A Movie Night at the 100 Year Old Vista Theater

, 3 Comments on A Movie Night at the 100 Year Old Vista Theater

While I grew up in the age of the multiplex, I also went to small, independent cinemas frequently. I saw Disney’s Pocahontas at Eugene’s old McDonald Theatre, which was built in 1925, and I spent many midnight screenings at the Cameo in Newberg, which opened in 1937. So I of course have a soft spot for small, intimate cinemas that have a lot of charm and history, which is why I was thrilled to finally make it to the Vista Theatre which just turned 100 last year!

Front of the Vista, a Spanish revival style building with curved details on the roof, painted yellow with white trim.

View of the marquee. Atop in large neon letters reads "VISTA" on the marquee in black and red plastic letters reads "A Denis Villeneuve Film Dune Part Two 70 MM Presentation"

Overall look of the small forecourt, in the center is a box office that is painted gold and covered in carved Egyptian hieroglyphics, on either side of the box office are a set of doors. The center of each door is clear with an etched glass panel of a lotus flower. The ground is covered with the hand and footprints of various celebrities.

Exterior of the Vista, a Spanish revival style building, painted yellow with white trim. A marquee juts from the front with "VISTA" in neon on the top. The side of the marquee visible reads "Weekend 35 MM Classics Sat & Sun Flying Deuces 1000 AM Fri & Sat Cheech and Chong 11:59 PM. Atop the roof is a neon sign reading "VISTA"

In Los Angeles, with its grand movie palaces, it is easy to overlook the small neighborhood theatres, like the Vista, but if given the opportunity to visit, do not pass it up! The Vista is a charming neighborhood theatre that features a bizarre mix of Spanish and Egyptian motifs that you can’t help but love. However the Vista wasn’t always the Vista. Opening October 9, 1923 as Lou Bard’s Playhouse (later called Bard’s Hollywood Theatre), it hosted both silent films and live vaudeville performances. Before its first decade was over, it was sold and became the Vista in 1927.

The Vista entertained people through the Great Depression and the Second World War, only to end up as a place of contention after the war. During the 1950s the Vista became the lone LA cinema showing first-run films hailing from our Cold War adversary, the Soviet Union, and prompted some to label the cinema “Un-American.” By the 1960s it became an adult movie theatre, a common fate for the single screen cinemas as the multiplex entered the scene. Love or hate the adult film industry, it saved many of these small, independent theaters, including one of my regular cinema haunts in middle school and high school, The Joy in downtown Tigard.

The Vista eventually fell into the hands of cinema aficionado Lance Alspaugh in 1997. He renovated and restored it, and added the hand and foot prints of many cult icons. Also in 1997 the interior was used for the iconic opening of Scream 2, although the exterior is the Rialto in South Pasadena.

Like everything else, the Vista closed in March, 2020 amid COVID-19. Enter director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino, who already owned the New Beverly Cinema, purchased the still shuttered Vista in the middle of 2021. After the deal was done, Alspaugh mentioned he had had many offers in the past, but said “I just felt that the time was right for this transaction,” and recognized the Vista was going to be in good hands, “I would not have handed the keys to the Vista over to just anybody…I just think it’s a perfect match.”

Like the New Beverly (which we have been do, but I have not blogged about), the Vista will only show movies on film, and what a treat it really is. We saw Swiss Family Robinson and Dr. Syn Alias the Scarecrow as a double feature, which also ran Ferdinand the Bull before the two pictures (all from Tarantino’s personal collection), and then Dune Part Two, which had a Bugs Bunny cartoon before it.

Next door you can grab a cup of coffee at Pam’s Coffy, housed in what was once an ice cream shop. Inspired by the 1973 film Coffy starring Pam Grier, Pam’s Coffy serves drinks, pastries and coveted Tarantino merch.

A small yellow neon sign reads "Coffy"

Close-up of the box office featuring Egyptian hieroglyphics from top to bottom.

Elvira's hand and foot prints in the concrete of the forecourt of the Vista.

Poster for the 1973 film Coffy, featuring an illustration of Pam Grier in a red bikini top, yellow pants, holding a gun.

Cast of Showgirls handprints.

Close-up of a small balcony on the exterior of the building.

Closer view of the box office and doors, on the wall are frames showcasing the movie poster for Dune with a lighted sign reading "Now Playing" above.

Cary Elwes hand prints.

Neon on the front of the marquee features the letter V in yellow neon and then circled by neon.

Front of the Vista, a Spanish revival style building with curved details on the roof, painted yellow with white trim.

Overall view of the concession stand with a menu board reading "Bear & White, Popcorn, Candies"

Poster for the film A Few Dollars More, featuring the leg of a cowboy reaching for his gun in the foreground and in the distance Clint Eastwood stands ready to draw his gun.

View of the theatre, a large red velvet curtain hangs in front of the screen, which is flanked by two Egyptian style archways.

Angled view of one of the walls, which features a series of Egyptian busts lining the wall.

Close-up of an Egyptian bust that lines the walls of the theatre.

Close-up of a peacock detail along the bottom of the speaker frame.

Close-up of the Egyptian arch on the side of the screen, which features a winged sun.

An Egyptian bust is tucked into a small niche along the wall of the theatre, and to the right a small framed speaker with a blue curtain features Egyptian details.

Close-up of the soda fountain, which features a lighted sign reading "Royal Crown Cola" on the ceiling is a large light fixture in the shape of a star.

Painted design reading "Video Archives Cinema Club"

Overall view of the Vista at night

Marquee lit up at night with neon. "Vista" in large green neon letters is atop, and below in black and red plastic letters reads "A Denis Villeneuve Film Dune Part Two 70 MM Presentation"

The opposite side of the marquee, green neon letters spell out "VISTA" and on the marquee in red and black letters reads "Weekend 32 MM classics Sat & Sun Flying Deuces 1000 AM Fri & Sat Cheech and Chong 11:59 PM

Overall view of the Vista at night

Catch a film on film at the Vista located at 4473 Sunset Drive in Los Angeles. For movie listings visit the Vista’s website.

Sources
Barragan, Bianca. “What a Brief History of the 1923 Vista Theatre in Los Feliz.” Curbed Los Angeles, 26 May 2015.
Breijo, Stephanie. “Inside Quentin Tarantino’s Cafe, Pam’s Coffy: retro vibes at the Vista Theater.” Los Angeles Times, 1 March 2024.
Olsen, Mark. “What happened behind the scenes of Quentin Tarantino’s Vista Theatre deal? The owner explains.” Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2021.
Meares, Hadley. “The Fascinating, Controversial History of Quentin Tarantino’s Revamped Vista Theater.” LAist, 17 November 2023.
“Vista Theatre.” Los Angeles Conservancy.

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3 comments on “A Movie Night at the 100 Year Old Vista Theater”

  2. Apparently it was common for movie theaters to feature Vaudeville acts in the early 20th century. In the 1920s, My great grandfather owned a theater in Grand Rapids, Minnesota with a man named Frank who had been a Vaudeville player. He had three young daughters who would perform in the theater before the movies were shown. Eventually, Frank wanted his daughters to be in the movies and sold his half of the theater to my great grandfather before heading to Hollywood.

    My grandmother told me she was friends with Frank’s youngest daughter, Francis, who had some success in Hollywood after she changed her name to Judy Garland.

    Reply

    • Oh my goodness! What a story!

      Yes, I think many were not entirely sold on movies, seeing them possibly as a fad, so having a theatre work for both was to cover their bases.

      Reply