The office of Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, 13th, will be meeting with owners of the property occupied by the historic Warner Pacific Theatre.
(photo by Luke Harold)
The theater, on Hollywood Boulevard between Cahuenga Boulevard and Wilcox Avenue, has been closed since 1994, when it suffered structural damage during the Northridge Earthquake. It has hosted occasional film screenings since then, and was briefly leased by a church. Rumors of the theater’s demolition have persisted.
“Mitch wants to preserve this piece of Hollywood history and bring it back to life as an entertainment venue,” said Tony Arranaga, O’Farrell’s communications director. “Our office is meeting with the property owners in the coming weeks to continue this discussion.”
In 1928, Warner Bros. opened the theatre with a seating capacity of over 2,700. According to the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation, the movie studio was “riding high” as it introduced sound to motion pictures. It was designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh. After renovations in the early 1950s, its seating was reduced to 1,500 and it was converted to a three-strip Cinerama.
Pacific Theatres renamed the theater the Hollywood Pacific after taking over the property in 1968. It was renovated in 1978, but it was damaged during the Red Line construction in the 1980s, followed by its closure in the next decade. It’s currently owned by Robertson Properties Group.
4 Comments
Thanks for this article. This meeting with owners is a continuation of over 2 years of meetings started originally by Hollywood Heritage and the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation. The owner’s representatives have met with our coalition multiple times in CM O’Farrell’s office, and we look forward to moving this process along. The Hollywood Warner Theatre can be a major player in revitalizing that stretch of Hollywood Blvd., and there is national attention in the theatre community on this specific theatre, so we hope the Councilman’s meetings can jumpstart a process that has been in the works for 2 years!
I love old theaters. In 1981 – ’83 I restored the historic Bradley Theater in Columbus, GA. It’s a great feeling to see an old theater come back to life.
This theatre is a magnificent Historic Cultural Monument by a renown respected architect/ designer and must be saved. I don’t trust O’Farrell so very concerned. Robertson Properties contributed to his and Garcetti’s campaigns. Sundance was moved out of crescent heights/sunset venue by AMC. Drew Barrymore grandmother Delores Costello, wife of John Barrymore, starred in the first movie ever shown there. If DeNiro could get Tri Beca going where are all the film industry celebs here who could use this Theatre for Hollywood Film Festivals. Quentin Tarantino has Beverly Cinema. Carol Burnett lived down the street and was a page here. Lanfsburg designed The Shrine the El Capitan, the Martin Beck in NYC. Hollywood is constantly now being called ‘downtown Hollywood’ by Hollywood Chamber and BID. To justify all the overdevelopment and wiping out everything they can that’s historically interesting. But ‘Downtowns’ in thriving cities have arts, culture, theatre, not just a lot of craummy ugly no character high rises, skyscrapers and hotels. The mayor and councilmember have many wealthy connections and companies. They have not lifted a finger to reach out to any to help restore and save this Theatre. Campaign contributions may matter more than reinvigorating the Theatre and the area and creating a cultural arts center instead of sleazy crime ridden nightclubs, and two for one shot bars.
Why has councilmember O’Farrell not done anything to get support for this theatre. The Mayor has been too focused on the Olympics while he ignores issues here at home. He has the influence and power to generate interest in preserving the Theatre. He’s done nothing. Three years ago historic preservation groups were granted a meeting with Mitch O ‘Farrell . Has anything happened since? Are they a part of this big meeting with CD13 and the developer? Does anyone else see the writing on the walls? Developers like Robertson Properties are used to getting what they want ( one is in the White House now) and they get these guys elected to assure they get what they want. But it’s the people who have the power to recall them.