Annenberg Center Launches 'Post About the Post Office' Campaign

As the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts approaches its October opening and an exciting new future, the arts venue is launching a campaign to collect the written and remembered history of the complex’s centerpiece building, the Beverly Hills Post Office.

The “Post About the Post Office” campaign will showcase the many significant moments that passed through the grand halls of the majestic building and present them in a future display at the hall and on-line.

The Wallis welcomes recollections of life-changing correspondence that arrived by post, memories of shipping or receiving holiday packages, photographs and even celebrity encounters (Fred Astaire was said to have tap-danced down the beautiful stairs). Go to www.facebook.com/thewallisbh to upload images and stories, or email submissions to info@thewallis.org.

“We know that all across the city and beyond, cards, letters and photos from the Beverly Hills Post Office are stashed away in scrapbooks, filing cabinets and desk drawers,” said Lou Moore, Wallis executive director. “To commemorate the building’s irreplaceable role in Beverly Hills life, we’re asking current and former residents to share with us those artifacts and the stories behind them so that we can gather and build upon the history of this important site.”

The landmark building’s diverse role in civic life has been captured in the millions of letters and packages that flowed through the Italian Renaissance Revival structure from the day it opened on April 28, 1934, to March, 1999, when it officially closed.

Known as the Beverly Hills Main Post Office, the lavishly ornamented brick and terracotta building on North Cresent Drive was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.  

Now the building, with its marble walls, vaulted ceilings and elaborate cornices, has been exquisitely refurbished and adapted to house a studio theater, theater school, box office, gift shop and cafe.

The inaugural season opens with performances by the Martha Graham Dance Company, which opens the 500-seat Goldsmith Theater on Nov. 8 and 9, followed by the play Parfumerie by Miklos Laszlo, from Nov. 26 to Dec. 22.

For more information about the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, visit www.TheWallis.org.