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There are a lot of ways to visit the historic district featured in the book. The Los Angeles Conservancy and L.A. Historic Theatre Foundation both offer walking tours. Every summer, the theaters open their doors for the Last Remaining Seats film series. A lot of them also take part in the annual Night on Broadway street festival, which brings huge crowds of visitors downtown.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of other websites, films, and books to explore:

WEBSITES:

• Cinema Treasures
  A detailed reference site about nearly 45,000 theaters around the world. Its listings range from long-demolished palaces to modern multiplexes. The site includes news, visitor information, historic photographs, and more.

• Historic Los Angeles Theaters
  A site specific to the L.A. historic theater district. It provides a detailed breakdown of the theaters, including which ones are open to the public, which ones are doing special events, and more.

• Los Angeles Public Library
  One of the best places to learn about L.A. history. The library’s photo collection is fascinating, and it’s just one of many resources available to the public.

• KCET: Lost L.A.
  This series features L.A.’s hidden past. It is produced by USC Libraries and the local PBS affiliate.

• Wikipedia: L.A.’s Broadway Theater District
  This page gives a nice history of the area, along with links to other theater districts across the United States.

• Stonewall Uprising
  The companion site to the 2011 documentary (which in turn is listed below). This site gives a detailed window into the gay community in the mid-twentieth century. It includes interviews, biographies, photo galleries, and more.

• The surviving theaters’ official pages include:
  • Million Dollar Theatre
  • Los Angeles Theatre
  • Orpheum Theatre
  • Theatre at Ace Hotel (a.k.a. United Artists Theatre)

FILMS:

• Chinatown (1974)
  This quintessential noir stars Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in some of their most famous roles. This film is loosely based on the California Water Wars, in which L.A.’s leaders conspired to build a controversial aqueduct. Its mixture of hard-boiled mystery and real-life history has spawned countless imitators, from The Nice Guys to Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

• Double Indemnity (1944)
  This other great noir helped define the genre. It’s a suspense thriller about two lovers who commit murder for the insurance. It was crafted by a who’s who of great writers and filmmakers: it was directed by Billy Wilder, based on the book by James M. Cain, and co-written by Raymond Chandler. Its story was incredibly edgy at the time, but it was rewarded with seven Oscar nods, and it has become a timeless classic.

• The Maltese Falcon (1941)
  This is in many ways the ultimate detective movie. It was based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel (listed below); the book had already been filmed twice before, but this was the film that became a classic. It made the careers of both its star, Humphrey Bogart, and its first-time director John Huston.

• L.A. Confidential (1997)
  This film introduced noir to a whole new generation. Based on James Ellroy’s bestselling book (also listed below), it stars Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, and Kevin Spacey as police officers trying to root out corruption in 1950’s Los Angeles. Kim Basinger won the Oscar for her role as a Hollywood prostitute.

• Stonewall Uprising (2011)
  An excellent documentary about gay rights (or, rather, the lack thereof) in the 1950’s and 60’s, and the riot that changed everything. The film also has a very good companion website (listed above).

BOOKS:

• Berger, Robert and Anne Conser. Cinema Treasures: A New Look at Classic Movie Theaters. St. Paul: MBI, 2004.
  A well-researched and thoroughly-illustrated book about classic theaters. A must-read for anyone who is interested in the subject.

• Berger, Robert and Anne Conser. The Last Remaining Seats: Movie Palaces of Tinseltown. Los Angeles: Balcony, 1999.
  This book is specific to L.A.’s historic theaters. Its real strength is in its gorgeous photography and the way it brings these theaters to life.

• Cooper, Suzanne Tarbell. Theatres in Los Angeles. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia, 2008.
  Part of the Images of America series, this book is full of great historic photographs.

• Branson, Helen. Gay Bar. Pan-Graphic Press, 1957.
  A gay bar owner from the 1950’s– who is a woman, no less– recounts her experiences. The book was re-issued in 2010, with commentary by Will Fellows.

• Hammett, Dashiell. The Maltese Falcon. New York: Knopf, 1929.
  Dashiell Hammett’s famous novel helped establish the hard-boiled detective, the femme fatale, and many other trademarks of noir. It was adapted for the screen three times, most famously with Humphrey Bogart in 1941 (listed above).

• Ellroy, James. L.A. Confidential. New York: Mysterious Press, 1990.
  James Ellroy is one of L.A.’s most famous crime writers, and this is arguably his best-known work. It tells a convoluted story of corruption and drug-running in the 1950’s, and was famously made into an award-winning film (listed above). It’s part of Ellroy’s magnum opus, the L.A. Quartet, which also includes three other crime novels: The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, and White Jazz.

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