Key Takeaways
- The Alex Theatre has stood on Brand Boulevard in Glendale, California since 1925 — a rare surviving grand movie palace with Greek and Egyptian architectural details that still draws crowds a century later.
- A $6.5 million restoration reopened the venue in 1993, and it earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places just three years later in 1996.
- The theatre’s programming spans concerts, ballet, comedy, theatre, film, and high-profile TV tapings — making it one of Southern California’s most versatile live performance destinations.
- Resident companies like the Alex Film Society and the Glendale Youth Orchestra keep the venue deeply connected to its local community year-round.
- One architectural upgrade in particular transformed how the theatre sounds from the inside — and it’s a bigger deal than most visitors realize.
Some venues age gracefully. Others become legends. The Alex Theatre, situated along the tree-lined stretch of Brand Boulevard in Glendale, California, belongs firmly in the second category. From its origins as a vaudeville and silent film house to its current life as a working performing arts center, the Alex has never stopped evolving — while somehow staying exactly what it’s always been: a place where great performances happen in a space worthy of them.
A Century-Old Landmark Still Lighting Up Brand Boulevard
There’s a particular kind of magic that comes with sitting inside a building that has been doing the same job for a hundred years. The Alex Theatre opened its doors on September 4, 1925, and the neon glow from its iconic tower still cuts through the Glendale skyline every night. For longtime residents and first-time visitors alike, that tower — rising 100 feet above the street — signals something worth showing up for.
What makes the Alex unusual isn’t just its age. It’s that the theatre has remained alive throughout its century of operation, adapting from vaudeville to talkies, from Hollywood previews to nationally televised specials, and from restoration to reinvention. The building at 216 North Brand Boulevard has never been a museum piece. It’s always been a working stage.
From Vaudeville House to National Historic Landmark
Opened in 1925 With Greek and Egyptian Grandeur
Designed by architects Arthur G. Lindley and Charles R. Selkirk Associates, the Alexander Theatre — as it was originally known — opened as a vaudeville and motion picture house. The interior drew clear inspiration from the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, combining neo-classic Greek and Egyptian motifs with an open forecourt that remains one of the rarest surviving features of any early 20th-century movie palace. A grand Wurlitzer organ provided live musical accompaniment for silent films, filling a space built to impress from every angle.
Even among the lavish theatres of the 1920s, the Alexander stood apart. The open forecourt design, the intricate ornamentation, and the sheer scale of the interior created an experience that felt genuinely ceremonial — like attending a performance was an event in itself, not just what happened on the stage.
Walt Disney, Hollywood Studios, and the Golden Age of Previews
By the 1930s and 1940s, the Alex had become Hollywood’s living room. Walt Disney’s Hyperion Avenue studio sat nearby, and the Alex became his go-to venue for previewing new animated work. Major studio productions like National Velvet and Going My Way — both released in 1944 — held previews at the theatre, and the glamour of the era followed. Elizabeth Taylor was among the Hollywood luminaries connected to the Alex during this golden age of studio-era cinema.
By the mid-20th century, the theatre was thriving on blockbusters like Ben-Hur (1959) and had upgraded its technical capabilities with a CinemaScope screen and surround sound in 1954. The Alex wasn’t just keeping pace with cinema — it was part of shaping how Los Angeles experienced it.
The 1940 Redesign That Gave Glendale Its Iconic Neon Tower
The theatre’s most recognizable feature came in 1940, when prominent theater architect S. Charles Lee redesigned the exterior. Lee added the 100-foot Art Deco neon tower, a spiked starburst sphere, and a three-dimensional marquee that shortened the venue’s name from Alexander to simply the Alex. The redesign was a statement — and it worked. Decades later, the tower remains one of the most photographed landmarks on Brand Boulevard and one of the most distinctive signs in the entire San Gabriel Valley.
A $6.5 Million Restoration That Brought the Alex Back
Reopened in 1993 as a Performing Arts and Entertainment Center
By the late 1980s, the Alex had lived through fires, technology shifts, and decades of wear. Its final commercial film screening — Terminator 2: Judgment Day — took place on September 26, 1991. What followed was one of the most significant preservation projects in Glendale’s history.
A city-funded $6.5 million restoration brought the theatre back to life, including the return of S. Charles Lee’s 1940 neon tower to its original glory. On December 31, 1993, the Alex reopened — this time not as a movie palace, but as a full-service performing arts and entertainment center. The mission had shifted, but the bones of the building remained exactly as Lindley and Selkirk had intended them nearly seven decades earlier.
National Register of Historic Places Recognition in 1996
The federal government made it official in February 1996: the Alex Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The designation recognized not just the building’s architectural significance, but its role as a cultural institution in the broader Los Angeles region. The nomination document alone provides an extensive record of the theatre’s architectural features and historical milestones — a testament to how much history had accumulated within those walls. The Alex Theatre carries that legacy forward in every season of programming it presents today.
World-Class Acoustics and Architecture Built for Live Performance
A New Orchestral Shell Transformed the Sound Experience
Historic venues carry a risk: beautiful rooms don’t always sound beautiful. The Alex addressed this directly. A $6.2 million redevelopment project completed in 2009 included the installation of a purpose-built orchestral shell, fundamentally changing the acoustic experience for musical performances. Where grand architecture once worked against sound clarity, the new shell works with the room — focusing and projecting orchestral sound in ways that make live music feel immediate and enveloping.
It’s a technical upgrade that casual audiences might not consciously notice, but they’ll almost certainly feel it. The warmth and presence of a live orchestra at the Alex isn’t accidental. It’s engineered.
1,413 Seats, Comfortable Viewing, and a Stunning Interior
The Alex seats approximately 1,413 people — a size that strikes a meaningful balance. It’s large enough to host major touring productions and national artists, but intimate enough that there’s genuinely no bad seat in the house. Visitors consistently note the combination of beautiful interiors and comfortable viewing as a defining part of the experience. The neo-classic detailing, ornate fixtures, and proscenium arch create a visual richness that frames every performance in a way that modern venues rarely match.
Being inside the Alex is, in its own right, part of the show.
Every Genre, Every Season: What the Alex Stages
Concerts, Ballet, Dance, Theatre, Comedy, and Film
The Alex programs a genuinely eclectic calendar. On any given month, the stage might host an international ballet company, a stand-up comedian, a live orchestral concert, a cultural celebration, or a classic film screening. Companies like the World Ballet Company’s The Nutcracker and the Sukhishvili Georgian National Dance Company have performed there, alongside jazz artists, theatrical productions, and community-focused events that reflect the diverse population of the greater Glendale area.
That range isn’t just impressive on paper — it means the Alex is never the kind of venue that serves only one type of audience. Season after season, it finds reasons for different communities to walk through the same doors.
A Sought-After Venue for High-Profile Television Productions and Tapings
The Alex has become a recognizable name in television production circles as well. The RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 9 finale was filmed there in 2017. NBC’s Bring the Funny finale followed in 2019. Episodes of David Letterman’s acclaimed Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction were taped at the theatre between 2019 and 2020. The venue has also appeared in scripted productions including Criminal Minds, Glee, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veronica Mars, and You.
For television productions, the Alex offers something rare: a space with genuine visual character that cameras love, combined with professional infrastructure that production crews rely on.
National and International Touring Productions and Special Events
Beyond resident programming, the Alex consistently attracts national and international touring companies. The annual Wild Honey Orchestra benefit concerts — held each year since 2015 — have paid tribute to iconic acts including The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Band, Buffalo Springfield, The Kinks, and The Lovin’ Spoonful, supporting autism nonprofits in the process. These events draw regional audiences who might not otherwise attend a theatre performance, demonstrating how broadly the Alex casts its programming net.
Glendale’s Cultural Anchor Drives Real Community Impact
Over 3,400 Events and $30 Million Generated During the Glendale Arts Era
From 2008 to 2021, Glendale Arts managed the Alex Theatre — and the numbers from that era tell a clear story about the venue’s economic weight. The organization programmed more than 200 days annually, drawing between 70,000 and 90,000 patrons each year. During that period, events at the Alex generated $1.3 million in local business activity annually. Over the full span of her tenure, COO Maria Sahakian booked more than 3,400 events that collectively generated $30 million — figures that underscore the Alex’s role not just as a cultural institution, but as a genuine economic engine for Brand Boulevard and the surrounding area.
Resident Companies Rooted in the Community
Several resident companies have made the Alex their home over the years, creating ongoing relationships between the theatre and its community. The Alex Film Society continues to host screenings — including recent events like The Three Stooges Big Screen Event in 2024. The Glendale Youth Orchestra performs regularly at the venue and is entering its 36th season in 2025-26, a milestone that reflects decades of sustained commitment to youth arts education in the region. The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles performed more than 100 concerts at the Alex between 1994 and 2021.
These aren’t just tenants. They’re the connective tissue between a historic building and the people who live near it — the relationships that keep a century-old venue relevant in the daily life of a city.
A Century of History Makes Every Performance Unforgettable
There’s a reason people who attend a show at the Alex Theatre tend to come back. It isn’t just the programming, though the calendar is genuinely strong. It isn’t just the architecture, though the room is beautiful. It’s the combination — the sense that a performance is happening somewhere, not just anywhere.
The Alex has hosted Hollywood royalty, world-class ballet companies, Grammy-winning musicians, nationally televised finales, and youth orchestras performing their very first concerts on a big stage. It has survived fires, economic shifts, and decades of changing tastes. It was restored when it mattered most, recognized by the federal government, and has continued to earn new audiences while honoring the ones it’s always had.
A venue that’s been doing this for a hundred years doesn’t need to argue its case. The history speaks — and the lights are still on.
View the full schedule of upcoming performances and events at The Alex Theatre’s official website, Glendale’s premier destination for live arts and entertainment.
The Alex Theatre
letsconnect@thealex.com
+1 818 254 8458
216 N Brand Blvd
Glendale
CA
91203
United States
