The Vista Theatre in Los Feliz: 100 Years of History and What It Is Now

The theatre opened in October 1923 as Lou Bard's Hollywood Theatre, built for businessman Louis L. Bard. Opening programs mixed vaudeville with a short film starring Baby Peggy, which was typical of theatres of that time. The building held 838 seats when it opened.

The architect was Lewis A. Smith, who designed several Los Angeles movie houses. He gave the building a Spanish-style exterior. Inside, he went in a very different direction.

The theatre was being built in 1922, the same year King Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in Egypt. The discovery set off a wave of Egyptian-inspired design, and the Vista's lobby and auditorium carry that style throughout. It is one of the details people remember most after a first visit, so it is worth arriving a few minutes early to look around.

Bard sold the theatre, and in the late 1920s it took the name Vista. Over the next several decades it went through many chapters. It showed foreign films, including Soviet films in the 1950s, and in later years it showed adult films before becoming a revival house again around 1980.

In the 1980s it was run by Landmark Theatres, and in the late 1990s it was taken over by Lance Alspaugh's Vintage Theater Group, which ran it as a neighborhood theatre with community events for more than two decades. Along the way, rows of seats were removed to give moviegoers more legroom, which is part of why the seats feel roomier than at many older theatres.

The Vista closed in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, with the marquee reading "To Be Continued." In July 2021, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino bought the theatre. After a renovation, it reopened on November 17, 2023.

Tarantino also owns the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, and the Vista follows a similar love of film. The renovated theatre projects in 35mm and 70mm and shows first-run releases alongside classics, all on film rather than digital.

A typical month mixes new releases on 35mm with repertory screenings. Weekend morning matinees bring back comedy and horror classics, and midnight and late shows run on Friday and Saturday nights. Some runs are presented in 70mm. The theatre also added a small second room, the Video Archives Cinema Club, and a cafe called Pam's where you can get coffee or a pastry before the show.

1. Check the week on the Los Feliz events calendar or the Vista's site and pick a showing.
2. Buy tickets online ahead of time for anything special. Opening nights and 70mm runs are the first to sell out.
3. Arrive 15 to 20 minutes early to see the lobby and the Egyptian-style auditorium and to stop by the cafe.
4. Make an evening of it. The theatre sits at the southern edge of Los Feliz, near the restaurants and shops along Sunset and Hillhurst.
5. Save the date to your phone from the event page, which has buttons for Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook.

• Showing up for a sold-out night. Special screenings often sell out. Buy ahead.
• Expecting digital showtimes. Every show is on film, so the schedule is built around 35mm and 70mm prints and can differ from other theatres.
• Trusting an old listing. Showtimes change weekly. Check the Vista's site the day you go.
• Missing the matinees. The weekend morning classics are easy to overlook and a lovely way to spend a Saturday.

The Vista is one stop on a full weekend. Our guide to free things to do in Los Feliz covers Griffith Observatory, Barnsdall Art Park and the trails in Griffith Park, and the always-here list on our home page covers the places open year round. If you host a screening, reading or community night in the neighborhood, you can add your event for free.

Los Feliz Events is a free community calendar for Los Feliz, Los Angeles, from Rooster Homes, the Los Angeles real estate brokerage led by Brandon S. Arlington and Sarah Arlington. If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in Los Feliz, you can reach out to Rooster Homes. We are always glad to talk about the neighborhood.