A couple of weeks ago when I sauntered up to take a gander at the features running currently at the Fairfax Theatre, I was taken aback to encounter a hastily-written note informing theatre-goers that the movie house - a mainstay in the community for over eighty years - was shut down due to water damage.
Unfortunately, the owner was a sly devil, who wasn't being entirely on the up-and-up with the community at large.
The Property owner - Alex Gorby - announced recently that the Fairfax (which was being operated by Regency Theatres) would remain closed indefinitely after suffering major damage during rainstorms this year.
"The landlord did not want to make the necessary repairs, so we had to terminate the lease," said Andrew Golin (VP of Regency Theatres).
"We are saddened by the closure."
In fact, the owner had no intention of throwing open the Theater doors, at all.
Gorby has proposed a mixed-use retail and residential project that would include 71 living units and and 224 underground parking spaces.
He has attempted to smooth the waters by asserting that he intends to maintain the theater's qaint historic Art Deco facade.
"The design is absolutely exquisite," his slick spokesman assured the media recently.
To some, that is not good enough.
John Thomas, of the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles, said vigorous efforts underfoot to save the Fairfax are not just about architecture.
The Fairfax Theatre is woven into the fabric of the community, after all.
"We view the Fairfax not only as a historic treasure, but as a social and cultural treasure, given the role it has played in the Fairfax District for the past 80 years," said Hillsman Wright (who is the co-founder of the Los Angeles Historical Theatre Foundation).
Inside the classic revival movie house, there are exquisite Art Deco flourishes in all three theaters, that reflect the ture elegance and style of the era.
"It's much more than a physical structure," Wright added.
I suffer from insomnia, so I often took in screenings at the Insomniac Cinema.
The wild fun raucous events - packed to the rafters - are some of my most memorable moments in the neighborhood over the years.
Here's a sampling of a handful of posts on the midnight screenings at the witching hour.
The Big Lebowski screens at Insomniac Cinema
Post: 01/29/09
http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/01/big-lebowskiscreens-at-insomniac-cinema.html
Ed Wood's Plan 9 to screen at Insomniac Cinema
Post: 05/08/08
http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2008/05/insomniac-cinemaplan-9-from-outer-space.html
Dazed & Confused to screen at Insomniac Cinema
Post: 03/05/08
http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2008/03/insomniac-cinemadazed-and-confused.html
One of my foster mothers (who gave me shelter in her perch on Point Grey in Vancouver when I was a teenage run-a-way) actually took in screenings there (and munched on popcorn) when she was a toddler.
Jeannie Kamins resided on Kings Road with her parents (her father was a respected doctor in the Los Angeles area) in the heart of picturesque West Hollywood at the basin of the Hollywood Hills long before I discovered the gay mecca in the seventies and before it was an Incorported gay city.
Jeannie actually played in the street in front of the famous Shindler house (which still stands today amid a tony configuration of upscale condos).
She'll be devastated to hear the news!
Neighbors joined preservationists and community activists in recent weeks to collect petition signatures and to celebrate the cinema's 80th birthday.
During World War II, the theater served as a rallying point for information, and fundraising for the district's thriving Jewish community.
It was often used for religious services and political and social events.
"It's in many ways part of the heart and soul of that neighborhood," one neighbour poignantly noted to a reporter.
"We came here as children. We had our first dates here. We courted our spouses here. We brought our children and grandchildren here," said Cliff Cheng (head of the West of Fairfax Neighbors Society).
The Fairfax has been nominated to become a Los Angeles historic-cultural monument.
Until then, the landlord's ambitious plans are on hold.
Stay tuned!
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