PCAD - Pantages Office Building #2, Downtown, Los Angeles, CA

Aerial view of the Pantages Office Building #2, Los Angeles, c. 2017; from Google Maps/Street View

Postcard view of the Pantages Building #2, Los Angeles, c. 1922; from the author's collection, postcard by the M. Kashower Company, Los Angeles, CA

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South Hill Street and West Seventh Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014

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Northeast corner of South Hill Street and West Seventh Street.

Building History

In 1920, this building was the 16th venue in the circuit created by vaudeville impresario, Alexander Pantages (1876-1936). Construction began in early 1919, and its opening was planned for around 07/26/1920. It was in this building that Alexander Pantages was accused of raping a 17-year-old dancer, Eunice Pringle (1912-1996), in 1929. Pringle accused Pantages of accosting her in his Pantages Building office; the theatre owner was convicted in a first trial and sentenced to 50 years, although a second trial occurred in which he was exonerated. The trial, conviction and legal fees broke Pantages's health and finances, and probably precipitated his early death in 1936. Pantages was a notorious womanizer, but it is unclear whether the rape charge was valid or whether it was fabricated by business competitors. The architect B. Marcus Priteca believed until the end of his life that Pantages had been set up.

Building Notes

This building contained the Pantages Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles.

PCAD id: 9834

Publications

Naylor, David, American Picture Palaces The Architecture of Fantasy, 192-193, 213, 216, 1981. Edmonds, Andy, "Showstopper", Los Angeles Magazine, 128-136, 11/1989. Roth, Mimi, "Jailbait", Los Angeles Magazine, 68-75, 06/1992. "Pantages adds more theaters to his circuit", Los Angeles Times, 4, 08/02/1921. "New Theaters to Rise Here", Los Angeles Times, 1-2, 1920-07-04. Rasmussen, Cecilia, "L.A. Scene", Los Angeles Times, B3, 07/13/1992. Rasmussen, Cecilia, "Free-spirited 'Klondike Kate' mined life to its fullest", Los Angeles Times, B4, 04/25/2004. "Pantages, Alexander, obituary", Motion Picture Herald, 28, 02/22/1936. Saloutos, Theodore, "Alexander Pantages, Theater Magnate of the West", Pacific Northwest Quarterly, 57: 4, 139-140, 1966-10.

Pantages Office Building #2, Downtown, Los Angeles, CA (1919-1920)

Publications