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75th Anniversary of the Warner Grand Theatre (Renovation Project)

Rigby Reardon

One of the Regulars
Messages
270
Location
Near the QM
Just in case any of ya'll were interested...since I'm local, I got this flyer in the mail.

Paraphrasing some of the literature:
It's the 75th Anniversary of the Warner Grand Theatre - one of the last remaining art deco movie palaces - lavishly deocroated with murals and ornamentation. The theatre has operated continually since opening in 1931.

The Save Your Seat ( http://www.grandvision.org/ )campaign gives everyone a chance to donate to the renovation of the seats, and you'll get your name engraved on it so you'll always be a part of this history! (That's me speaking, now.)

Here's a couple more blurbs from their website, where you'll also find some AMAZING pictures!

Last, I can't believe this place is just around the corner from me...I'm the next town over from San Pedro (RPV), and I've been down 6th street so many times and just never noticed this. [huh]

About the Warner Grand Theatre
Considered "an art deco masterpiece on a neighborhood scale," the Warner was part of the era of the Picture Palace, the magical decades of the 1920s and 1930s. As the popularity of the motion picture grew, the glamorous picture palace was conceived as a place of escape, a place where dreams came true. The Warner Brothers believed in this dream and built three lavish art deco picture palaces in Beverly Hills, Huntington Beach and San Pedro. The Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro, the first sound-equipped theatre in the South Bay, opened to the public on January 20, 1931, with a star-studded gala premier. Jack Warner christened it "The Castle of Your Dreams," created by its chief architect B. Marcus Priteca and designer A.T. Heinsbergen. Pritica later designed Hollywood's famous Pantages Theater and many others.

Warner Grand History
"An Art Deco Masterpiece on a Neighborhood Scale"

When the Warner Grand Theatre opened in 1931 it was the first sound-equipped theater in the South Bay. It quickly became the glamorous center of public life. Designed by famed architect B. Marcus Pritica, who also designed Hollywood's Pantages theater, the Theatre is one of the nation's few surviving Art Deco movie palaces. It was one of three similar theaters constructed in suburbs of Los Angeles by Warner Bros. Motion Picture Studio (the other two were built in Beverly Hills and Huntington Park.) The 1400-seat Warner Grand is the only one of these three theaters left intact. Six years ago, the theatre's future was in danger. In 1996 the City of Los Angeles and its Community Redevelopment Agency purchased the Warner Grand for $1.2 million. Today, the Theatre is managed by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and is home to regular foreign and classic film series.


Okay, enough, a couple of beautiful pics and then the link again:



http://www.grandvision.org/

Slange vat,
J
 

MK

Founder
Staff member
Bartender
.

That place looks beautiful! I can't believe I didn't know about it. I am a Hollywood history buff...and although it is technically not in Hollywood, the fact that Warner Bros built it should have hit my radar.
 

Wild Root

Gone Home
Messages
5,532
Location
Monrovia California.
They haven?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t built theaters like that in 65 years! True Art Deco palaces are becoming rare!

I have seen a few movies in the Warner Grand! It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s a great place to watch a film!!! Heck, I love all the old theaters I have been to like the Los Angeles Theater, the Orpheum Theater in LA, The Alex Theater in Glendale and Grauman?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Chinese in Hollywood.

There is a forgotten theater that shows independent and foreign films in south Pasadena on Fair Oaks. I can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t remember the name right now but, it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s in dire need of restoration! Sure hate to see any of these great places lost to the wrecking ball! They are so far better then our modern prison styled jobs we watch movies. They?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re high-tech but, what happened to glamour and beauty? A place you want to be at!

The Avalon Ballroom has a magnificent theater on the main floor! If any one finds them selves over on Avalon Catalina, you must stop by and check it out!!!

WR.
 

Rigby Reardon

One of the Regulars
Messages
270
Location
Near the QM
Wild Root said:
The Avalon Ballroom has a magnificent theater on the main floor! If any one finds them selves over on Avalon Catalina, you must stop by and check it out!!!
I've seen a movie there...sadly, we saw Twister for the umpteenth time (I used to pop it in all the time to test our Surround Sound :p), but that just gave me more time to take in the furnishings... ;) ...it was more like a trip to the planetarium for me, I spent the whole time looking UP...you're right, that is a beautiful old theatre...I'm trying to remember, does it have Greek mythology scenes along the walls? It's been 10 years since I was last there.

The Casino Ballroom upstairs is even more breathtaking, though, if I can tangent my own thread (sorry about that) - that floor itself is amazing, although I don't recall if it's the original. And there's even a very, VERY old radio booth still up there, that they used to broadcast from. My parents remember hearing the programs, LIVE from the Casino Ballroom in Avalon Bay!
 

Rigby Reardon

One of the Regulars
Messages
270
Location
Near the QM
Seems like I should have thought of this before...:p ...but here's a link to the homepage for the Warner Grand Theater ITSELF, not just the organization doing the refurb!
http://www.warnergrand.org/

On this page I found links for schedules, broken down by American Classics, Foreign Films, or Live Performances...American Classics had two things worth noting - 1) Abbot and Costello in Buck Privates is playing on Nov 12...but if you get all the way to San Pedro that night to see it and DON'T come to the QM...:cry: , and 2) GONE WITH THE WIND is playing in January!!! Tickets are $15 each, as it is a fundraiser, but that's only a few dollars more than the price of a movie anyway.

I got excited (for you guys, of course...okay, for me too...:rolleyes: ) when I saw the words 'come in period costume' :cool: , but then I read a bit more and I think they mean THE CIVIL WAR period, not the period the film was made in...oh, well. Still, here's a chance to go see a classic film in a classic art deco theater, one of the last. Enjoy. ;)

Yes, no direct link...I'm going to let you explore, it's worth it. :D Just start at this link: http://www.warnergrand.org/

J

P.S. I was over in Pedro this afternoon, and lo and behold if I didn't drive right past it while a guy was changing the marquee the old fashioned way - one letter at a time on a really big stick. (Okay, whatever it's called.) It's only two block up on 6th Street from the surplus store I swing by from time to time (Union War Surplus). I took my girls in to look around the lobby...interesting...not in pristine condition by any stretch, but still in remarkable shape considering it's age, it looks like they've TRIED NOT TO UPDATE IT, and now during this refurb they are trying to stay true to the deco period it was designed during.

Okay, [/soapbox]. ;)
 

Rigby Reardon

One of the Regulars
Messages
270
Location
Near the QM
Ah, heck, I read it again, it's just too exciting NOT to post. Here's the info. It's an afternoon showing, WITH an actress from the movie to speak! (Okay, she was a CHILD actress at the time, but still.)

If enough folks are interested...uh...we'll see you there, I guess. Doesn't sound like this really requires any logistics. :D

Guess I should have made this a new thread under events, hunh? Let's wait and see if this generates any interest...

Gone With The Wind (1939)
Sunday, Jan. 22, 2 p.m. - $15 Benefit
Cinema Grand presents - a benefit screening to several non-profit groups interested in American history and preservation. Doors open at 1 p.m. - Patrons encouraged to attend in period costume. Drum Barracks will have soldiers dressed in Civil War Uniforms ushering guests to their seats. Cammie King (aka Bonnie Blue Butler, the doomed daughter of Scarlett and Rhett Butler) will talk about her memories of making the movie from the stage of our theater. Margaret Mitchell's sweeping Civil War saga remains one of the greatest examples of cinematic storytelling. Vivien Leigh's tempestuous Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable's handsome rogue Rhett Butler bicker and battle from antebellum plantations to the streets of postwar Atlanta. Starring: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Thomas Mitchell, Cammie King and more. Director: Victor Fleming. All tickets purchased online will be sent by mail Dec 10 (the perfect Christmas and New Year's gift!!) until January 17. Any tickets sold later will be held at the door for "will call." Please click on "tickets" above right.
 

Rigby Reardon

One of the Regulars
Messages
270
Location
Near the QM
(BUMP)

Gone With The Wind is showing tomorrow...see link above. Just bumping in case anyone is looking for something to do tomorrow. I'm pretty busy with the girls, so I won't make it.

J
 

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