Fox Venice Theatre
620 Lincoln Boulevard,
Venice,
CA
90291
620 Lincoln Boulevard,
Venice,
CA
90291
22 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 70 of 70 comments
The one and only time I ever made it to the Fox Venice was in late 1985. I had just moved back to Los Angeles to attend college, and I was listening to KROQ, as all teens were required to at the time. So one night, there was a call-in contest to win tickets to a sneak preview of something called “Grunt: The Wrestling Movie” which would be playing the following evening at the Fox Venice. Never one to turn down the chance for a free movie, I called in… and I won. While the movie was pretty bad, the theatre (which also had a video store catering to more independent films in one of store fronts with a common door between the store and the theatre) was inspiring. As I lived and went to school in Long Beach at the time, I did not make many trips to Venice, so it would be years before I ended up driving down Lincoln Boulevard again. By that time, it had become the lousy indoor flea market it is now. Blech.
Meryl, yes I remember that day so well, we sat in the back row in front of the old glass enclosed seats (for the moms and babies as I’ve read above!)and the staff took very good care of us. That upstairs office was very authentically hippie shabby chic.
I saw so many great double features at the Fox Venice, even though later I had moved away I was so sad when I heard it closed. I think it was the first or second theater I went to when I moved to LA in 77. Seem to recall seeing all of Herzog’s films there (the few that had come out then).
One day in the summer of 1979, my Tiffany staff & I took a day off from Rocky Horror, and went to an all day Beatle Film Festival at the Fox Venice. The manager & staff were very hospitable, and took us on a tour of the theatre. Upstairs, there were couches, and windows that overlooked the marquee. You can see them in the above picture.
Meredith, do you remember that day? I loved it!
I lived in LA in the late 70’s-early 80’s – took pictures of some of these theaters that I will find and scan in for this site. Also did some volunteer work for the LA Conservency and have some of the old tour brochures somewhere with some good pictures. Worked at the Vagabond, will write about that soon on that page.
Great pictures of the Fox! Do you have any of such theatres as the Vagabond, WArners Hollywood, Gordon, Pan Pacific, Hollywood, and Wiltern?
Or perhaps the downtown LA theatres?
Also from the LA Library:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028660.jpg
Here is an interesting picture of the Fox, courtesy of the LA Library:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015709.jpg
I moved to Los Angeles in 1984. I saw a screening of the film “Streetwise” at the Fox Venice in 1985, which was a film about homeless teens in Seattle. I think the theater closed not too long after that.
There is remnants of the old theatre still when you visit. The concession area lighting and moulding is there, all the ceiling moulding in the auditorium remains, and much much more.
I am 60. I spent many a Sat. afternoon at the Fox Venice in the late 50’s and early 60’s. I remember going to see I Want to Live with my parents one evening.
Butch Stone, Jan 24, 2005.
Knoxville, TN
I’m 59. I spent my teenage years in Venice. The Venice Fox was one of my favorite theatres. It had a separate room in the back for mothers with babies. I saw “Westside Story” there. It seems like a lot of well heeled intellectuals live nearby now. They should restore it somehow. It should be designated a historical landmark. It could be made the focal point of an upscale shopping experience.
Dear Fox Venice Fans,
I have been enjoying reading your comments regarding the Fox Venice!
As President of Cumberland Mountain Theaters, Inc. during the heyday of theatrics at the Fox – 1973-1979 – I had the great joy of working with our large crew of film lovers and showfolks who worked so hard to develop the daily-change repertory cinema format in Los Angeles.
I will not try to provide corrections or a chronology here, but will direct you to several web pages with a lot of information.
First do visit the Virtual Venice site at http://www.virtualvenice.info/and explore it for a number of mentions of the Fox Venice and the history of Venice Beach.
A very nice article there on the history of the Fox is at http://www.virtualvenice.info/media/fvt.htm
A related story from a 1978 Free Venice Beachhead is at http://www.virtualvenice.info/media/tale.htm
Some of you may know that some of the Single Wing Turquiose Bird light show folks were very involved, and we have a site for it at http://www.swtb.info – be sure to see the link there to the pOoterLand article about the SWTB, which discusses the Fox.
Reading your comments took me right back to a magic time quite a number of years ago! May the best of those vibes resonate forever!
Cheers,
Rol Murrow
I remember regularly riding my bike from Mar Vista (and I never was harrassed) from 1979 – 1981 to see movies at the Fox Venice. I loved the design of the theater, it’s great double features, inexpensive admission tickets, and large selections of hot teas at the concession stand.
It’s very sad that contemporary audiences (except in select major cities) will probably never see movies in these single screen majestic palaces. They can’t imagine the experiences they’re missing.
A link for the Fox Discount Store (former Fox Venice Theatre):
View link
The Fox Venice continues as an indoor swap meet. Very little of the original theatre remains although the ceiling dome is there and the vertical sign remains without the name and neon. The closest cinemas are now in Marina del Rey or Santa Monica.
If anyone has a direct contact with the owner/leasee of the theater please contact me at , I’m involved with a business opportunity and I’m looking for space – Thanks – Matt
EDIT: (I wish). That should be The Cumberland Mountain Film Company and not The Cumberland Mountain Group. My apologies.
Remember the monthly Fox Venice Calendar printed with the films/events for each day of the month and their description?
As for the owners, in the mid 1970’s the monthly revival calendar listed The Cumberland Mountain Group, and I seem to remember the Landmark chain took over the theater in the later 70’s. At the time, I was concerned that the Fox Venice would become more like the Nuart and it did slightly, but overall was of good character.
btw, correct me if I’m wrong.
I’ve been looking for info on the Net about The Cumberland Mountain Group. Was hoping someone might scan and post a vintage copy of the
Fox Venice Calendar/Cumberland on a webpage too.
I’ll never forget going to the Fox Venice to see a science fiction film festival there in 1975. A good time was had by all as it was around the time of the Filmex show and there were a lot of sci-fi and Star Trek fans in town and we all had a blast. I love its marquee and tower – and would love to see the colorful neon at night in all its glory – as I recall, the stars would flash up and down in sequence. A proper monument to cinema.
This was one of the Landmark chain’s original theaters, although I think its programming policy predated Landmark’s acquisition.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, when I lived there, the Fox Venice showed a different double feature every day — generally classic Hollywood films, foreign films, and obscure art films. The programming policy was very similar to Landmark’s Nuart theatre a few miles away in West LA.