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The Westlake Theatre is a historic theater located in the Westlake section of
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, United States, adjacent to
MacArthur Park MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) is a park dating back to the late 19th century in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and later designated ...
. The theater was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2009. Opened on September 22, 1926, the theater had seating for 1,949 patrons, and was used for both motion pictures and vaudeville shows. It was built at a reported cost of $750,000. It was designed by Richard Mortimer Bates Jr., with an exterior in a Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival style. The facade features
Churrigueresque Churrigueresque (; Spanish: ''Churrigueresco''), also but less commonly "Ultra Baroque", refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th c ...
detailing of floral patterns and cartouche relief. The interior contains Adamesque references and murals by
Anthony Heinsbergen Anthony Heinsbergen (December 13, 1894 – June 14, 1981) was an American muralist considered the foremost designer of North American movie theatre interiors. Born Antoon Heinsbergen in Haarlem (the Netherlands), he emigrated with his family t ...
. The theater closed briefly during the Depression for renovations. Exterior renovations in 1935 were designed by noted theater architect
S. Charles Lee S. Charles Lee (September 5, 1899 - January 27, 1990) was an American architect recognized as one of the most prolific and distinguished motion picture theater designers on the West Coast. Life Early life Simeon Charles Levi was born in Chicag ...
, and included an
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
ticket kiosk made of red-painted metal, unvarnished aluminum and glass; new lobby doors; and
terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bindi ...
sunburst paving in the foyer and front sidewalk. One of the theater's intact features is an original steel-frame, three-story neon sign on its roof. The Westlake was operated as a first-run movie theater from 1926 until the 1960s. As the neighborhood's demographics changed, the theater was sold to Metropolitan Theatres Corp., which showed Spanish-language or Spanish-subtitled movies. In 1991, the building was sold to Mayer Separzadeh, who converted the theater into a
swap meet A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
. To protect the building from drastic changes, the building was declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in September 1991. The theater was purchased by the now-defunct
Community Redevelopment Agency A redevelopment agency is a government body dedicated to urban renewal. Typically it is a municipal level city department focused on a particular district or corridor that has become neglected or blighted (a community redevelopment agency or CRA) ...
of the City of Los Angeles in 2008. The CRA announced plans to rehabilitate the theater as a venue for live theater, film, music, and other performances. Progress under the CRA/LA was slow. In 2018, the theater was sold for $2 million to Jamison Services, a real estate development company based in
Koreatown A Koreatown (Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...
, which said it had plans to restore the theater. However, as of 2019 the theatre was once again listed for sale, and by 2020 Jamison Services had done no more than apply for permits to alter and repaint the building's exterior.


See also

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National Register of Historic Places listings in Los Angeles, California This is a List of the National Register of Historic Places in the city of Los Angeles. (For those in the rest of Los Angeles County, go here.) Current listings :' ...
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List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in the Wilshire and Westlake areas This is a list of the Historic-Cultural Monuments in the Wilshire, Westlake and nearby areas of Los Angeles, California. There are more than 142 Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, Historic-Cultural Monuments (HCM) in these areas. The sites ...


References


External links

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Video tour of the Westlake Theatre from 2008
{{LAHMC Theatres completed in 1926 Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles Event venues established in 1926 Westlake, Los Angeles 1926 establishments in California