The Egyptian Revival style building on the west side of Highland has been a Hollywood landmark since it opened July 4, 1929, a fitting date for the building which was commissioned in 1919 by World War I veterans and has been home to the American Legion Post 43 since then. The site includes an art deco speakeasy once frequented by Charlton Heston, Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Gene Autry, Ronald Reagan, Micky Rooney, Stan Lee and others, and a large meeting room that hosted dances and meetings.
Post 43 embarked on a $6 million makeover that resulted in the construction of a state-of-the-art 482-seat motion picture theater, the only Hollywood theatrical venue owned and operated by veterans. The American Legion is the nation's largest wartime veterans' association, and Post 43 is home to and provides services for 1,400 veterans, as well as services for youth and the community. Nothing in the group's mission statement suggests that opening a movie theater would be a natural fit. But its heart-of-Hollywood location had always tied Post 43 to the film community, and its members decided to take the leap in creating the best motion picture theater possible to increase the strength of those ties.
I had never heard about a veteran's group building a world-class 35mm/70mm and digital cinema inside an American Legion, says the project's creative director/chief projectionist Taylor Umphenour. Those are two Venn diagrams I never thought would overlap. But the American Legion Post 43 stands at a unique crossroads of old and new Hollywood and the veteran community and I wanted to be involved. Umphenour, who supervised finishing of the projection booth, started his career as an IMAX 15-70mm projectionist. It's a film format that is completely unforgiving, he remarks. It's a very exacting environment and it's where my habits were formed and where I came to understand the value of preparedness and attention to detail. Later, he moved to an art-house movie theater where he operated 35mm carbon arc projectors. I really benefitted from understanding both ends of the spectrum, he said.
When Umphenour arrived at the Hollywood Legion, the makeover of the entire building had a deadline. I came on in Fall 2018 and the Turner Classic Movies film festival was set to debut in Spring 2019, he recounts. The first thing that needed to be done was the film system, which had been purchased from Los Angeles Center Studios and needed to be completely overhauled and restored for 35mmm and 70mm in time for the film festival. One challenge was finding parts but, says Umphenour, finding support staff who know these projectors well enough to resurrect those machines was an even tougher hurdle.
He gives a shout-out to the invaluable support from Bill Steele, the theater director, and Roger Addams, the Norelco AAII projector technician. The three of us worked as partners in making sure the engineering on the film system would be complete by Spring 2019, he says. As a team, Bill and I set the standards for what we wanted to accomplish, and everybody rose to meet those standards. Since the debut of the projection booth, Umphenour says, they have added the ability to run at variable speeds. Now, when we project silent films, we are able to run them at the frame rate at which they were originally shown. The booth also has a Christie 4K projector for digital projections.
Steele's role was to oversee the remaking of the theater's cavernous interior, a massive 6,500-square foot concrete space with 80,000 cu. ft. of air. The greatest challenge there was taming the acoustics. We had to get the decay to a level that allowed cinema sound to really shine, Umphenour says. British acoustics engineering firm Arup did an auralization, a technique for the reproduction and creation of sound that enabled Steele and architect Peter Gruneisen to hear the space before it was even built. Using auralization, Grueneisen, who has designed many of film composer Hans Zimmer's recording studios, applied specific acoustic treatments that resulted in a dramatic improvement in the room's audio. It was night and day, says Umphenour.
Since opening the Legion Theater in Spring 2019, it has hosted a robust film schedule until COVID-19 hit in March 2020. Steele and Umphenour approached the American Legion board with a proposal for converting the parking lot into an outdoor cinema, which was approved and opened in early October that same year. We're in the heart of Hollywood, he says. We needed to find a way for people to safely enjoy entertainment together. The schedule can be found at www.hollywoodlegiontheater.com.
The American Legion Post 43 is to be commended, says Umphenour. They took a big risk on doing something good for their community and the Hollywood community. It's not a risk a lot of other organizations would have taken but, downstream, it created a beautiful world-class venue that is starting to pay off.
The HPA Awards will take place at the American Legion Theater on November 18.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Home Post Production has further expanded its factual, unscripted, and entertainment capabilities with the acquisition of Picture Shop Bristol, a leading post h...
03/03/2026
Luxembourg, 2 March 2026 -- SES S.A. fully consolidates Intelsat from 17 July 2025 and announces financial results for the year ended 31 December 2025
FY25 Pe...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
RT Media Sales has announced Spry Finance has renewed it's sponsorship of M...
02/03/2026
NBC Sports selected Imaginary Forces to create the main title sequence for the M...
02/03/2026
The NFL announces the launch of the NFL Draft Innovation Challenge, a new crowds...
02/03/2026
The World Teleport Association (WTA) has named Skyline Communications' DataMiner SatOps solution as a finalist for the 2026 Teleport Technology of the Year ...
02/03/2026
Ventum Tech announces a strategic partnership with Pixotope, a real-time graphic...
02/03/2026
Victory , a free, ad-supported sports streaming service, announces the launch of...
02/03/2026
Global powerhouse Delta Goodrem to represent Australia at this year's Eurovi...
02/03/2026
SBS brings together prominent voices to discuss rising social division and seek ...
02/03/2026
NITV Unveils Wednesday Night Sport Night
Media releases
A Midweek Hub for Blak Sport
Flagship NRL program Over The Black Dot moves to Wednesdays at 9:30pm
...
02/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates FR1-FR3 carrier aggregation, advancing 6G readiness Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have reached another pivotal ...
02/03/2026
MELBOURNE, Fla., March 2, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) today announc...
02/03/2026
Harvey Norman tops New Zealand's biggest ad spenders as retail leads and telcos and beverages sure Auckland March 3, 2026 - Nielsen's New Zealand'...
02/03/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, and Arqit Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQQ, A...
02/03/2026
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, has appointed Jody Boatwright as Chief Strategy Of...
02/03/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is reinforcing its commitment to simplifying complex AV environments with the continued evolution of its TPN...
02/03/2026
ZEISS Cinema opens its doors to an exclusive screening, filmmakers Q&A and hands-on showcase of the new ZEISS Aatma lens family on Tuesday, March 10, 6:00-9:00 ...
02/03/2026
To expand the creative potential of the compact Astera QuikBeam, DoPchoice introduces the SNAPBAG Round. The new light-shaping accessory transforms the powerfu...
02/03/2026
Douglas Dubler
On a rooftop in New York City, veteran photographer Douglas Dubler watched the sun's angle shift across the urban landscape, his internal cl...
02/03/2026
ZEISS is expanding its Otus ML lens family with the introduction of the new ZEISS Otus ML 1.4/35. This manual-focus lens is designed for photographers who live ...
02/03/2026
Matthews Studio Equipment now offers the new Dinkum Systems White FlexiMount and Phone Mount Kit, a compact, highly adaptable setup for mobile content creation...
02/03/2026
Luxembourg, February 26, 2026 - SES and Africa Mobile Network (AMN) have expande...
02/03/2026
02 03 2026 - Media release Ausfilm and Screen Australia launch joint UK market initiative
Ausfilm and Screen Australia have announced Partner with Australia (...
02/03/2026
Monday 2 March 2026
Saturday Night Live UK announces writing team
L-R: Jonno Johnson; Charlie Skelton; Celya AB; Omar Badawy; Gr inne Maguire; Laura Claxton; ...
02/03/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the Trailer for 53 Sundays, the New Film by Cesc Gay
Entertainment
02 March 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Dis...
28/02/2026
With two features seen in Formula 1 coverage, the broadcaster aims to bring view...
28/02/2026
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addresses a crowd of approximately 1,500 L3Harris employees in Camden, Arkansas, as part of his Arsenal of Freedom tour....
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
The Egyptian Revival style building on the west side of Highland has been a Hollywood landmark since it opened July 4, 1929, a fitting date for the building which was commissioned in 1919 by World War I veterans and has been home to the American Legion Post 43 since then. The site includes an art deco speakeasy once frequented by Charlton Heston, Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Gene Autry, Ronald Reagan, Micky Rooney, Stan Lee and others, and a large meeting room that hosted dances and meetings.
