Apple Tower Theatre
June 23, 2021
The Tower Theatre is the new retail location for Apple in downtown Los Angeles. The Apple Tower Theatre aims to inspire even more creativity with its restoration project, one of the company’s most important projects to date. The Apple Creative Studios initiative will give young creatives access to hands-on training and mentorship, starting with the opening of the new store.
Located in downtown Los Angeles, the Apple Tower Theatre is Apple’s 26th location. Almost 100 talented employees work in the store, adding to the hundreds that work across the region’s Apple Stores. In addition to being based in Los Angeles, Apple TV+ partners with some of the world’s most creative storytellers and supports thousands of jobs throughout California’s creative industry.
According to Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People, Los Angeles is bursting with creativity across the arts, music, and entertainment fields. In celebrating this entertainment capital and its rich history, Apple Tower Theatre honors the legacy that this city has left.
An Authentic Piece of History
The historic Tower Theatre opened in 1927 as Los Angeles’ first audio-visual theater. It was designed by acclaimed motion-picture theater architect S. Charles Lee. Today, Apple’s heritage of technological innovation keeps on transforming film, photography, and music composition with its wide range of iPhone, iPad, and Mac products.
The building has been empty since 1988, when its doors closed. Apple collaborated with preservationists, restoration artists, and City of Los Angeles officials to preserve and restore the theater’s beauty and grandeur with the same level of care as previous restoration projects. Surfaces were carefully refinished and the entire building was seismically upgraded.
In addition to the Apple Tower Theatre at the corner of East Eighth Street and Broadway, visitors will recognize clean terra cotta exterior and renovated historic blade sign as well as the fully restored clock tower and Broadway marquee. The lobby at the Opera House is inspired by Charles Garnier’s Paris Opera house, and features an iconic stairway flanked by bronze handrails and marble Corinthian columns.
The heart of the store is dominated by the Forum and its signature video wall, encircled by the theater’s original balconies and sat beneath the fully restored arch. Every day, Apple, along with members of the local creative community, will lead free sessions on Today at Apple that will provide inspiration and teaching. Customers will be able to see all of their favorite products, including the all-new iMac, iPad Pro, and Apple TV 4K, in the auditorium, surrounded by arched bays and restored bronze.
Apple team members can now be reached on the upper level of the theater, where the original seating has been modernized and made accessible to create an open, flexible area for Genius Bar appointments. In the new store, two elevators provide access to every level of the theater for all customers.
Today at Apple Creative Studios
As part of the Today at Apple program offered in Apple Store locations worldwide, the Today at Apple Creative Studios – LA program spearheads a global effort to encourage underrepresented young creatives. As part of a nine-week series of free events, Creative Studios LA will collaborate with the nonprofit Music Forward Foundation, Inner-City Arts, and the Social Justice Learning Institute in order to connect up-and-coming artists with a platform to share their stories.
Along with public in-store and virtual sessions, Apple will host creative studio mentors and teachers such as photographer and filmmaker Bethany Mollenkof, rapper D Smoke, singer-songwriter Syd, and cellist Kelsey Lu. The mural was inspired by the spirit of Creative Studios LA and was painted by Noah Humes and his mentor, Maurice Harris. They will also lead a virtual class with their mentor. The registration site for Creative Studios LA can be found at apple.com/creative-studios-la.
