{"nrhp_refnum":"75000435","name":"Pasadena Playhouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"39 S. El Molino Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pasadena","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.14499110400004,"lon":-118.13730000999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-11-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Spanish Colonial Revival theatre building at 39 South El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, built in 1925 and designed by architect Elmer Grey, with a six-story school addition completed in 1936.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the Playhouse and its College of Theatre Arts brought international recognition to Pasadena and trained many film and television professionals. It is also presented as an excellent Spanish Colonial Revival public building and probably Elmer Grey's outstanding project. Its stages hosted world premieres, and in 1937 it was named the State Theatre of California.","narrative":"Pasadena Playhouse is a theatre complex at 39 South El Molino Avenue, built in 1925 to designs by Elmer Grey. Its Spanish Colonial Revival auditorium seats 700 and sits between two wings around a flagstone patio with a fountain. The structure has a concrete frame, hollow tile walls, stucco finish and a Spanish tile roof. A six-story concrete school building was added behind it in 1936. The Playhouse grew from the Community Players, formed in 1917, and a public fund drive paid for the new building. Its College of Theatre Arts, begun in 1928, trained many actors who went on to film and television careers. More than 1,600 plays were staged on its four stages, including the 1928 world premiere of Eugene O'Neill's Lazarus Laughed, and it was the first American theatre to stage all of Shakespeare's plays. The state named it the State Theatre of California in 1937. After closing in 1969, it was slated for city purchase and restoration.","period_of_significance":"1925","architect_builder":"Elmer Grey (architect); the 1936 addition was designed by Cyril Bennett and constructed by W. C. Crowell","architectural_style":"Spanish Colonial Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Closed in 1969 and went into bankruptcy; the property was bought by the Bank of America, and in 1975 the City of Pasadena voted to purchase it for renovation. Condition was described as fair in the form and deteriorated in a city notice.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.044608-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/75000435.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000435/50d9e3a818-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000435/50d9e3a818-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Flickr user Canon in 2D","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pasadena_Playhouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Flickr user Canon in 2D</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pasadena_Playhouse.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"94000462","name":"Pasadena Playhouse Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/pasadena-playhouse-historic-district-94000462/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859396","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasadena_Playhouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7141555"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/pasadena-playhouse-75000435/"}