The Valley Music Theater was a theater-in-the-round performing arts hall located in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It was just south of the

Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California, United States, running from the Santa Barbara/ Ventura county line to Pasadena in Los Angeles County. It is the principal east-west route (designated north-south) through Ventura Count ...

at 20600

Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it was originally a part o ...

, in the

Chalk Hills The Chalk Hills are a north–south-running low 'mountain' range in the San Fernando Valley perpendicular to and adjoining the Santa Monica Mountains. They are located in the Woodland Hills District of the City of Los Angeles in Southern Calif ...

of the western San Fernando Valley. The modernist style 2,865-seat facility opened in 1964, and was demolished in 2007 by a developer for a condominium project.

History

The Valley Music Theater was built in 1963, as a

concrete shell A concrete shell, also commonly called thin shell concrete structure, is a structure composed of a relatively Thin-shell structure, thin shell or Shell (structure), shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses. The ...

structure, by pouring a concrete 'dome' over a rounded hill of soil, then excavating the soil away. The theater project was backed by entertainers

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

and

Art Linkletter Arthur Gordon Linkletter (born Gordon Arthur Kelly or Arthur Gordon Kelly; sources differ; July 17, 1912 – May 26, 2010) was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of ''Art Linkletter's House Party, House Par ...

, along with Cy Warner. The 2,865-seat facility opened July 6, 1964 with ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

''. The first year saw the theater mount 18 musicals, three comedies, a drama, as well as concerts with a combined audience of over 600,000. Among the performers who appeared at the Valley Music Theater were

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

, Johnny Carson,

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's ''Enter La ...

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Robert Goulet,

Mitzi Gaynor Mitzi Gaynor (born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber; September 4, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her notable films include '' We're Not Married!'' (1952), '' There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954), '' The Birds ...

, Eddie Fisher, Ike & Tina Turner,

Peter, Paul & Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's reperto ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

, Lou Rawls,

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael A ...

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of odd jobs to p ...

, and the

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The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", rele ...

, and

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

appeared there together on February 22, 1967. It was featured as a music venue in the 1967 film, '' The Cool Ones''.

Demise

By 1966 the theater began to fall on hard times. Over the years, the fare changed from legitimate theater, to rock concerts, to boxing matches, until in 1970's it became a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

Regional Assembly Hall. In 1968, the front of the venue was used as a set in the TV series ''The Invaders'' on an episode called "Inquisition," where it portrayed the new electronics laboratory of 'Scoville Electronics & Manufacturing Co.' Exterior scenes showed the access road, parking area and main entrance of the building. By 2004, the church had outgrown the facility and sold the property, which it had bought for $1 million, to the developer JPI for $30 million. (LA Assessor's record Document 2014505 show sale at $25 million on 8/05/2004.) On Feb. 2017 The Watchtower requested release of funds from the sale in the amount of $18.6 million from local participating congregation owners. The disparity in the sold amount + interest of ~14 years and funds released of $18.6 in 2017 was not disclosed. JPI Development of Texas demolished the Valley Music Theater building in 2007, and planned to erect 350 condominiums on the 8.3-acre site. In April 2009, JPI defaulted on its loan of $41.8 million and the property was seized by Bank of America. The current owner is John Stanek of The Jefferson Project who has received preliminary approval May 27, 2011 for a mixed-use development consisting of retail shops and a maximum of 340 dwelling units. The project began in 2012, and remained under construction in 2013. As-of early 2014, the site at 20600 Ventura Blvd. consists of an apartment complex and live + work lofts called "The Boulevard" that had a planned opening date of Spring 2014.http://boulevardwoodlandhills.com/

References

{{Reflist Music venues in Los Angeles Theatres in Los Angeles Buildings and structures in the San Fernando Valley Theatres completed in 1963 Demolished theatres in California History of the San Fernando Valley Concrete shell structures Modernist architecture in California Woodland Hills, Los Angeles 1963 establishments in California 2007 disestablishments in California Buildings and structures demolished in 2007