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(Redirected from Palace Theatre, Hollywood)

'Avalon' is a historic night club and music venue in Hollywood, California. Located near the intersection of Hollywood and Vine, at 1735 N. Vine Street, it has previously been known as the ''Hollywood Playhouse'', ''The WPA Federal Theatre'', ''El Capitan Theatre'', ''The Jerry Lewis Theatre'', ''The Hollywood Palace'', ''The Palace'', and presently, as ''Avalon'' (or ''Avalon Hollywood'').

Contents

History

The Hollywood Playhouse

The WPA Federal Theatre

The El Capitan Theatre

The Jerry Lewis Theatre

The Hollywood Palace

The Palace

Avalon

Trivia

Sources

External link

History

The Hollywood Playhouse

Originally known as ''The Hollywood Playhouse'', '1735 Vine St.' opened for the first time on January 24, 1927[1]. It was designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style by the architectural firm of Gogarty and Weyl. [2]

The WPA Federal Theatre

During the Great Depression, the theatre was renamed ''The WPA Federal Theatre'' (after the Works Progress Administration), and used for government-sponsored programs[3].

The El Capitan Theatre

Later, the theatre hosted numerous CBS Radio Network programs, including Fanny Brice's ''Baby Snooks'' show and Lucille Ball's ''My Favorite Husband'' program[4].
In the 1940s, '1735 Vine' was renamed ''The El Capitan Theatre'', and was used for a long-running live burlesque variety show called ''Ken Murray's Blackouts''[5]. This should not be confused with the nearby movie theatre of the same name and age, the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.
In the 1950s, still under the name of El Capitan, the theatre became a television studio, and it was from a set on its stage that Richard Nixon delivered his famous "Checkers speech" on September 23, 1952.[6] This event is often mistakenly said (especially on the Internet) to have taken place at the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, though that theater was never a television studio, and in 1952 was operating as a movie house called the Paramount Theatre.

The Jerry Lewis Theatre

In 1963, ABC television used 1735 Vine for Jerry Lewis' weekly television program[7], and appropriate renamed the theater ''The Jerry Lewis Theatre''.

The Hollywood Palace

After the termination of Jerry Lewis' television program, ABC renamed the building ''The Hollywood Palace'', and launched a television series of the same name that had guests such as Judy Garland and Louis Armstrong[8]. The program was successful and continued for seven years, until 1970, after which ABC continued to use the building as a studio for occasional broadcasts.

The Palace

In 1978, ABC sold the theatre to a private businessman who restored it and reopened it four years later with an abridged name, ''The Palace''.
Avalon appears (as ''The Palace'') at the beginning of Michael Jackson's 1983 video ''Thriller''.

Avalon

'1735 Vine' was purchased by Hollywood Entertainment Partners in September 2002, and renamed as ''Avalon''.

Trivia

The building has hosted the American Music Awards[9], and was once home to The Colgate Comedy Hour, the Lawrence Welk Show, and This is Your Life[10].

Sources

★ Historical Markers, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

★ Avalon History, from official web site

★ Hollywood Entertainment District

External link

★ Official web site