Member Event! HISTORIC WHITLEY HEIGHTS WALKING TOUR October 14, 2012

Sunday, October 14 – 2:00 PM
Member Event! HISTORIC WHITLEY HEIGHTS WALKING TOUR, 60 min. In conjunction with the 90th anniversary of the Egyptian Theatre, we are offering a look into the secret stairways and history of a neighborhood that housed many a star who were on the silver screen at the Egyptian during its early years. In 1918 a local landowner named H.J. Whitley commissioned an architect to begin building an exclusive Mediterranean village above the flat of Hollywood. Called Whitley Heights, this fashionable neighborhood attracted a celebrity clientele and quickly became the Beverly Hills of early Hollywood. Residents from the early period included silent screen star Rudolph Valentino, comedian W.C. Fields, leading ladies Jean Harlow, Carol Lombard and Marlene Dietrich, and leading men William Powell and Tyrone Power. The designer Adrian had a home here, during the period he created the ruby slippers from THE WIZARD OF OZ, as did the novelist/screenwriter William Faulkner, when he was writing the screenplays for TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT and THE BIG SLEEP. Wanting his high society residents to have easy access to culture, Whitley and his architect included a number of public staircases in their original design, so the stars could easily walk down the hill and across Highland Avenue to the Hollywood Bowl. Charles Fleming, author of Secret Stairs: A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles, will lead a walk through Whitley Heights. Park for free at the Hollywood Heritage parking lot. Mr. Fleming will sell and sign books at the conclusion of the approximately 1-hour tour. We are selling a maximum of 50 tickets at $10.00 a piece to American Cinematheque and Hollywood Heritage members only. To purchase tickets by credit card, please call 323.461-2020, ext 487. For more information, please contact Andrew P. Crane, Membership Manager at [email protected]

Official Website: http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/egyptian_theatre_events