El Capitan Theatre

The El Capitan Theatre stands out with a white terra-cotta facade that stretches upward in elaborate Spanish Colonial Revival arches. Built in nineteen twenty-six, this house began as a legitimate stage theater, hosting plays with actors like Clark Gable. When the Great Depression hit, it transformed into a movie palace. In nineteen forty-one, the theater hosted the world premiere of Citizen Kane, with Orson Welles pacing the lobby while the film reel was still being rushed from the laboratory.