Howard Hughes ran his empire from the second floor — and by most staff accounts, he never entirely left
6233 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Ticket prices vary by production. Check the venue website for current shows and pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Indoor theater with accessible seating. Hollywood Boulevard has level sidewalks.
Equipment
No Photos
Est. 1930 · Built 1930 by architect B. Marcus Priteca · Academy Awards host 1950 and 1951 · Howard Hughes offices 1949-1950s · Major restoration completed 2000 · LA Historic-Cultural Monument
The Hollywood Pantages Theatre opened on June 4, 1930, designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca in the Art Deco style that defined Hollywood's architectural ambitions of that era. The 2,700-seat house was conceived as the crown of the Pantages chain — Alexander Pantages had built his vaudeville circuit into one of the country's most extensive entertainment networks, and the Hollywood flagship was the capstone. Pantages was convicted of rape in 1929 (the conviction was later reversed), and the trial's fallout contributed to his chain's eventual acquisition by RKO.
Howard Hughes bought the Pantages in 1949, two years after acquiring RKO Pictures. He moved his personal offices into the second floor of the theater building — an arrangement that gave him physical proximity to his entertainment operations while maintaining the isolation from public access that characterized his increasingly reclusive working style. Hughes ran RKO and his aviation interests from that second-floor suite through the early 1950s. The building hosted the Academy Awards ceremonies in 1950 and 1951 during his tenure.
Hughes sold the Pantages to Pacific Theatres in 1967. The building changed hands again in 1977 when Nederlander acquired it. A major restoration in 2000 returned the Art Deco interior to a condition close to its 1930 original — the gold-leaf ceilings, the stylized motifs, and the sweeping auditorium that had survived decades of use in increasingly poor condition were brought back. The Pantages now operates as one of the primary Broadway touring stops on the West Coast.
Sources
The Pantages ghost accounts fall into two distinct traditions that staff and tour operators report independently. The more prominent involves a tall, thin man in plain dark clothing seen in the second-floor office corridors — the same spaces Howard Hughes occupied as his de facto headquarters in the early 1950s. The apparition is described pacing the hallways and, in multiple accounts, walking directly through walls at points that apparently corresponded to original doorways since sealed during renovation.
Hughes's habit of pacing — documented by people who worked with him — and his near-constant presence in those offices during his tenure make the second-floor connection specific enough to distinguish from generic 'old building ghost' claims. He did not die at the Pantages; he died at an airport in 1976. But the location-specific reports concentrate where his presence was most intense rather than anywhere obviously associated with his death.
The mezzanine tradition involves a woman who died in her seat during a performance in 1932. Details of her identity have not been publicly documented. Accounts describe a figure in period dress seen briefly in the mezzanine section during evening performances, typically peripheral to the direct line of sight.
Los Angeles ghost tour operators include the Pantages as a regular stop, citing both traditions. The theater's operating staff report cold spots in the second-floor areas and an ongoing sense of occupancy in the corridor outside what were Hughes's office doors. These accounts have appeared consistently enough in multiple tour operator resources to indicate they reflect employee reports rather than being purely invented by tour narratives.
Notable Entities
The Pantages hosts touring Broadway productions year-round. The 1930 Art Deco interior — restored to its original grandeur — is part of the experience. Staff ghost accounts are concentrated in the second-floor office corridors that Howard Hughes occupied during the early 1950s.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Pasadena, CA
Gilmor Brown founded the Pasadena Playhouse in 1916 with a traveling acting troupe and built the current 686-seat Spanish Colonial Revival theater at 39 South El Molino in 1924–1925. The California legislature designated the Playhouse the official State Theatre of California in 1937. Brown ran the theater until his death in 1960, producing more than 2,000 plays and training actors who went on to Hollywood careers.
Stockton, CA
The Fox California Theatre opened October 14, 1930, designed by Clifford Balch and Floyd Stanberry in Spanish Colonial Revival style with a seating capacity of 2,500. It was one of only two movie palaces built in California's Central Valley. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the theatre underwent an $8.5 million restoration and reopened September 2004 as the Bob Hope Theatre, renamed in honor of entertainer Bob Hope at the request of lead donor Alex G. Spanos.
Redwood City, CA
The Fox Theatre at 2215 Broadway in Redwood City opened in 1929 as The New Sequoia. It operated as a neighborhood movie house through the mid-20th century, closed, was restored, and reopened as a concert and events venue. The 2022 renovation brought contractors into the building's attic, where they discovered an urn containing human ashes — a find that the theatre's management confirmed publicly.