exterior. Glass, shiny stainless steel fixtures, curved blond wood veneers and downlights in the ceiling all contribute to the effect.
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.
With plush upholstered seats, touches of gilt and glitter, formal pilasters, and the almost Japanese delicacy of a mural, Lee suggests an atmosphere of elegance to transport the audience from their daily lives
A narrow aisle between the glass wall and the poster wall allows access to change the posters. This photograph reveals that the glass wall is not curved, but instead is composed of a series of flat glass panes butt-jointed together to form a curved shape.
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.
These photographs of the State Theatre in Stockton show a early twentieth-century theatre that was used for stage acts and movies. These photographs were in Leeýs collection , because he was asked to submit a proposal for remodeling. The collection contains no records of his remodeling concepts.
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.
Automatic photo machines and automatic vending machines epitomized the automatic theme of the Studio. The wallpaper with nude silhouettes added to the stylish atmosphere.
Published photographs of the finished theatre show how Lee used both styles by combining sleek lines with angular abstract patterns. The upward slanting marquee creates in lights the elaborate pattern of overlapping circles that stands out in the daylight.
These photographs of the State Theatre in Stockton show a early twentieth-century theatre that was used for stage acts and movies. These photographs were in Leeýs collection , because he was asked to submit a proposal for remodeling. The collection contains no records of his remodeling concepts.
To give the screen structure a more substantial-looking base, Lee designed a series of tall ladder-like structures (6) that he covered with translucent corrugated plastic panels. This structure may have been illuminated from within at night to attract customers.
Note on back of photograph: Carved glass panel depicting the Academy of Motion Pictures (from which the Theatre takes its name) and the Arts of the Theatre. At main entrance to auditorium. Panel is 10' [feet] high.
Transparent glass walls facing the sidewalk and the lobby integrate the shop with the activity going on outside. The display counter and its cabinets and drawers are sleek and cleanly designed, as are the curving lunch counter and its simple chairs. The traditional forms of the glass chandelier lend a touch of historicist elegance to the otherwise stark interior.
Simple curving lines and a sumptuously draped curtain suggest an understated elegance. The wall pilasters conceal indirect lights. Large round translucent glass discs in the ceiling diffuse the light over the space.
The focal point of the foyer is the mural at the auditorium entrance. The peoples and the flags of the countries of the Americas are ranged around a map of the continents. Even fruits and pets are included. It is clear that the theatre intended to attract Miamiýs Latin American community as well as English speakers.
The larger than life-size sculpture of hunter with a bow and his dog is sleek and heroic, in the style of Prometheus at Rockefeller Center or the work of Carl Milles.(40819,40819)
Lee's renderings for the Edwards Drive-In in Arcadia (1948) show both a perspective plan (1) and a perspective from the road (2). The theater was planned in conjunction with Arcadia's Royal Oaks subdivision, hence the image of the oak and the reference to oaks in the original scheme.
This construction photo shows the basement and the mass of wood framing used to make the forms for the poured concrete. The large derrick in the background was used to lift the materials and equipment up as the building rose.
The photograph shows that the auditorium design was extremely simple. It was the bands of indirect lighting running up the walls and across the ceiling as well as vertically along the side walls and underneath the rear ceilings that created the effect. (40819)
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).
In the ladies' lounge Lee scaled down the furniture and used curves and rounded edges. Individual vanities with shelves, seats and mirrors were typical of large motion picture theatres of the period. The bouquet of flowers on the table indicates that the photograph was taken at the time of the opening.
The floor plan (2070001) shows how the geometry of overlapping circles shaped the design. The architectural drawing of the façade (2070002) depicts a spool of film unwinding, the inspiration for the spiral form used on the pylon (10102-10103)). Compare the photo of the auditorium (10105) with the floor plan (2070001) and the ceiling plan (2070002).
On this wall an archer takes aim at a gazelle, while birds fly overhead. Jewel-like lanterns composed of geometrically shaped glass panes hang from the ceiling.
Main entrance to the auditorium. No matter what aisle one is to be accommodated at, he enters thru this main portal. All ushers' resistance has been overcome by this mode of entrance. This feature has been protected in the Note on back of photograph: Patent Office by the Architec
The glamour of the movies is suggested by the tropical palms decorating the side walls and the dramatic swags simulating a sumptuous curtain that frame...
The box office ticket window is framed by cast stone detailing suggesting a theatre curtain drawn open. Below the window is a small sign giving the name of the architect and the date, a detail usually omitted on buildings in the United States.
Set right on the sidewalk, the poster cases are large and sleek. They provide a glimpse of the show within to every passerby. Titles in both English and Spanish reflect Miamiýs Latin American population, which is also depicted in the mural in the foyer. (40812,40813).
The crying room, a feature of many theatres of the period, was a soundproof glass-walled viewing room for mothers with small children. Here the model demonstrates the audio device that transmitted sound to individual viewers. The acoustic tile on the walls began to be widely used in the 1940s and soon became ubiquitous.
The curved lines of the design of the terrazzo floor are echoed in the curved wall of the lobby. The posters cases are located behind a wall of glass (71105).
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.