Searching For Hollywood's Oldest Cinema

With the film festival tour for my documentary, "Your Cinema Needs You" and some of my travel shoots overlapping this year, I've made a point of searching out old cinemas in a lot of the different places that I've been going.

In Los Angeles, a city full of incredible theatres, I thought it would be interesting to find the oldest cinema in Hollywood. This lead me down a bit of rabbit hole.

For starters, until Hollywood was incorporated into Los Angeles in 1910, the town had regulations specifying no theatres. Once incorporated, this changed quickly. The first cinema built in Hollywood in 1910 was called the Idyl Hour, which was later renamed the Iris Theatre, however the location changed several times in just a few short years. A very familiar story.

With only a few images and an old fire map to go on, the theatre would've been located on prime real estate on Hollywood Boulevard. Unfortunately, when I went to see what was there today this is what I found - an empty lot with a direct view of the Hollywood sign.

The cinema had been defunct since the 1920s and the name moved again, but I was curious if the building had been repurposed or modified. What makes this location special is just how many incredible cinemas are still in the area.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre (now the TCL Chinese Theatre) is just a few blocks away and in addition to still hosting movie premieres to this day, it's endured as one of the most famous movie palaces in the world. Quite the contrast from where the Iris began over a century ago.

Each of these detours makes me further appreciate what was uncovered in making the documentary about Medicine Hat's Monarch Theatre. It's a fascination about how much has changed, what's been left to find, and that through it all that little cinema back in Medicine Hat has survived when so many others didn't.

I Funko'd Myself in Hollywood (Again)

My strict rules for purchasing any Funko Pops aside, I took the bait at the Hollywood Boulevard store in in Los Angeles, California and created myself in miniature vinyl form once more.

As was the issue last year, a blonde dude in a hoodie doesn't look personalized. Then I saw the popcorn and trophy accessories and it clicked. In keeping with this year's over-extended theme I made the Monarch Theatre premiere / film festival version of myself to compliment last year's mini-me Funko travel photographer. 

In short, this became another brilliantly kitschy souvenir from the latest Hollywood travel shoots ... and, let's be honest, one more opportunity to name-drop "Your Cinema Needs You" as the international festival tour rolls on through 2024. 

More Travel Shoots in La La Land

Admittedly, I wasn't exactly itching for more Los Angeles, California travel content considering the number of visits (and still unreleased shoots) over the last few years. That said, if there's one place that I could go again and again and not get bored, it would be Los Angeles.

The focus of these latest shoots was "the kitsch of Hollywood". Movie studios, theme parks, theatres, and memorabilia helped to round out the set dressing for an already extensive collection of locations. As always, there was a lot to see and do and I can't wait to share more from this series in the months ahead. See more on the @editingluke Instagram. 

 

Glamor Tram: Studio Tour 60th Anniversary

This year the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood in California celebrated its 60th anniversary. The limited-time event saw the return of the iconic Glamor Trams from 1964 along with nods to past attractions that once defined the studio theme park. 

I snagged myself one of the 60th Studio Tour Glamor Tram popcorn buckets, which in addition to being a great kitschy souvenir, was also the most cumbersome thing I could have found to carry around a theme park for a day. I do love a throwback though - so, worth it!

Universal Monster Murals by Tristan Eaton

You can find these giant monster murals by Tristan Eaton featuring the Creature, Dracula, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, and the Wolfman on the backlot at Universal Studios Hollywood in California. I love the combination of old posters, fonts, and references from the original source material to create these masterful collages of these iconic characters. The placement of the artwork is also fitting as these classic monster movies were filmed on the Universal lot nearly a century ago.

Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino, California

A few visuals from the Wigwam Motel along Route 66 in San Bernardino, California.

World's Tallest Thermometer in Baker, California

In a long list of world's tallest and world's biggest roadside attractions, I'm always keen for a kitschy attraction stop-off on any lengthy road trip. The World's Tallest Thermometer in Baker, California provides just that, and at 134 ft. tall it commemorates the record setting 134 degrees Fahrenheit that was reached in nearby Death Valley in 1913. 

 

Tail O' the Pup in Los Angeles, California

A few visuals from the iconic Tail O' the Pup hot dog stand in Los Angeles, California.