Westlake Theatre
638 S. Alvarado Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90057
638 S. Alvarado Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90057
16 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 107 of 107 comments
I am working on having the movie house restored and fully operational. I was one that went to see Spanish movies as a child and was awed by its beauty. I have considerable backing from elected officials, the private invesement community, the community in Westlake and passion for its completion. I am also working on getting support from the LA Conservancy. Get involved call me (213) 427-1940. We are a group known as Alliance:MacArthur Park.
Sounds like it could be converted back to a theatre if someone wanted to.
The ornate ticket booth is a place where keys are made and I believe the box office has keys adhered to it the last time I saw it about three years ago.
The Westlake has suffered the unfortunate fate of too many old theaters. The ground floor has been converted to create a swap meet. However the balcony remains and the ceiling is still intact, if in need of repair. The ornate ticket both also remains.
The Westlake Theatre dates back to 1926 and it’s architect was Richard M. Bates, Jr. and it is located at 638 S. Alvardo Street.
When I was about eleven years of age, around 1946, I went to the Westlake Theatre about three times a month, until around 1952. This is where I saw all my favorite film noir (first run back then). A large, comfortable movie house; wide, big balcony. Quite lavish interior. Big lobby loaded with every goodie imaginable. Yes, the sign is still there, but the days of DARK PASSAGE, BRUTE FORCE and the BIG SLEEP are long, long gone.
When the Westlake Theatre opened in 1926, it had a Wurlitzer Theatre organ (opus#1294) style 216. It was installed on 3/16/1926.