Efforts to save historic theaters progressing slowly.

Fate of a dozen downtown L.A. palaces being studied

While most historic theaters in Los Angeles County stand as decaying cultural icons of a bygone era, a few promising efforts are in the works to restore these landmarks.

Leading those efforts are the strategic plan being developed for the dozen languishing theaters on Broadway in downtown L.A., the renovation of the Alex Theater in Glendale and the remodeling of the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood.

Broadway theaters

The Los Angeles City Council recently approved a $150,000 grant to study options for uses of the historic theaters on Broadway. Instead of developing into a vibrant theater district, such as in New York or London, downtown L.A.'s once-thriving Broadway theater district turned into a retail area for blue-collar Hispanics. A handful of the once-proud movie palaces show occasional action or horror films.

For years, city officials have talked about what to do with the Broadway theaters, but the recent grant marks the first time the city has initiated a formal study, said a number of people involved with historic theaters in L.A.

Instead of trying to create an upscale theater district, ideas for the area will likely evolve around more "popular" forms of entertainment, said Mary Padua, a project planner studying the historic core for the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency. "If people think we could have had a London or New York theater market, it would have already happened."

Downtown L.A. already has the Music Center of Los Angeles County -- a large "live stage" theater complex that houses the Ahmanson Theater, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Mark Taper Forum. The lavish Disney Concert Hall is under construction directly across the street.

Padua said ideas for the Broadway theaters include using them to stage more mainstream entertainment options, such as comedy clubs and nightclubs.

The whole purpose of the study, she said, is to figure out the market demand for the theaters and, most importantly, how to finance the project.

The study is being conducted by Kosmont & Associates, Burbank-based project managers and financial strategists; Levin & Associates, L.A.-based architects; and Community Arts Resources, program specialists based in Santa Monica and Hollywood.

Larry Kosmont, president of Kosmont & Associates, said he realizes his team faces a very difficult task, but he offered a cart-and-horse analogy: "How can you improve downtown without providing some kind of an entertainment district?"

The study, expected to begin in the next month, should be completed in six months, said Padua. At the end of six months, an implementation plan, based on the study's findings, will be submitted to the board of commissioners at the CRA. If the commissioners approve the implementation plan, she said, the plan will then go to the City Council for approval.

"Since there's no money for restoring landmarks, we're hoping they (Kosmont and his team) can pull more than one rabbit out of the hat," commented Jon Olivan, a spokesman for Metropolitan Theaters Corp., a family-owned company in L.A. that has been operating theaters since the 1920s. "Broadway is the heart of the city."

Olivan said Metropolitan Theaters has been forced to close about five theaters in the last few years and is operating another five on Broadway at a loss.

He said the only new source of revenue for the company's handful of Broadway theaters has come from leasing the venues to movie production companies. Scenes for such big-ticket movies as "Last Action Hero" and "What's Love Got to Do With It" were filmed in the Broadway movie palaces.

The five operating Broadway theaters have a variety of different owners, who leave most of the decisions on operations up to Metropolitan Theaters, Olivan said.

Whether or not the owners will keep the movie houses open until the study is complete is questionable, said Olivan. "Time is running out, but we are going to hold out as long as we can."

Alex Theater

In 1991, the Glendale Redevelopment Agency purchased the historic Alex Theater at 216 N. Brand Blvd. for $800,000, and the agency has earmarked another $6.2 million for the theater's renovation into an intimate venue for live performance.

The theater's grand opening is scheduled for January 1994.

The 1,500-seat theater, built in 1925, operated as a vaudeville and movie house through the 1930s, then became a single-run movie house in the 1940s, said Sean Clark, the redevelopment agency's project manager for the Alex Theater.

He said the theater is being restored to its Neo-Greek origins, but will retain some of its art deco touches added in the 1940s.

The city, which owns the theater, hired L.A.-based developer The Ratkovich Co. to oversee the renovation. Ratkovich is probably best known as the company that successfully redeveloped the Wiltern Theater in the Mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles.

The city has agreed to lease the venue to Theater Corp. of America, the Pasadena-based business that runs the popular Pasadena Playhouse, as well as theaters in north San Diego County and Santa Barbara.

Lars Hansen, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Theater Corp. of America, said no programming schedule has been released yet, but the theater is going to host a number of musicals, he said.

The theater fills a niche as the "quintessential New York music house," he said.

Although no performance group will call the Alex Theater home, the Glendale Symphony is expected to play there occasionally, said Clark. The theater is also expected to host a full range of events -- from jazz and pop concerts to lectures and film festivals, he said.

El Portal

The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency is funding a major renovation of this historic theater, which is located on Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood. The funding is coming in the form of a $200,000 loan and a $50,000 matching grant, which were approved by the Los Angeles City Council and are coming out of the CRA's cultural fund.

Actors Alley Repertory Theater, a non-profit live theater company that has been producing eclectic productions for 20 years in L.A., has signed a 30-year lease for the theater.

The remodeling efforts will be directed mainly towards creating two performance stages -- one that fronts 199 seats and another one that fronts 99 seats -- said Bob Caine, managing director of Actors Alley. He said the theater should be ready in October.

Most historic theaters in L.A. have suffered a worse fate than those cited above. They have either been closed down or converted to low-end retail "swap meets."

About 25 historic theaters have been demolished in L.A. County in the last decade, according to the Los Angeles Historic Theater Foundation. Only a handful of theaters have been restored, including the El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Boulevard; the Wiltern Theater on Wilshire Boulevard at Western Ave.; and the United Artists Theater on Third Avenue in downtown L.A.

Nearly 30 theaters have been listed as landmarks in the City of L.A., but most have either been closed or converted to other uses.