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Community Directory - Articles |
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| A Piece of History at 5269 Lankershim Blvd. |
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by
Gerald
Fecht
In an
era
where
car
owners
are
getting
ready to
pay over
$4 a
gallon
for
gasoline,
a better
understanding
of
vaudeville
becomes
a
reality.
Vaudeville
was
entertainment
that
"came to
its
audience"
in easy
to reach
local
"opera
houses"
or
theaters.
And, one
of the
most
important
vaudeville
houses
of its
era was
NoHo's
own El
Portal
Theater.
In 1926,
when El
Portal
was
completed,
travelling
across
the city
to a
place
like the
Nokia
Theater
and
paying
as much
as $30
to park,
was the
stuff of
science
fiction.
A
performance
at El
Portal
was
convenient,
reasonable
in cost,
and one
could
see the
performers
without
field
glasses.
Fortunately,
the
great El
Portal
still
graces
Lankershim
Boulevard.
The
exterior
of the
building,
still
reflects
the
genius
of the
great
Los
Angeles
theater
architect
L.A.
Smith,
is a
classic
example
of
Spanish
Renaissance
Revival
style.
Contrasting
is the
theater's
familiar
art deco
marquee,
still
inviting
patrons
to
pleasure
and
great
memories.
When
vaudeville
was
replaced
by less
expensive
silent
movies.
The
great
Stan
Laurel
and
Oliver
Hardy
came to
observe
audience
reactions
to their
films in
this
very
theater.
(Both of
those
wonderful
entertainers
are
buried
in the
Valley.)
The
great
comic
Harold
Lloyd
and his
brother
were
silent
partners
in the
Shreves
Filling
Station
across
Lankershim
from El
Portal.
Lloyd
too used
El
Portal
to judge
the
success
of his
films.
During
the
Great
Depression
of the
1930s,
El
Portal
was used
by union
organizations
for
benefit
shows
for
families
without
employment.
When
"talkies"
came
into
being,
El
Portal
became
the
place to
take
your
date on
Friday
nights.
On
Saturdays
the kids
came
early
for
double
features
and
"cliff
hanging
serials."
Both
John
Wayne
and Gene
Autry
came to
greet
their
fans at
the
theater.
During
the
Second
World
War, El
Portal
not only
showed
patriotic
movies
such as
Casablanca
(filmed
in part
at Van
Nuys
Airport),
but also
sold
"war
bonds"
during
special
shows.
The
marquee
was dark
during
that
era,
since
North
Hollywood
was on
the
attack
path to
the
airplane
factories
in
Burbank.
In 1994,
the El
Portal
was
nearly
destroyed
by the
Northridge
earthquake.
For
awhile
it
looked
like El
Portal
would
become
just
another
curious
front
for a
chain
store
clothing
company.
In 1998,
The
Community
Redevelopment
Agency
of the
City of
Los
Angeles
provided
funding
to
renovate
the El
Portal
to a
state of
the art
performance
center.
In 2000,
El
Portal
once
again
opened
its
historic
doors
with 2
theatres
and an
art
gallery.
Visitors
to El
Portal
should
take
special
note of
the
handsome
plaster
frieze
sculptures
in the
main
lobby.
Also
look
down to
see the
amazing
carpet
work,
brought
to El
Portal
in 2004
from the
Shubert
Theatre
no
longer
standing
in
Century
City.
The El
Portal
theater
complex
was
declared
a Los
Angeles
Cultural
Landmark
in
February
1993.
Gerald
Fecht is
the
president
of The
Museum
of the
San
Fernando
Valley.
You can
contact
him and
the
Museum
Community
at:
gfecht@sbcglobal.net
or,
visit
The
Museum's
blog at:
http://museumsanfernandovalley.blogspot.com
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