Clad in blue-green glazed terra-cotta and set diagonally to the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue, the Wiltern is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the United States. The theatre forms part of the twelve-storey Pellissier Building, commissioned in 1929 by developer Henry de Roulet and the Pellissier family, whose land it occupies, and the distinctive turquoise tile has come to be known as Pellissier Green. Designed by Stiles O. Clements of Morgan, Walls and Clements for the exterior and G. Albert Lansburgh for the auditorium, the theatre opened on 7 October 1931 as the Warner Brothers Western Theatre, the flagship of the chain. Opening night drew crowds and stars to Wilshire Boulevard, and the interior dazzled with murals by Anthony Heinsbergen and a dramatic ceiling sunburst whose rays are themselves stylised Art Deco skyscrapers, Lansburgh's vision of the boulevard's future. Warner Brothers gave up the lease after barely eighteen months amid poor business, and the venue was renamed the Wiltern for the intersection it faces. By the late 1970s the building had fallen into decline and came within days of demolition, but a campaign to save it became a turning point for historic preservation in Los Angeles, and developer Wayne Ratkovich led a multimillion-dollar restoration of both the theatre and the office tower. Originally seating around 2,340, the theatre was reconfigured during and after the restoration so that it now holds roughly 2,300 standing or about 1,850 in a seated layout, and it is operated by Live Nation. The restored auditorium retains its opulent murals, gold-leaf detailing and signature sunburst, and the building's original 1931 fire curtain still survives in place. Now a beloved mid-sized concert hall in the Koreatown area, the Wiltern hosts touring acts across genres beneath one of the city's great Art Deco interiors. Its survival and restoration made it both a landmark of Los Angeles architecture and a working music venue, a rare combination of preservation success and active stage.

Type: Theater / Concert Hall

Address: 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, United States, 90010

Telephone: 213-388-1400

Capacity: 1850

Opening Date: 07/10/1931