San Gabriel Mission Playhouse, Mission Revival style theatre in San Gabriel, US
The San Gabriel Mission Playhouse is a theatre in Mission Revival style that seats 1,387 people. Inside, painted ceilings feature Native American design elements alongside reproductions of Spanish lanterns from the 1800s.
The building was constructed between 1923 and 1927 with a facade modeled after the Mission San Antonio de Padua in Monterey County. Architect Arthur Burnett Benton designed this structure during the theatre's development.
The Playhouse was built for John Steven McGroarty's Mission Play, and its interior holds gifts from Spain: woven tapestries given by King Alfonso XIII in 1927 hang along the sides of the auditorium. Its 1924 Wurlitzer pipe organ, restored and originally built for Brooklyn's Albee Theatre, is still in the building. B.B. King, Tony Bennett and Lily Tomlin have performed on its stage.
The Playhouse stands in the Mission District, next to the old San Gabriel Mission grounds, so visitors can combine a show with a walk through the surrounding historic quarter. The 1,387-seat auditorium has a single main seating area, with the Wurlitzer organ console and the Spanish lantern replicas overhead as landmarks for finding your row.
During World War II, the dressing rooms were converted into residential apartments for temporary housing. This unexpected change shows how the building adapted to wartime needs.
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