Pacific El Capitan

The El Capitan Theatre debuted on May 3, 1926, as "Hollywood's First Home of Spoken Drama." That evening, limousines pulled up before the theatre's elaborate cast-concrete Spanish Colonial exterior (designed by architectural firm Morgan, Walls, and Clements) and deposited Hollywood royalty, who were attending the play "Charlot's Revue," starring Jack Buchanan, Gertrude Lawrence, and Beatrice Lillie.

Inside, the audience enjoyed one of the most colorful and lavish interiors they had ever seen, featuring an elaborate $1.2-million East Indian design, created by San Francisco architect G. Albert Lansburgh.