History

We are the cat with nine lives and counting; the phoenix, diabolically grinning as she molts new feathers. Established as a performing arts theatre in 1926, we have since been called a house of G-d and a dungeon of debauchery. Yet through it all, we are a place with one mission: to elevate creative voices. If spaces have souls — which they do — ours would radiate the scorpionic energies of passion, expression, and transformation.

The Belasco brought Broadway to the West, then metamorphosed into a movie palace. After the first world war we debuted government-sponsored films, during the second we showcased adult cinema. Then we became a church — for Pentecostal ministries in the 50s, and LGBTQ+ communities in the 70s. In the 90s, we opened our doors to Hollywood film crews, beginning with End of Days.

Today, the music venue is home to global touring artists, local sound scenes, and special DTLA events. If walls could talk, ours would proudly bellow the imaginings of today’s top artists alongside history’s playwrights, screenwriters, spiritualists, and revolutionaries. They would whisper the aspirations of stage actors turned screen stars, vibrate the beats of late-night dance parties, and hum the lyrics that soundscape our lives. For we are the shrine of the story weavers. Our holy sacrament is sound.