Vista Theatre
Located where Hollywood Blvd merges into Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles, the Vista Theatre was known as the Lou Bard Playhouse or Bard’s Hollywood when it opened in October 1923. Architect Lewis A. Smith designed the exterior in a Spanish Mission Revival style, however at Bard’s direction, designed the interior with Egyptian themes that were all the rage following the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. The theater’s forecourt features cement handprints and footprints of notable film figures. It was renamed Vista Theatre in the late 1920s. It passed through several hands and phases of programming before finally closing in 1985. It was acquired in 1993, but extensive renovations and seismic retrofitting didn’t start until 1997 and took 3 years. In July 2021, director Quentin Tarantino revealed that he had purchased the theater.
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
Photographer: John Bare