Hollywood Egyptian Theatre
The discovery of King Tut’s tomb
in Egypt on November 26, 1922 led to
an Egyptian craze which swept the
nation. The present site of the
Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood
Boulevard, had once been the address
of Gilbert F. Stevenson and his
wife. Stevenson, the Secretary and
General Manager of the Western
Masons Mutual Life Insurance
Association, transferred from
downtown Los Angeles in 1903 to
a 5 acre lemon ranch on the
corner of Prospect Avenue, which is
now know as Hollywood Boulevard,
and Dakota Avenue, presently
McCadden Place.
The Hollywood Egyptian theater’s
courtyard is 45 feet wide and 150
feet long. The “oriental motif”
store fronts along the east side of
the courtyard apparently sold
imports. This space is slated to
operate as a single restaurant when
the theatre re-opens.
The Pig ‘n Whistle restaurant which
was located on the west side, opened
on July 22, 1927 and was in
operation until the late 1940s. It
had a side entrance which accessed
the Egyptian Theatre courtyard. The
"pig ‘n whistle" motif featured on a
small tiled area can still be seen
today in the courtyard on the west
wall near the fountain. Morgan,
Walls & Clements built the elegant
restaurant and was featured in an
Architectural Digest in the 1928
issue. |
