The Fonda Theatre has stood on Hollywood Boulevard since 1926, when it opened as the Carter DeHaven Music Box Theatre with a stage revue. Designed by the prolific Los Angeles architecture firm Morgan, Walls & Clements in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, the building has spent nearly a century cycling through identities as a playhouse, a radio broadcast studio for Lux Radio Theater, a movie house, and finally a live music venue.
Along the way it carried names like the Music Box Theatre, the Guild Theatre, and the Fox Theatre, before the Nederlander Organization renamed it after actor Henry Fonda in 1985. A careful restoration beginning in 2002 returned much of its 1920s character, and in 2012 concert promoter Goldenvoice took over operations and reclaimed the shortened Fonda Theatre name it carries today.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: 6126 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, California
- Type: Concert hall / historic theater
- Opened: October 20, 1926
- Architect: Morgan, Walls & Clements
- Style: Spanish Colonial Revival
- Capacity: About 1,200
- Operator: Goldenvoice (since 2012)
- Famous for: Named ‘top venue in Los Angeles’ by LA Weekly in 2015
A Hollywood Boulevard Survivor
Few Hollywood Boulevard venues have changed roles as many times as this one. After opening as a 1920s revue house, it moved into legitimate stage productions, then became a radio studio where Lux Radio Theater broadcast star-studded adaptations through the mid-1940s, before Fox West Coast converted it into a movie theater with Streamline Moderne touches.
That layered history is part of what makes the building a Hollywood Boulevard landmark rather than just another concert stop. Its exterior and lobby still reflect the Spanish Colonial Revival detailing from its original construction, even after decades of adaptive reuse.
Life as a Modern Concert Venue
Since Goldenvoice’s 2012 restoration and relaunch, the roughly 1,200-capacity room has become a fixture on touring routes for acts who want a historic, mid-sized Los Angeles stage rather than a cavernous arena. Its intimate scale and vintage theater bones give shows a different feel than the larger venues nearby on Sunset or in downtown LA.
The venue’s recognition as LA Weekly’s top Los Angeles venue in 2015 reflected that reputation, built on nearly a century of hosting everything from Pulitzer Prize-winning plays to sold-out concerts under the same Hollywood Boulevard roof.
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The Fonda Theatre FAQs
When did The Fonda Theatre open?
It opened on October 20, 1926, as the Carter DeHaven Music Box Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.
What is the capacity of The Fonda Theatre?
The venue holds about 1,200 people.
Who operates The Fonda Theatre today?
Concert promoter Goldenvoice has operated the venue since taking it over and restoring its Fonda Theatre name in 2012.
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Photo: Justin Higuchi / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.