{"nrhp_refnum":"79000488","name":"Pellissier Building","other_names":["Franklin Life Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3780 Wilshire Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.06122454700005,"lon":-118.30857411299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-02-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A commercial and theater complex at 3780 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, completed in 1931. It combines a 2,500-seat theater, two-story shops, and a 190-foot office tower, and it is also known as the Franklin Life Building and the Wiltern Theater.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as one of the finest remaining examples of vertical Art Deco (Zigzag Moderne) architecture in Los Angeles. It is the only Art Deco theater built from designs by G. Albert Lansburgh, and it retains its original interior and color scheme. It also marks the westward shift of the city's business and cultural center along Wilshire Boulevard.","narrative":"Completed in 1931 at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, this complex combines a 2,500-seat theater, a two-story arcade of twenty shops, and a 190-foot tower of offices. Its blue-green terra-cotta exterior and black granite base carry a vertical Art Deco design. Stiles O. Clements of Morgan, Walls and Clements designed the office and shop portions, while theater architect G. Albert Lansburgh planned the auditorium. Originally the Pellissier Building and later owned by the Franklin Life Company, it housed the Warner Brothers Western Theater, now known as the Wiltern. Inside, the oval foyer, marble finishes, painted ceilings, chandeliers, and sunburst lighting remain largely intact, and the theater's Kimball organ is still in use. The nomination values it as a well-preserved Art Deco landmark, the only one of Lansburgh's Art Deco theater designs actually built, and a marker of business growth moving west along Wilshire Boulevard. Los Angeles had designated it a Historic-Cultural Monument in 1973.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1931)","architect_builder":"Morgan, Walls & Clements and G.A. Lansburgh","architectural_style":"Art Deco / Zigzag Moderne","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as occupied and in continuous use, with very few alterations since construction. The theater retains its full working stage and its Kimball pipe organ, which is still played.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.433874-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/79000488.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000488/f2be4659d7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000488/f2be4659d7-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Carol M. Highsmith","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Highsmithwilterntheater.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Carol M. Highsmith</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Highsmithwilterntheater.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859404","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellissier_Building_and_Wiltern_Theatre","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7161584"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/pellissier-building-79000488/"}