The Fairfax Theatre near Beverly and Fairfax has remained vacant for years. Some consider the site an “eyesore” in the neighborhood. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The Fairfax Theatre, on the northwest corner of Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, sits vacant and boarded up with graffiti painted on its facade and tower, and flyers posted on the walls. Some residents see it as an eyesore after efforts to save the building from demolition were unsuccessful.

However, there may be new life injected into the site. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety confirmed that an application for major alterations to the building is currently under review, and work will be allowed to commence as soon as the permit is approved. The Department of Building and Safety said the review has been in progress since March 7 and did not provide a timeline for how long the approvals will take. All of the businesses that were once located in storefronts adjacent to the theater have closed or moved out, and the ground-floor of the building was completely boarded in March.

The Fairfax Theatre building, located at 7901 Beverly Blvd., is owned by Alex Gorby, who plans to building a six-story, 71-unit mixed-use complex at the former theater site. Reached by phone on April 4, Gorby said the project will begin as soon as possible.

“It’s going to be a nice project,” Gorby said. “We just have to go through all the requirements.”

He referred further questions to the designer, Santa Monica-based architect Howard Laks, who could not be reached for comment.

The application filed with the city for building permits outlines the plan. It calls for a major alteration to the existing building, constructed in 1930, including the removal of a majority of the structure except the exterior walls. The plan calls for five levels of residential units over ground floor retail space, and five levels of subterranean parking. The existing facade of the theater and marquee will be preserved per an agreement with the city when the project was approved in 2012.

Gorby has owned the building for decades, with city records indicating it was acquired in 1970. Regency Theatres was the final operator of the Fairfax Theater, which permanently closed in 2010 and has remained vacant since. In 2012, the Los Angeles City Council approved the 71-unit project with the condition that the theater’s facade be preserved. It remains unclear why it took so long to move ahead with the project. The developer has until March 2024 to begin work, or the project will require new approvals.

Preservationists hoped to save the theater from destruction, including the group Save Beverly Fairfax and the Art Deco Society. Steven Luftman, a member of both groups, conducted extensive research on the site that determined the Fairfax Theatre was an important part of the history of the Fairfax District, including the early Jewish community. Neighborhood meetings, religious services and special events were held at the theater in the 1930s at a time when the first synagogues were being built in the neighborhood.

Luftman was successful in 2021 in getting the Fairfax Theatre added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a city of Los Angeles cultural-historic monument. Because the housing project was approved in 2012, the designations do not preclude the project from being built. If the theater is not developed by the deadline next year, the historic designations would be considered during review of any future project applications.

Luftman said he was aware the housing project may be imminent and called the loss of the building “horribly sad.” He said efforts have been made to persuade the owner to turn it into a project that will better serve the community, but discussions have gone nowhere.

“We are going to lose another part of our city’s heritage and an important part of the history of the Fairfax District and the Jewish community,” Luftman said. “There are so many better ways that he could keep the building and still make a profit.”

Luftman and other members of the community are also concerned about the current state of the Fairfax Theatre building. It attracts homeless people who camp in front of the building and an alley along the side, he said.

“It’s so sad looking,” Luftman added. “It’s been that way for years.”

Jacqueline Canter, owner of Canter’s Deli and president of the Fairfax Business Association, said she frequently calls the city about the graffiti at the site and it is removed, only to come right back. She said the building creates blight in the neighborhood and an improvement project would be welcome.

“It needs something, because it’s an eyesore to everyone who drives by there,” said Canter, who added that she watched movies at the Fairfax Theatre as a child. “You’ve got people living in the alley and there is graffiti all over the place. They remove it and the next day it’s there again. I think they should fix it up. Something needs to be done there.”

Leo Daube, a spokeswoman for Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, 5th District, confirmed the building is in the “plan check approval process” and added that the council member’s staff is frequently visiting the site and working to get the graffiti removed more quickly.

“We are always monitoring concerns of blight and are applying resources to take care of it,” he said. “Our field reps in the district are monitoring conditions. It’s part of an ongoing effort in the Fairfax District.”