The Play's The Thing...Except in Hollywood

Without its creative spaces, Los Angeles as we know it would not exist.

Creators of all stripes - musicians, visual artists, designers, and especially actors - from around the world are drawn to Los Angeles for its culture of creativity. Even now, with the film and television industry struggling, countless creators continue to seek out, or at least dream of, life in LA.

When a significant creative space is erased from existence, particularly without a replacement, Los Angeles becomes a poorer place.

The Hollywood Playhouse opened at 1445-1451 N. Las Palmas Ave., just two doors down from Sunset Boulevard, in 1905 and burned down July 13, 2022.

Here's the lease listing from 2016. The Los Angeles Theatres blog reports that it was empty by 2019, but still listed as available for lease. (Do read their entry on the theatre for details of its rich and varied history.)

Here's where it gets weird: why would the owner have the theatre listed for lease at the time of the fire when city records show that they already planned to demolish it two months prior to the fire?

Here's a pre-inspection DPI to demolish 1445 N. Las Palmas. It was submitted May 22, 2022.

Here's the application to demolish 1445 N. Las Palmas. It was submitted June 22, 2022.

Here's the information on the finaled permit from 2023. Do note that it says "Demolish (e) 1-story building (9082 sf) and remove existing retaining walls that have been declared a Present, Imminent, Extreme, and Immediate Hazard by LADBS. ***"COMPLY WITH DEPARTMENT ORDER effective date 07/15/2022."

The department order was issued two days after the fire. A burned building is a safety hazard (this fire caused a partial collapse), and LADBS was right to issue the order.

Two people were detained in connection with the fire. And yes, arson was suspected. I sincerely hope this was just a very unfortunate coincidence.

On January 11, 2023, the owner submitted plans for a six-story apartment building on the site. The demolition permit for the theater's remains had not been issued yet.

The owner has since submitted updated plans for a 7-story mixed use building. While technically some parking will be included, a 60-unit building normally requires 85 parking spaces and the owner, citing TOC incentives, has requested to provide only 26.

If you have ever spent time in Hollywood, you know parking sucks and you know why some Hollywood residents may not be comfortable taking mass transit.

I know it could be worse. The planned building will have nine Very Low Income units, will at least have SOME parking, and will have a rooftop deck so residents can have green space.

Still, we lost a community space in a fire, and to the best of my knowledge there are no plans to replace the Playhouse.

1445-1451 N. Las Palmas Ave., Hollywood.

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