Bob Baker Marionette Theater has been an L.A. institution since 1963, when it first opened inside a scrappy scenic shop near Downtown. It’s the kind of place that feels stitched into the city’s creative underbelly. In 2009, it was officially designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, cementing what locals already knew: this wasn’t just a theater, it was part of the fabric.
Bob Baker passed away in 2014 at 90, but his spirit still floats through the rafters of its theater, which has since relocated to Highland Park, where a glowing neon marquee–white, red, yellow, and blue–beams like something out of a timeless storybook.
Push open the doors, and you’re met with a kaleidoscope of color: velvet curtains, hand-painted sets, and hundreds of lovingly crafted marionettes. It’s retro without being ironic. It’s earnest. Joyful.