Arch Tour Fest 6PM: Tower Theatre

Photo Credit: Peyton Hall

Arch Tour Fest: Tower Theatre | 6PM

This tour is SOLD OUT

This is an in-person tour. Attendees will be required to show proof of vaccination. Please read and check the agreement and safety boxes in the registration. Additional information regarding the tour and check-in process will be emailed directed to registrants 24 hours before the event. Tickets are non-transferable.

View the list of all Arch Tour Fest LA tours

Arch Tour Fest is presented by LG | Business Solutions

CES Learning Units: 1 LU

“The show starts on the sidewalk.” – S. Charles Lee

Join the AIA Historic Resources Committee for a tour of the historic Tower Theatre on Broadway that was recently restored and adapted for a flagship Apple Store by Foster + Partners, Gruen Associates, and Historic Resources Group. The project Architects will lead the tour. The is the first motion picture theater in Los Angeles purpose built for “talkies,” movies with electronic sound. The Spanish-Romanesque-Moorish Tower Theater was the first theatre designed by celebrated theatre architect S. Charles Lee when he started his own firm. Like many movie palaces on Broadway, the building had not presented movies for decades, only hosting occasional special events. The historic theatre is a perfect fit for Apple’s Los Angeles flagship, demonstrating their leadership in technology, audio, video, and open doors for education and collaboration with communities while making a big investment in the renewal of downtown Los Angeles. Tour participants will learn about how to approach a historic landmark building assessment and plan a collaborative design and review process with public agency regulators and stakeholding organizations. On the technical side, the hidden seismic strengthening, reconstruction of the clock tower cap, recreation of the Broadway marquees, and restoration of exterior architectural glazed terracotta exterior cladding will be discussed. Inside, the tour will include the restored double height lobby inspired by Charles Garnier’s Paris Opera House, with fine marble veneers and a grand stairway with bronze railings. The tour will process through the main auditorium and sales space, the lower level where interpretive displays are installed, and end at the balcony, now a Genius Bar, offering the best overview of the space, ceiling, and proscenium.

Shawmut Design and Construction is pleased to welcome everyone to nearby Zinqué DTLA (939 S Broadway) following the tour of Tower Theatre. Enjoy refreshments on the outdoor patio, surrounded by the historic architecture on Broadway, and network with peers who are key to honoring and revitalizing downtown LA.

Architect of Record: Gruen Associates
Design Architect: Foster + Partners
Historic Architect: Historic Resources Group
General Contractor: Shawmut Design and Construction
Structural Engineer: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
MEP: TK1SC
Lighting Designer: Francis Krahe & Associates
Code Consultant: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Waterproofing Consultant: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Vertical Transportation: Edgett Williams Consulting Group
Theater Planning: TheaterDNA
Restoration contractor: KC Restoration Company
Decorative Arts assessment and finish restoration: Evergreene Architectural Arts
Decorative plaster restoration: Spectra Company

Tour Led By:

Peyton Hall, FAIA, Principal Architect Emeritus, Historic Resources Group
Peyton Hall, FAIA, is Principal Architect Emeritus of Historic Resources Group, LLC, Pasadena. He is Adjunct Professor and teaches materials conservation in the Heritage Conservation program in the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Virginia, a Master of Environmental Design from Yale University, a Certificate from the Center for Study of the History of the Architecture of Andrea Palladio, Vicenza, Italy, and was a Fellow at the Tokyo National Cultural Properties Institute, sponsored by National Endowment for the Arts. He is former Chair of the Advisors to the AIA national Historic Resources Committee and former Chair of the LA/AIA Historic Resources Committee. His portfolio of historic theatre projects includes the Alex Theatre, Glendale; Shrine Auditorium Los Angeles; Towne Theatre, Fillmore; American Cinematheque at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre; Orpheum Theatre, Wichita; Mann’s Chinese Theatre restoration; Fox Theatre, Riverside; TCL Chinese Theatre (IMAX alteration), and Netflix Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood (under construction).

Devon Barnes, AIA, Principal Associate at Gruen Associates
Devon Barnes, AIA, LEED AP is a Principal Associate at Gruen Associates. Devon holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arizona. She has a portfolio full of luxury retail clients with projects globally and many as adaptive reuse. Before Tower she worked on the historic 1909 Shreve Building in San Francisco as a preservation and renovation for a new jewelry retail tenant.

Debra Gerod, FAIA, LEED AP, Partner, Gruen Associates
Debra Gerod, FAIA, LEED AP is a Partner at Gruen Associates. As a leader in collaboratively teaming with world-renowned A/E/C professionals, her expert guidance has resulted in landmark projects including the adaptive re-use of the 1927 historic Tower Theatre in downtown Los Angeles’ Broadway District. Additional projects include the Audrey Irmas Pavilion newest addition to the historic Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the LAX Central Utility Plant Replacement, the Airport Metro Connector Station that will re-establish LAX as an iconic gateway to Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan, Caltrans District 7 Headquarters, Capitol Area East End Complex, Robert E. Coyle US Courthouse, Foley Federal Building and US Courthouse, Otay Mesa Land Port of Entry, the Burbank-Anaheim Segment for the CA High-Speed Rail Authority, the Pacific Design Center Red Building and the US Embassy Berlin. Debra was the 2020 President for AIA|California and a past president of AIA|Los Angeles. Debra volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and Heal the Bay and is a long-time board member for the ACE Mentor Program of Los Angeles.

Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will learn the assessment of historic buildings and sites prior to project design, engineering, and treatment plans.
2. Participants will understand the regulatory environment, project entitlement, process for public agency discretionary reviews, and participation of stakeholders and elected officials in the process.
3. Participants will learn about documentation, protection plans, mock-ups, and reviews for historic properties.
4. Participants will learn about the construction efforts to incorporate a new program and building support systems within a historic building situated in a dense, urban setting.