In 1919, director D. W. Griffith and screen stars Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplin broke from the studio system to form United Artists (UA), thus gaining complete control over the creation, production and distribution of their work.

Seven years later, the United Artists Theater Circuit was formed to showcase first-run UA productions, with this theatre serving as the flagship for UA’s West Coast operations. The building includes a thirteen-story steel-framed office tower designed by Albert R. Walker and Percy A. Eisen, with a theatre behind it designed by C. Howard Crane. A noted architect who designed over 250 theatres across the country, Crane primarily worked in the Midwest- this is his only design on the West Coast.

The building’s facade is clad in terra cotta and cast stone. Overlaid with gothic-style tracery at the base and on the tower, the symmetrical design of the building is typical of early Art Deco styling, with evenly spaced piers of light beige terra-cotta separated by darker terra-cotta spandrels giving a vertical thrust to the design. The center bays extend an additional fifty feet to a setback tower made of pressed metal (considered a roof “sign” by the city). In addition to giving the building a distinctive height and a place to display the name of the building’s tenant, the tower houses mechanical systems.

Above the first floor are two stories of gothic-inspired ornamentation, with a Hollywood twist: between double wide arched windows are column capitals that feature cameramen and musicians instead of the usual grotesques.

Inside, the theatre’s auditorium resembles a grotto, heavily laden with plaster ornament. Fan-shaped ceiling brackets, an element of the English Gothic style, are encrusted with ornament in the Spanish Gothic manner. The ceiling is decorated as an enormous sunburst, with the oval dome at the center tiled with mirrors and draped with thousands of crystal drops. Encircling the dome, angels overlook the space.

The side walls of upper balconies feature murals depicting UA’s founders, along with other stars of the era including Rudolph Valentino and John Barrymore. Handsome nudes on one mural are alleged to be members of the UA Board of Directors; demons on other side are reportedly caricatures of evil studio bosses.

The murals are by Jose Rivas (son of Candelario Rivas, who painted murals at the Los Angeles and Palace theatres) through the Anthony Heinsbergen studio. Heinsbergen’s design firm was responsible for nearly 750 theatre interiors (including the Pantages Hollywood), as well as murals at Los Angeles City Hall.

The office building above was occupied for many years by Texaco, whose huge neon sign was mounted on the tower. In 1991 the building was designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument # 523. The Los Angeles University Cathedral Church of Dr. Gene Scott acquired the property. The building was completely refurbished and served as the church’s headquarters until 2011 when the church relocated to Glendale.

After remaining unoccupied for a few years, the Ace Hotel Group purchased the property in 2012. They transformed the 13-story office building into a boutique hotel, which opened in early 2014. The theatre was also restored and reopened as The Theatre at Ace Hotel on February 14, 2014. Over the next decade, the venue hosted various live events, movie screenings, television recordings, and entertainment shows.

In December 2023, it was announced that the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles would close its doors on January 31, 2024, following the building owner’s decision to reflag the property into a limited-service, rooms-only operation. In late January 2024, the theatre was rebranded as The United Theater on Broadway, and the former Ace Hotel now STILE Downtown Los Angeles by Kasa.

This project received a Conservancy Preservation Award in 2014.