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Hollywood Masonic Temple
The Hollywood Masonic Temple, known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre and previously known as Masonic Convention Hall, is a building on Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S., that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Built in 1921, the Masons operated the temple until 1982, when they sold the building after several years of declining membership. The building was then converted into a theater and nightclub, and ownership subsequently changed several times, until it was bought by the Walt Disney Company's Buena Vista Pictures in 1998. Since 2003, the building's theater has been the home to the Disney ABC television program Jimmy Kimmel Live!
In 1922, the Hollywood Lodge of the Masons relocated from their place at the future site of the Dolby Theatre. Development was led by lodge master Charles E. Toberman, a real estate developer who was also responsible for the Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Chinese Theatre, and Max Factor Salon. Design and construction was led by John C. Austin, who along with his associates was also responsible for Los Angeles City Hall, Griffith Park Observatory, Shrine Auditorium, and more. The original building cost $36,295 for the lot, $176,678 ($3.4 million in 2025) for construction, and $56,421 for furniture and fixtures. Toberman and fellow member Charles Boag formed a Hollywood Masonic Club to partly finance the building, offering membership subscriptions for $100.
When the new temple opened, it was one of the most impressive structures in Hollywood. It had a billiard room, pipe organ, ladies parlor, ballroom, and lodge rooms. One writer described the building as "unsurpassed for beauty, attractiveness and richness of equipment." The Los Angeles Times described the building this way in 2002:
It's an impassive presence that seems to transcend the ebb and flow of Tinseltown glamour — a somber Neoclassical temple that stands in stark contrast to the evolving parade of movers, shakers, panhandlers and paparazzi that have passed before it.
The grand ballroom was opened in February 1923; the opening ball featured a program on "the evolution of dance" featuring dancer Lucille Means. Many of Hollywood's elite over the years have been Masons, including Oliver Hardy, Harold Lloyd, Douglas Fairbanks, W.C. Fields, Cecil B. DeMille, D.W. Griffith, John Wayne, Roy Rogers, and Gene Autry.
During the Great Depression, many of the Masons lost their savings, and the Masons were forced to rent the ground floor to a social club that installed an illegal slot machine. After World War II, the Masons resumed full use of the structure, and in 1948, more than 300 people crowded into the Masonic Temple to attend a memorial service for D. W. Griffith. In 1969, longtime Mason Harold Lloyd was honored in a ceremony as his name was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, directly in front of the Masonic Temple.
By the late 1970s, Masonic membership had declined, and the Masons rented out ground-floor space to a restaurant. In 1980, the lodge moved out of the building to Van Nuys and renamed the Hollywood-West Valley Lodge. By 1982, the Masons could not afford upgrades to meet revised fire and seismic codes. The Masons sold the building to singer Rosita LaBello who converted the structure into the Hollywood Opera & Theater Company. The building's time with LaBello's opera and theater company was short-lived with only a few operatic productions. At the opera and theater company's failure, the building was sold back to the lodge.
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Hollywood Masonic Temple
The Hollywood Masonic Temple, known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre and previously known as Masonic Convention Hall, is a building on Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S., that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Built in 1921, the Masons operated the temple until 1982, when they sold the building after several years of declining membership. The building was then converted into a theater and nightclub, and ownership subsequently changed several times, until it was bought by the Walt Disney Company's Buena Vista Pictures in 1998. Since 2003, the building's theater has been the home to the Disney ABC television program Jimmy Kimmel Live!
In 1922, the Hollywood Lodge of the Masons relocated from their place at the future site of the Dolby Theatre. Development was led by lodge master Charles E. Toberman, a real estate developer who was also responsible for the Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Chinese Theatre, and Max Factor Salon. Design and construction was led by John C. Austin, who along with his associates was also responsible for Los Angeles City Hall, Griffith Park Observatory, Shrine Auditorium, and more. The original building cost $36,295 for the lot, $176,678 ($3.4 million in 2025) for construction, and $56,421 for furniture and fixtures. Toberman and fellow member Charles Boag formed a Hollywood Masonic Club to partly finance the building, offering membership subscriptions for $100.
When the new temple opened, it was one of the most impressive structures in Hollywood. It had a billiard room, pipe organ, ladies parlor, ballroom, and lodge rooms. One writer described the building as "unsurpassed for beauty, attractiveness and richness of equipment." The Los Angeles Times described the building this way in 2002:
It's an impassive presence that seems to transcend the ebb and flow of Tinseltown glamour — a somber Neoclassical temple that stands in stark contrast to the evolving parade of movers, shakers, panhandlers and paparazzi that have passed before it.
The grand ballroom was opened in February 1923; the opening ball featured a program on "the evolution of dance" featuring dancer Lucille Means. Many of Hollywood's elite over the years have been Masons, including Oliver Hardy, Harold Lloyd, Douglas Fairbanks, W.C. Fields, Cecil B. DeMille, D.W. Griffith, John Wayne, Roy Rogers, and Gene Autry.
During the Great Depression, many of the Masons lost their savings, and the Masons were forced to rent the ground floor to a social club that installed an illegal slot machine. After World War II, the Masons resumed full use of the structure, and in 1948, more than 300 people crowded into the Masonic Temple to attend a memorial service for D. W. Griffith. In 1969, longtime Mason Harold Lloyd was honored in a ceremony as his name was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, directly in front of the Masonic Temple.
By the late 1970s, Masonic membership had declined, and the Masons rented out ground-floor space to a restaurant. In 1980, the lodge moved out of the building to Van Nuys and renamed the Hollywood-West Valley Lodge. By 1982, the Masons could not afford upgrades to meet revised fire and seismic codes. The Masons sold the building to singer Rosita LaBello who converted the structure into the Hollywood Opera & Theater Company. The building's time with LaBello's opera and theater company was short-lived with only a few operatic productions. At the opera and theater company's failure, the building was sold back to the lodge.
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