[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by HenryHuntington

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Under magnification, it does look like there's a rear-projection screen housed within the box structure. There also appears to be a steel cable strung across the opening most of the way up. I don't see any provision for audio, so stills or silent movies likely were the video format.

Looking across the street, where the presumed audience would be, there was the Cherokee Building (now the Hollywood-Cherokee Building). The "T" intersection provides for a longer continuous sidewalk on that side of the Boulevard, which makes me wonder if it was a preferred area for viewing parades or whatever.

Meanwhile, note the apparent radio antenna mast supported by guy wires above or behind the United Airlines ticket office. The mast doesn't appear substantial enough for commercial broadcast (could be wrong here), so I wonder (a) if that's what it was, (b) what its purpose might've been and (c) if it had any relationship beyond proximity to The Thing.

For a smallish commercial building, The Virginia certainly had its share of interesting features.

What you perceived to be a steel cable inside the box may also be a shade or louver to break down a bit more of the incoming light from the opening.