Picwood Theatre

The Picwood Theatre was located at 10872 W. Pico Blvd. (Pico Blvd & Westwood Blvd), near the site of the first drive-in in Los Angeles. The style in the theatre was of a tropical island. Picwood was built around 1948 by S. Charles Lee. The front of the theatre had a lot of neon. You could see this neon tower design from 2-3 miles away. The Picwood was remodeled in 1966, with this remodel the side murals would be covered by a lot of gold & yellow curtains. Lost in this remodel was the neon cove lighting in the ceiling. This theatre also had a large balcony. The Picwood seated around 1100 people when it opened, in the 1966 remodel it was reseated with 950 high back rocking seats. From the late 60’s to the early 80’s the Picwood was a very well liked Studio preview house. From the early 80’s to around 1985 when the Picwood was demolished, it ran more 70mm films than any theatre in Los Angeles. The Picwood was one of the Best places to see a movie in Los Angeles. It had a large screen, wide high back rocking seats, a balcony, free parking. Now sitting on the site is the Westside of a shopping mall. At one time Landmark theatres was going to built a 12 plex art house, to replace the 4 plex inside the east side of the mall. In the mid 70’s, the Picwood played the movie “Earthquake” and later “Midway” & “Rollercoaster” in SENSURROUND. When the Picwood was being demolished, people from the neighborhood remember the SENSURROUND rumble going off a few times a night with each showing.