The Pellessier Building, one of Los Angeles’ great Art Deco landmarks, was designed by architects Stiles Clements of Morgan, Walls and Clements, and was completed in 1931. Built at what was once the busiest intersection in Los Angeles (Wilshire & Western), the 12-story, green terra cotta-clad office tower is sited diagonally to the corner and above the marquee entrance to the 2,400-seat Wiltern Theater.
The Warner Brothers Western Theater (now the Wiltern) was originally conceived as a vaudeville theater. It was designed by Albert Landsburgh, with opulent interiors and decorative painting by A.T. Heinsbergen. The theater opened to considerable fanfare in 1931, but closed a year later. Re-opening in the mid-1930s, it functioned as a movie theater until 1979 when, despite the building’s status as a Los Angeles city “historic cultural monument” and its presence on the National Register of Historic Places, the owner applied for a demolition permit to clear and sell the site. In order to postpone this action, the nascent Los Angeles Conservancy and the National Trust for Historic Preservation sponsored a feasibility study, which attracted the attention of preservationist and developer Wayne Ratkovich.
In the early 1980s, Ratkovich purchased the building and retained Levin & Associates to renovate and restore the theater. The renovation consisted of major code, infrastructure and theatrical upgrades, including new rigging, lighting, a stage and orchestra pit expansion, and dressing rooms to accommodate live, performing arts programming.
During the building’s decline in the late 1970s, the theater tenant sold most of the decorative light fixtures; the plaster sunburst ceiling in the theater fell, the seats were removed, and substantial water damage occurred throughout the theater. Levin, along with theater consultants Shepardson/Winner, located the original fixtures, re-purchased most of them, and re-created the rest. Working with Tony Heinsbergen, son of the original decorative painter, Levin created a simplified version of the plaster sunburst on the auditorium ceiling, which was painted in a trompe l’oeil, three-dimensional pattern based on original sketches designed to replicate the original.
Murals were repainted, new carpeting in a Deco pattern woven, doors and hardware restored, and theater seats salvaged from the Paramount in Portland refurbished and installed. The exterior theater marquee and vertical neon signs were restored, and a box office to facilitate ticket sales was added.
The Wiltern Theater is now a successful entertainment venue. The Pellissier’s restaurant and retail establishments once again contribute to Wilshire Boulevard’s vibrant commercial life. In 1994, the City of Los Angeles awarded Levin & Associates its Historic Preservation Award of Excellence for its work on this project.
