Hollywood Warner Theatre Has Been Vacant Since 2013. Here’s Why
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
With the news that the lone activist fighting for the Cinerama Dome’s reopening has been silenced, let’s take a look at Robertson Properties Group’s other vacant historic property: Warner Bros. Theatre, also known as the Hollywood Warner and the Hollywood Pacific.
Hollywood’s first movie palace designed specifically for sound, the $2 million theatre opened on April 26, 1928 with the “part-talking” Glorious Betsy starring Conrad Nagel and Dolores Costello. Matinees were 35¢; evening showings 50¢.
From the marquee to the stage (the second largest in Los Angeles at the time), it was magnificence without gaudiness.
The architect, G. Albert Lansburgh, specialized in luxury theatres and cinemas on the West Coast. In L.A. alone, he designed the El Capitan (1926), Shrine (1926), Orpheum (1926), and, Wiltern (1931).
Surrounding the auditorium, a sweeping 22-foot grand promenade is accented with elaborate archways leading to smoking lounges, cosmetic rooms, and stairways to the balcony.
The coffered ceiling is its own work of art, with hand-painted panels framed in ornamental molding. Chandeliers and sconces added romantic lighting.
On a wall, a 10-foot scroll conveyed regards “To Our Patrons” from the Warner brothers — Harry, Albert, and Jack (Sam died in 1927).
The handwritten note detailed the theatre’s amenities, such as an emergency hospital (near the main entrance), Vitaphone sound system, modern ventilating system, elevator service, lounges with luxurious furnishings, and a children’s playroom with trained nurses always on duty. “Here, patrons may leave their youngsters during the performance, feeling secure in the knowledge that they will be happy and well cared for,” promised the Warners.
The auditorium is designed like an open-air Spanish court, with the massive domed ceiling painted sky blue. On the ground floor, an arcade and interior windows add to the effect.
At the balcony level, a panoramic mural by world-renowned artist Albert Herter can be seen through colonnades — stage left, it looks out onto a vista with rolling hills; stage right, there’s a neighboring villa. Bas reliefs of Spanish lords and ladies, painted gold, crown the walls.
Herter was responsible for the entire decorative theme of the theatre, and he even developed a new shade of terra cotta specially for the Hollywood Warner, according to The Los Angeles Record on April 16, 1928.
“His finished work reflects what the artist maintains is an entirely new note in theatre decoration — the intensification of a predominant color. He has created a new flaming tone for the purpose, and this tone is carried with increasing intensification from the lobby into the auditorium, varying with the turquoise blue and gold which occupies the color scheme of the theatre.”
With a capacity of 3,000, seating was facilitated by a giant electrical board that charted each seat: when unoccupied, it would illuminate, so ushers would have absolute knowledge of the seating situation.
Below the stage, dressing rooms were lavishly furnished with tile showers and baths as well as facilities for performers to prepare a pre-show meal.
The Warner Bros. Theatre Building spanned Hollywood Boulevard and Wilcox Avenue, with retail storefronts along both streets and offices on the second floor.
Among the original businesses: Wills & Evans cut-rate druggist, Van’s Smart Frocks Inc., stock brokerage firm H.J. Barneson & Co., “tailor to ladies and gentlemen” Morris Piatt, Schlein’s Smoke Shop, and jeweler William Stromberg.
On the top floor of the four-story building, KFWB broadcasted from a 3,000-square-foot radio station. In early 1929, a pair of antenna towers were installed on either end of the Hollywood Warner’s roof.
Four decades after the “picture house of distinction” opened, Pacific Theatres took over the Hollywood Warner Cinerama, renaming it the Hollywood Pacific in 1969.
A decade later, they triplexed the theatre, enclosing the balcony level to create two additional screens, which were damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Months later, the entire theatre was closed without warning — and has never reopened. The main auditorium was leased by a church for several years until they were asked to vacate in 2013.
To this day, the historic Hollywood Warner sits empty with no restoration in sight. Why?
First, a quick explainer on the ownership (or just skip ahead a few paragraphs)...
Pacific Theatres was founded in 1946 by William Forman and the business has been operated by the Forman family (William died in 1981) through their Decurion Corporation, which also owned and operated the ArcLight Cinemas. Robertson Properties Group is the real estate arm of Decurion.
In 2021, Pacific Theatres announced it would not be reopening any of its locations (including the ArcLights) following the COVID shutdowns. Subsequently, Pacific filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and liquidated the majority of its theaters. However, they hung onto the Hollywood Warner, a prime piece of real estate along Hollywood Boulevard.
As for the ArcLights, all were acquired by other theater chains, except for two: Hollywood and Santa Monica. The latter was authorized for repurpose in 2023.
The fate of the Hollywood location on Sunset Boulevard, also prime real estate, remains a mystery. But its landmark Cinerama Dome has been in limbo for years. In 2025, a representative of Robertson Properties Group explained at a public hearing the ownership is “very committed to moving forward to continue redeveloping the site” but didn’t elaborate, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
So anyway, back to the Hollywood Warner...
Not long after the church vacated the theatre in 2013, Robertson Properties Group proposed a redevelopment project that would raze the historic theatre (except for the Hollywood Boulevard facade). However, Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell intervened. He negotiated for RPG to commission a third-party restoration study, but O’Farrell’s calls ultimately went unanswered, according to a source involved in the project back in 2014.
In 2017, the dialogue between RPG and O’Farrell reopened. A meeting was arranged, O’Farrell’s spokesperson Tony Arranaga told Curbed, but again, nothing happened. In 2022, O’Farrell was voted out of office and it doesn’t seem, at least publicly, that his successor, Hugo Soto-Martinez, has continued interest in reopening the Hollywood Warner.
Robertson Properties Group does have one active property on the block: the commercial building at 6407-6411 Hollywood Boulevard. A noteworthy tenant is Hollywood Heritage’s Preservation Resource Center. Ironic? Most definitely. A conflict of interest? I’d think so.
Hollywood Heritage was involved in O’Farrell’s efforts to have Robertson Properties restore the Hollywood Warner back in 2014. What changed?
If you’re curious what the Hollywood Pacific/Hollywood Warner looks like today, after sitting vacant for over a decade, check out this 2025 video from a trio of explorers who somehow gained access to the theatre. You can see the original character and details are still there, just dying for someone to bring it all back to life.
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