Million Dollar Theatre
A historic movie palace and live-entertainment venue on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The Million Dollar Theatre is a historic movie palace at 307 South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, California. It occupies the northern end of the Broadway Theater District and stands directly opposite the Bradbury Building, placing it within one of the most recognizable historic urban ensembles in the city. The venue is one of the earliest large-scale movie palaces built in the United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The theater opened in 1917 with a premiere of William S. Hart's film The Silent Man. It was developed by showman Sid Grauman, who later became associated with the Egyptian Theatre and Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The Million Dollar was Grauman's first major Los Angeles cinema palace and helped establish downtown Broadway as a major entertainment corridor before the center of the city's film business shifted toward Hollywood during the 1920s. The building was constructed on the former site of the Muskegon Block, a late-nineteenth-century commercial building associated with lumber entrepreneur Thomas Douglas Stimson. Its auditorium was designed by William L. Woollett, while the adjoining twelve-story tower was designed by architect Albert C. Martin Sr. Sculptor Joseph Mora created the building's highly distinctive Spanish Colonial Revival exterior, incorporating elaborate Churrigueresque ornament, sculptural figures, longhorn skulls, and other theatrical details. The combination of a large cinema auditorium, office tower, and richly decorated facade made the property a landmark of early Los Angeles commercial architecture. During the 1940s, the venue operated as a second-run house in the Orpheum Circuit and also hosted live performers, including the Nat King Cole Trio and Joe Liggins and the Honey Drippers. A major transformation occurred in 1949, when Spanish-language theater owner and film distributor Frank Fouce took over the theater. Under Fouce, the Million Dollar became a central venue for Spanish-language cinema, music, stage entertainment, and touring performers in the United States. Mexican and Latin American stars associated with the theater included Dolores del Río, Cantinflas, María Félix, Agustín Lara, José Alfredo Jiménez, José Feliciano, Juan Gabriel, Vicente Fernández, and Celia Cruz. Antonio Aguilar also appeared at the venue with rodeo horses, an experience associated with the development of his later arena-scale rodeo productions. The theater's role expanded beyond exhibition and performance. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Fouce established Spanish International Communications Corp., drawing on the Spanish International Theater Company, whose holdings included the Million Dollar and the Mayan Theatre. The company's television activities helped establish the foundations of Spanish-language television in the United States; KMEX-TV in Los Angeles and, indirectly, the later Univision network are connected to this history. The Million Dollar therefore functioned not only as a theater but also as an important institutional base for the growth of Spanish-language entertainment media in America. The venue presented major Mexican film premieres and prominent mariachi performances, including appearances by Mariachi Vargas, Mariachi Los Camperos under Nati Cano, Mariachi Mexico de Pepe Villa, and other ensembles. During the 1970s and 1980s, Gonzalo L. Checa, president of Metropolitan Theatres' Spanish-language division, helped drive attendance and touring activity. Crowds for performances by Mexican and Latin American stars sometimes extended around the block, requiring the Los Angeles Police Department to close portions of Broadway to traffic. The theater became an important gateway for artists seeking to build audiences in the United States. Ira Yellin, then associated with Grand Central Market, acquired the building in 1989. In later years, the theater served for a period as a Spanish-language church and was vacant by 2006, although the adjoining office building had been renovated for residential use. It reopened for live Spanish-language theater in February 2008 but closed again in 2012. The building was sold to Langdon Street Capital in 2017, after which the theater and retail areas were briefly leased to fashion startup CoBird. The venue has also hosted special screenings of classic films in connection with the historic theaters of downtown Los Angeles. The Million Dollar Theatre remains notable both as an architectural landmark and as a site in the history of American cinema, Spanish-language entertainment, Mexican popular culture, and Los Angeles urban development. Its exterior and interior have appeared in films, music videos, television programs, literature, and video games, including D.O.A., Blade Runner, The Artist, and Grand Theft Auto V.
History
The Million Dollar Theatre was developed by Sid Grauman as his first grand cinema palace in Los Angeles. It opened in 1917 at 307 South Broadway, at the northern end of the city's Broadway Theater District, with a presentation of William S. Hart's The Silent Man. The theater was built on the former site of the Muskegon Block, a commercial property associated with lumber entrepreneur Thomas Douglas Stimson. Nearby properties included the Homer Laughlin Building, which had housed the Ville de Paris department store and various retail and office tenants. The building combined a richly decorated theater with a twelve-story office tower. William L. Woollett designed the auditorium, Albert C. Martin Sr. designed the tower, and sculptor Joseph Mora produced the elaborate exterior ornament. The Spanish Colonial Revival facade incorporates Churrigueresque motifs, statues, longhorn skulls, and other deliberately theatrical elements. For many years, the tower also housed the headquarters of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The venue formed part of the early development of Los Angeles's movie-palace culture. Grauman later became associated with the Egyptian Theatre and Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, while the city's principal entertainment center increasingly moved from downtown to Hollywood during the 1920s. In the 1940s, the Million Dollar operated as a second-run theater within the Orpheum Circuit and supplemented film exhibition with live performances. Artists associated with its stage during that period included the Nat King Cole Trio and Joe Liggins and the Honey Drippers. Frank Fouce acquired control of the theater in 1949. His operation transformed it into one of the most important Spanish-language entertainment venues in the United States. The Million Dollar presented Mexican films, touring stage productions, popular singers, mariachi groups, and other live acts. Major figures connected with the venue included Dolores del Río, Cantinflas, María Félix, Agustín Lara, José Alfredo Jiménez, José Feliciano, Juan Gabriel, Vicente Fernández, and Celia Cruz. Antonio Aguilar appeared with rodeo horses, a performance tradition associated with the development of his later arena rodeo shows. Fouce's theater activities also contributed to the emergence of Spanish-language broadcasting in the United States. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he founded Spanish International Communications Corp., using the Spanish International Theater Company as part of the business structure. That company included the Million Dollar and the Mayan Theatre and established a group of Spanish-language and UHF television stations. KMEX-TV in Los Angeles and, indirectly, the Univision network can trace institutional roots to this enterprise. The theater consequently became part of a broader transition from Spanish-language film exhibition to a national Hispanic media industry. The Million Dollar was a leading venue for Mexican film premieres and hosted prominent mariachi ensembles, including Mariachi Vargas, Mariachi Los Camperos under Nati Cano, and Mariachi Mexico de Pepe Villa. In the 1970s and 1980s, Gonzalo L. Checa of Metropolitan Theatres' Spanish-language division helped expand attendance and touring activity. Performances by Mexican and Latin American stars could attract crowds large enough to wrap around the block, sometimes prompting police to close Broadway to traffic. The theater helped introduce or strengthen the American profiles of artists such as Vicente Fernández, José José, Juan Gabriel, Julio Alemán, Evita Muñoz, María Elena Velasco, Antonio Aguilar, Joan Sebastian, and Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta, known as El Santo. Ira Yellin acquired the building in 1989. In the following decades, the auditorium experienced periods of changing use and inactivity. It was used for some years by a Spanish-language church and was empty by 2006, while the office component underwent renovation and conversion to residential space. The theater reopened for live Spanish-language theater in February 2008 but closed again in 2012. The property was sold to Langdon Street Capital in 2017, and the theater and retail portions were briefly leased to CoBird. The building has continued to attract interest as an architectural and cultural landmark. It has hosted special screenings of classic films connected with the historic theaters of downtown Los Angeles. Its facade appears in location filming for works such as D.O.A. and Blade Runner, while its interior was prominently used in The Artist. The venue has also appeared in music videos, fiction, television, and games, including a fictionalized version in Grand Theft Auto V. Its continuing significance rests on the combination of movie-palace architecture, downtown Los Angeles history, and its pivotal role in Spanish-language entertainment in the United States.
- 2017
Property changes ownership
[1]The building is sold to Langdon Street Capital; the theater and retail space are briefly leased to CoBird.
- 2012
The theater closes again
[1]The venue once again ceases regular operations.
- 2008
Live theater returns
[1]The venue reopens for live Spanish-language theater.
- 2006
The auditorium is vacant
[1]The theater is reported empty after a period of use as a Spanish-language church, while the adjoining office building is renovated.
- 1989
Ira Yellin acquires the building
[1]Ira Yellin, then associated with Grand Central Market, acquires the property.
- 1958
Spanish International Communications era begins
[1]Fouce's theater and broadcasting activities help connect the Million Dollar with the development of Spanish-language television in the United States.
- 1949
Frank Fouce takes over
[1]Frank Fouce assumes control and begins the theater's influential Spanish-language entertainment era.
- 1940
Second-run and live-performance era
[1]The venue operates as a second-run house in the Orpheum Circuit while also presenting live music and stage acts.
- 1917
The theater opens on Broadway
[1]The Million Dollar Theatre opens at 307 South Broadway with the premiere of William S. Hart's The Silent Man.
Products and positioning
A landmark downtown Los Angeles theater positioned around historic movie-palace architecture, cinematic heritage, and a long association with Spanish-language film, music, and live entertainment.
Cinema exhibition · 1917
Movie screenings
The theater began as a major first-run movie palace and later operated as a second-run house. It became particularly important for Spanish-language cinema, serving as a prominent U.S. venue for Mexican film premieres and screenings.
Live entertainment · 1949
Spanish-language live theater
Under Frank Fouce and later operators, the venue presented Spanish-language stage productions and touring entertainment for audiences in Los Angeles and the broader Hispanic community.
Concert venue · 1949
Music and mariachi performances
The Million Dollar hosted singers, bands, and mariachi ensembles, including Mariachi Vargas and Mariachi Los Camperos. These performances helped make it a central U.S. platform for Mexican and Latin American popular music.
Heritage programming
Historic film screenings
The venue has hosted special screenings of classic movies in the setting of a preserved Broadway movie palace, linking contemporary programming with the history of downtown Los Angeles theaters.
Production location
Film and television location
The theater's ornate exterior and auditorium have been used as locations and visual references in films, music videos, television programs, and other media productions.
Brand decisions
2017
Sale to Langdon Street CapitalM&ABackground
The historic building changed ownership after a period in which the auditorium had experienced intermittent use.
Action taken
Langdon Street Capital acquired the property, and the theater and retail components were briefly leased to CoBird.
Aftermath
The property continued to be associated with occasional cultural programming and historic-film screenings, although no detailed long-term operating plan is established in the available material.
2008
Reopening for live Spanish-language theaterStrategyBackground
After a period of vacancy and use by a Spanish-language church, the historic auditorium was brought back into entertainment use.
Action taken
The venue reopened in February 2008 with live Spanish-language theater.
Aftermath
The reopening was temporary; the theater closed again in 2012.
1949
Shift toward Spanish-language entertainmentStrategyBackground
The theater was taken over by Frank Fouce, a Spanish-language theater owner and film distributor, at a time when the venue was positioned for a broader cultural and audience strategy.
Action taken
Fouce expanded the venue's focus beyond conventional film exhibition to include Spanish-language movies, live theater, concerts, mariachi, and touring Mexican and Latin American performers.
Aftermath
The Million Dollar became a major Spanish-language entertainment institution in the United States and a platform for the growth of Hispanic media and touring performance.
Sources2 sources
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