Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre

The Wiltern Theatre is located at the western edge of the Los Angeles neighborhood of Koreatown, at the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue. The Koreatown district is served by bus and Metro Rail; the Wiltern Theatre sits directly across from the Wilshire/Western Station, currently the westernmost station of the D Line subway. ==Description==

Named after the family that owned the land upon which it was developed, the Pellissier Building is a 12-story steel-reinforced concrete office tower. Set upon a two-story pedestal that contains ground floor retail and the theater entrance, the tower has narrow vertical windows that sweep the eye upward and create the illusion of a much taller building (buildings in Los Angeles were restricted from being higher than the city hall until the late 1950s). The tower is an example of French Zig-Zag Moderne styling. The entrance to the Wiltern Theatre is flanked by large vertical neon signs, while patrons approach the ticket booth set back among colorful terrazzo paving. The Wiltern's interior was designed by G. Albert Lansburgh and is renowned for its Art Deco design containing decorative plaster and tile work along with colorful murals painted by Anthony Heinsbergen. The most dramatic element of the design is the sunburst on the ceiling of the auditorium, with each ray its own Art Deco skyscraper—Lansburgh's vision of the future of Wilshire Boulevard. When the Wiltern first opened, it also housed the largest theater pipe organ in the western United States. Both the Wiltern Theatre and the Pellissier Building have been named to the National Register of Historic Places and declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument by the City of Los Angeles. ==History==

Originally built in 1931, the Wiltern was designed by architect Stiles O. Clements of Morgan, Walls & Clements, The Wiltern Theatre was originally designed as a vaudeville theater and initially opened as the Warner Brothers Western Theater, the flagship for the theater chain. The building and theater were built by the William Simpson Construction Company. After closing a year later, the theater reopened in the mid-1930s and was renamed the Wiltern Theatre for the major intersection which it faces (Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue). In 1956, the building and theater were sold to the Franklin Life Insurance Company of Springfield, Illinois. The Los Angeles chapter of the American Theater Organ Enthusiasts worked to restore the theater's 37-rank Kimball pipe organ—reputed to be the largest one in Los Angeles at the time—and held recitals there through the late 1960s and into the mid-1970s. However, the owners ignored the landmark building, and by the late 1970s, the Wiltern had fallen into disrepair. Only the intervention of a group of local preservationists saved the complex from being demolished on two occasions in the late 1970s, when the owners filed for demolition permits. The renovation of the office building was complete by 1983, but the Wiltern Theatre presented a much more difficult problem and took another two years to complete. The theater had been poorly maintained. Many of the murals and plasterwork were damaged, many of the fixtures had been sold off or pillaged, and portions of the ceiling had crashed onto the ground floor seats. It had also been used as the primary location for the film Get Crazy, which caused further damage. To restore the theater to its original state required expert craftsmanship by A.T. Heinsbergen, son of the original painter, and some creativity to replace what had been lost. This included salvaging vintage Art Deco seats from the soon-to-be-renovated Paramount Theater in Portland, Oregon. Furthermore, while it was originally designed and run as a movie theater, Ratkovich wanted to convert the Wiltern into a performing arts center that could host live concerts and Broadway-level stage performances—which entailed opening up the rear wall and extending the stage and stage house of the theater back . After a four-year renovation the Wiltern Theatre opened again to the public on May 1, 1985, In November 2019, Madonna performed 10 concerts in the venue, as part of her Madame X Tour, and was notably late to take the stage. In the midst of the Coronavirus in April 2020, The Wiltern posted a message on the marquee saying, "Be Kind. Stay healthy. Visit Wiltern.com for updates" In November 2020, The Wiltern was used as a polling place for the presidential election. ==Gallery==

File:Embellishment on ceiling.jpg|Ceiling embellishment File:Painted ceiling detail.jpg|Ceiling detail File:Wiltern Theatre Facade.jpg|The façade File:Pellisier-Wiltern ceiling.jpg|Lobby ceiling File:Tilework fountain.jpg|Tilework drinking fountain ==See also==