Hooray for Hollywood – Part 2: Facades, Film Stars & Forgotten Storefronts


 

Universal Studios Florida may be a theme park, but the architecture along Rodeo Drive and Hollywood Blvd tells real stories—drawn from classic California landmarks, famous nightclubs, and even tributes to the designers and performers behind the magic. In Part 1 of our Hooray for Hollywood series, we took a walk down the right side of Rodeo Drive, starting with the TODAY Cafe, Ciro's, Mocambo, and Maryanne’s Boutique. In Part 2, we continue our walk down this side of the street and explore the Bourne Stuntacular, the facades that make up its showbuilding (Carrozzeria de Paolo, Max Factor, and The Beverly Wilshire), as well as its exit (the Kress building). Let's dive in!

Bourne Stuntacular

Next to Maryanne’s is a large silver-and-blue art deco structure - home to The Bourne Stuntacular. This 26-minute show seamlessly blends live-action stunts and props with huge LED screens, making it difficult to distinguish what is real from what is digital. We have seen this show several times, and it is pretty impressive. The premise is that you are following Jason Bourne in Dubai, Tangier, and the United States, as he tries to outrun those who have made it their mission to take him down by whatever means necessary. It is like stepping into a live-action Bourne film.

Before Bourne, this same theater and facade were home to Terminator 2-3D: Battle Across Time, which ran from April 1996 to October 2017. This show featured both live performers interacting with a 3D screen starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. A version of this show also appeared in Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood, but with very different looks to their buildings.

Go back even further in the timeline, and you’ll find two smaller storefronts once stood here: one labeled Paul Gerard across green awnings on a facade that looks similar in style to the Ralph Lauren building in Beverly Hills. The other facade next to it was either Zabruzzi’s or Zabrucci's. We were unable to find any details confirming the inspiration for either of these locations. We did, however, find a home video from Disney Dave from his trip on the Studio Tour in 1995 that drove right down Hollywood Blvd. Other than that, the buildings during this time remain largely a mystery.

Even the entire Bourne building today is quite a mystery. It is one of the few buildings in this area without a plaque indicating an architect or any historical data online about its connection to the actual Hollywood in California. If you know any details, definitely let us know!

Carrozzeria de Paolo

Continuing past the Bourne Stuntacular are multiple building facades that run along the show building that houses the show. To the immediate left of the Bourne Stuntacular entrance is the Carrozzeria de Paolo Motoring Accessories facade.

A bronze plaque to the left of the door reads:

Hollywood Playhouse

Carl Jules Weyl & H.L. Gogerty

Architects

1921

This date is interesting, as the original Hollywood Playhouse did not open until 1927. In any case, this Spanish Colonial Revival theater was designed by the architectural firm Gogerty & Weyl. These two architects (both together with the firm as well as individually) have a long history of designing buildings around Southern California, including Gogerty’s design of the Grand Central Air Terminal at the Glendale Airport, as well as schools and other public buildings. Weyl’s long list of accolades includes the Hollywood Brown Derby (which we will discuss in greater detail in a future episode), as well as an art director for many movies, including Casablanca!


Over the decades, the Hollywood Playhouse has been home to more than half a dozen businesses as it has evolved with the times. In the early years, it served as a live performance venue, then as a nightclub, a radio studio, and eventually a television studio. During the 1960s, it gained national attention as the Jerry Lewis Theater for The Jerry Lewis Show, and soon after became the home of The Hollywood Palace variety show, both airing on ABC. Today, the building lives on as the vibrant Avalon Hollywood nightclub.

As for the facade at Carrozzeria de Paolo Motoring Accessories, Carrozzeria is Italian for "bodywork", and Paolo may be a reference to Paolo Martin, a famous Italian car designer. This makes sense, as the facade features an Italian car. You may be able to find fun nods to a past Universal attraction in the store window, with cans of Terminator Oil (a reference to the T2-3D: Battle Across Time attraction mentioned above).

Max Factor Studio

Next up is the Max Factor Make Up Studio facade, which is based on the building of the same name in Hollywood. Text on the door reads:


Hours
Monday – Friday
9am-5pm


And a plaque to the left of the door reads:

Max Factor Building
S. Charles Lee, Architect
1931


Built in 1931, the Max Factor building is a true landmark of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Its architect, S. Charles Lee, was a renowned theater architect who would go on to design over 20 theaters and other prominent buildings around California. Max Factor himself originally commissioned the Max Factor building’s Regency Deco style, located at 1660 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood.

Today, the building is home to the Hollywood Museum, with the ground floor dedicated to Max Factor’s beauty salons. Here, guests can tour the rooms in which Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball would sit and have their makeup and hair done before going out on the town.

Beverly Wilshire Hotel

Past the Max Factor Make-Up Studio is The Beverly Wilshire Hotel. This façade is based on the Italian Renaissance-style hotel in Hollywood that was built in 1928.

There are two large plaques on either side of the façade entrance that read in a regal font:

The
Beverly
Wilshire

And to the left of the door is a smaller, less prominent, and darkened plaque that reads:

Beverly Wilshire Hotel
Walker and Eisen
Architect
1928

Albert R. Walker and Percy A. Eisen worked on many historical buildings around Los Angeles between 1919 and 1941, with the Beverly Wilshire being constructed between 1926 – 1928 at 9500 Wilshire Blvd in Beverly Hills. 

The hotel has been home to a huge list of Hollywood royalty, including Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and Warren Beatty, just to name a few. It has also been in a number of movies, including Pretty Woman and Beverly Hills Cop. Today, it is officially known as the “Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel.”

Quick fun fact - You can also find a facade of the Wilshire Hotel next to the Hyperion Theater at Disney California Adventure! 

Back at Universal Studios Florida, this façade is part of the Bourne Stuntacular show building and serves as the hallway exit toward the Kress Five and Dime gift shop, which we will learn more about next!

Kress Five and Dime

The Kress Five & Dime is one of the tallest buildings along this street, with 4 stories and a detailed roofline, with long white columns leading to dark marble pillars on the first floor.

On one of the marble columns is a brick-colored plaque that reads:

S.H. Kress & Co. Building
Edward F. Sibbert, Architect
1935

S.H. – or Samuel Henry Kress opened the first 5 and 10 cent store in Memphis, Tennessee in 1896. The building that is portrayed at Universal Studios Florida is inspired by the historic S.H. Kress & Co. building at 6608 Hollywood Blvd. in California. Built in 1935, the real Kress building is a five-story Art Deco masterpiece and was once the flagship for the Kress 5-10-25 Cent Store chain, which, at the height of its time, had 264 stores across the U.S until eventually closing all stores in 1981. The architect Edward F. Sibbert served as Kress’s “Vice President for Architecture” and was the lead architect for the chain. At least 176 of the 264 stores were modeled from his designs.

For almost 6 decades, this historic building was the flagship location of lingerie retailer Frederick’s of Hollywood, which featured a Lingerie Museum with exhibits of lingerie worn by celebrities in movies. But after a multi-year restoration in the early 2000s, the original Kress name returned as the Kress Hollywood, which served as a nightclub and restaurant until about 2008 and has been reportedly vacant since 2011.

But the location at Universal Florida is bustling with people every day! As we alluded to before, this building is the Five and Dime gift shop and is the exit to both The Bourne Stuntacular and the Horror Make-Up Show, the latter of which we will be talking about in Part 3 of this series in a future episode. So next time you see either show, or just as you are walking down Hollywood Blvd, be sure to take a look at the façade outside and appreciate the details!

That's a Wrap on Part 2

From Hollywood’s most iconic glam institutions to forgotten boutique facades, the second stretch of Hollywood Blvd at Universal Studios Florida continues to surprise and delight. These aren’t just buildings—they’re stories. And they’re waiting for you to notice them.

Stay tuned for Part 3, where we’ll explore the final buildings along this side of the street—from the Ralphs building, Cafe Monmontre, the Pantageus, and Cafe Labamba! 

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