iPic Westwood
10840 Wilshire Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90024
10840 Wilshire Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90024
34 people
favorited this theater
Showing 76 - 100 of 281 comments
I just don’t understand why, if you’re going to spend that kind of money on renovating that theater, you wouldn’t at least consider restoring the original screen downstairs (something that might actually appeal to film fans). I doubt, however, that the new operator even has any knowledge of what the Avco used to be. They’re moving in to basically do what drove people away in the first place; twinning what’s left and carving it up even more. I can’t imagine wanting to see anything in a theater with only 150 seats, and that’s the BIG auditorium. I agree with what Greg Laemmle said in that article with regard to the companies involved being more interested in being restaurateurs and bartenders than film exhibitors. Sorry, but the Avco ended up in about the worst hands it could have. I had initially held out hope that we may get someone in there who really remembered how important this theater was historically in Los Angeles and what it really could have been again, but instead we got another slash and burn “entrepreneur” to make this theater even less desirable than it has been for nearly 20 years.
I guess it is nice if it keeps films in Westwood. I’m not going to patronize it. The whole concept I find unappealing.
Countdown to bankruptcy/re-closure in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…
Smaller theaters (stadium, of course) higher prices.
It looks like when the Avco Cinemas reopens after the remodel. It will be a Six Plex complex with auditoriums seating 70-150 people. http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/dinner-and-movie-westwoods-avco-theater-set-multimillion-dollar-renovation-34221?page=0,0
The problems with motion picture exhibition in Westwood have nothing to do with parking, and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise has never done anything more than look at the surface of the issue.
I have a special relationship with the Avco. Yet, I have never saw a movie in it, and I am not from LA. However, it played a very important part of a trip which will make it to script some day. And I will need this place to be shot the way it was. So save the old signage.
I worked at the Avco during the summer of 1977(yes,during Star Wars) and late December/early January of 77-78. Was a great job. I have fond memories of working there. Sad to see it go.
Drove past today. The place is in shambles. Sad. Hope they’re planning on restoring it. Any scoops?
All of this about Westwood is shocking to hear. Okay, so I haven’t been there in two decades — but it still makes no sense. I’m grateful that I knew it in its prime, in the glory years of the ‘70s and early '80s.
Wow that was fast. The must want this open again next year by summer the way they are moving.
Sad year for L.A. Screens; the Crest (Westwood), Avco Cinemas, Laemmle Sunset 5, Mann Theatres and the Chinese. Yeah, I know the Chinese is still open but is still showing garbage and turning part time nightclub in the 6 plex.
The Avco is somewhat devastating; In its day it was one the best theatres in Los Angeles. I have great memories of it.
Long Live GCC!
All the seats have been removed and the former theatre complex is going through with asbestos removal. So it’s being gutted right now.
By the way the caption says it closed in November, which is incorrect.. The theatre is closing on the 6th of this month and my former co-manager was just working there tonight.
Theatre 4 is the “prime” theatre; all of the best performing movies went into it. Theatre 3 is similar (and actually has a restroom when you walk in). Theatres 1 and 2 were part of the original large screen and have the same blue seats. They’re fairly large but they’re at an angle to the current screens because they were set when the building was built. It also gets a lot colder in those theatres and there are more broken seats.
I’ve only been there three times, and each time I was in Cinema 4 upstairs. Do the other auditoriums look the same? Cinema 4 is pretty big for a multiplex auditorium.
All the screens were on the east side of the building, facing west. The seats faced east.
I’m trying to recall the configuration of the auditoriums. Which direction did the seating face for the original big screen?
I was there today to see “Hugo”. Although I prefer the single screen theatres in Westwood, it is still sad to see this place close.
Cinépolis seems to be the rumored new tenant. Not really sure how they would handle the kitchen area unless they are leasing the old cafe/deli across the courtyard. They could upgrade the lobby area into the lounges but they would be not very roomy unless they make auditriums smaller. I guess we’ll see next year.
To expand upon what Brade48 has stated, by the time the theatre was built Avco had become a conglomerate of many units, the most visable of which were Avco Financial and Avco-Embassy Pictures. The theatre and the office building to the west of the theatre were part of the same development. The Avco Corp. was the primary tenant in the office building and had naming rights so the development became Avco Center. Avco Corp. was taken over in 1984 by Textron and relocated, so the office building now has either the name of the current primary tenant or just uses the street address as its name, e.g. The 108XX Wilshire Building.
The company was founded in 1942[1] by producer Joseph E. Levine, initially to distribute foreign films to the United States. Some of Levine’s early successes were the Italian-made Hercules films with Steve Reeves and the 1961 adaptation of The Thief of Baghdad. Embassy also distributed Federico Fellini’s film 8½ in the UK.
In 1963, Levine was offered a $30 million deal with Paramount Pictures to produce films in the vein of his previous successes. Paramount would finance the films and Embassy would receive part of its profits.[2] Under the deal, Levine produced The Carpetbaggers and its prequel Nevada Smith, which were successes, along with flops such as Harlow, starring Carroll Baker, and The Oscar.
By the 1960s, Levine had transformed Embassy into a production company. Later in the decade, Embassy functioned on its own with many Rankin/Bass animated features (including Mad Monster Party? and The Daydreamer), and successful live-action productions including The Graduate, The Lion in Winter and The Producers.
New ownership and dissolutionIn 1967, Levine sold the Embassy corporation to Avco. In 1968, Avco Embassy launched Avco Embassy Television, which was sold to Multimedia, Inc. in 1976, becoming Multimedia Entertainment; that first television division has since been folded into what is now known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution, even though another company now owns television rights to the Embassy library.
The Embry-Riddle Company created the Aviation Corporation in 1928 as a holding company tasked with acquiring small airlines. By the end of 1929 it had acquired interests in over 90 aviation-related companies, and in the ensuing years it developed these into American Airways, the predecessor of American Airlines.[citation needed]
The company was required to divest American Airlines in 1934 due to new rules for air mail contracts. The Aviation Corporation later changed its name to Avco Manufacturing Corporation, and then, in 1959, to Avco Corporation.[citation needed] In 1984 Avco was purchased by Textron.[2]
Avco’s affiliated company, Avco Financial Services, was spun off to Associates First Capital in 1998 [3], which itself was acquired by Citigroup in 2000.[4]
I think the theatre only had the name Avco Center Cinema because of where it was located. It appears Avco Embassy and Avco Financial Services were associated. This is something I just learned.
Thanks. I was remembering “Avco Embassy Pictures”, the film company. No relation, then?
Also, the more I look at it, the more I think it’s a word (Avco) as opposed to an abbreviation or initials (AVCO). I know the marquee and ad logo were all in uppercase, but so was the word CINEMA, etc.
I really do not remember it being tied to Avco Embassy. I’m pretty sure Avco finance occupied the office building next door at one time.
It is really sad to see this place go. During the 70’s and 80’s when Westwood, West L.A. and Century City thrived as the big movie district the Avco was one of the great theatres. I grew up with the Avco, Plitt Century Plaza, National, Picwood, UA Westwood (Festival), Plaza, Crest, UA Cinema Center now ALL GONE. These were all wonderful screens, with lots of character and were always fun to patronize. We will never have screens like this again.