A couple more notes from talking to family members:
The art deco ceiling design was apparently still there when my family bought the building, but it began to fall down so they removed it the rest of the way
The original theatre seats were removed in the 1990s
Some family members remember a projector and screen being present in the 1970s and 1980s and they would show movies as neighborhood fundraisers for the church
Those two sections with bars on the windows were added, presumably in the 1950s. We think the original theatre started where the roof is taller in back.
Of this picture, the vents are still there, the walls are still segmented in the sides, and the doors to either side of the screen/stage are still there. There is evidence those can lights are still there, but plastered over in the 1950s.
This is my family’s church. It’s called Youth Center COGIC (Church of God In Christ). Youth Center is the name of the church, it’s not a literal youth center. Church of God in Christ is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the US.
According to my family, when they bought the building ~1972, it was still a movie theatre. However it was clearly renovated in the 1950s and the renovations do not make sense for a movie theatre, but would make sense for a funeral home. There’s also some evidence that it was originally a vaudeville theatre– we found some stage lights that predate the New Rex in 1940.
The auditorium serves as a sanctuary, the area behind the screen serves as a baptismal pool, and and the projection room is now an office. It still has the bathroom that would have been used by the projector operator.
The renovation in the 1950s involved removing the original lighting, installing fluorescent lighting, and extending the foyer/lobby and side rooms. I suspect the auditorium ceiling was lowered slightly as it is now all flush with the large “kmart” vents. That was probably the biggest change the building has seen since it was opened.
The church has done very very little to the building in the 50 years they have owned it. They added drop ceilings and paneling in the side rooms off the lobby (one serves as a kitchen, one serves as a fellowship hall) and in the projection room. They added ceiling fans in the sanctuary and decommissioned the 1950s fluorescent lights. They added the baptismal pool, but I’m not exactly sure what was there before that. Most of the original HVAC is still there but decommissioned. The original wiring is still there, a scary amount of it is still in use. We suspect a lot of the original light fixtures are still there, but plastered over from the 1950 renovation. We cannot find what would have controlled the lights during the theatre era, but there are a lot of decommissioned fuse panels.
There are two basements, one of them pretty extensive, but there was a water main break a few years ago and they are not pleasant. The church has been mostly unused during the pandemic for obvious reasons.
Myself and a few friends are doing as many repairs as we can and would love some help if anyone wants to explore and restore an old theatre.
If anyone wants to see it in use, they have Bible study Wednesday nights and service Sunday afternoons.
A couple more notes from talking to family members:
The art deco ceiling design was apparently still there when my family bought the building, but it began to fall down so they removed it the rest of the way
The original theatre seats were removed in the 1990s
Some family members remember a projector and screen being present in the 1970s and 1980s and they would show movies as neighborhood fundraisers for the church
Confirmed the Lawndale showed silent films. Which begs the question, what were the stage lights for?
Doing some more research, it appears it was an entirely different church from 1956-1966 the “Grand Ave Church of Christ”.
I do not think it was ever a funeral home.
Those two sections with bars on the windows were added, presumably in the 1950s. We think the original theatre started where the roof is taller in back.
Unfortunately this is long gone.
Does anyone know what those dark rectangles are on the side walls?
Of this picture, the vents are still there, the walls are still segmented in the sides, and the doors to either side of the screen/stage are still there. There is evidence those can lights are still there, but plastered over in the 1950s.
This is my family’s church. It’s called Youth Center COGIC (Church of God In Christ). Youth Center is the name of the church, it’s not a literal youth center. Church of God in Christ is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the US.
According to my family, when they bought the building ~1972, it was still a movie theatre. However it was clearly renovated in the 1950s and the renovations do not make sense for a movie theatre, but would make sense for a funeral home. There’s also some evidence that it was originally a vaudeville theatre– we found some stage lights that predate the New Rex in 1940.
The auditorium serves as a sanctuary, the area behind the screen serves as a baptismal pool, and and the projection room is now an office. It still has the bathroom that would have been used by the projector operator.
The renovation in the 1950s involved removing the original lighting, installing fluorescent lighting, and extending the foyer/lobby and side rooms. I suspect the auditorium ceiling was lowered slightly as it is now all flush with the large “kmart” vents. That was probably the biggest change the building has seen since it was opened.
The church has done very very little to the building in the 50 years they have owned it. They added drop ceilings and paneling in the side rooms off the lobby (one serves as a kitchen, one serves as a fellowship hall) and in the projection room. They added ceiling fans in the sanctuary and decommissioned the 1950s fluorescent lights. They added the baptismal pool, but I’m not exactly sure what was there before that. Most of the original HVAC is still there but decommissioned. The original wiring is still there, a scary amount of it is still in use. We suspect a lot of the original light fixtures are still there, but plastered over from the 1950 renovation. We cannot find what would have controlled the lights during the theatre era, but there are a lot of decommissioned fuse panels.
There are two basements, one of them pretty extensive, but there was a water main break a few years ago and they are not pleasant. The church has been mostly unused during the pandemic for obvious reasons.
Myself and a few friends are doing as many repairs as we can and would love some help if anyone wants to explore and restore an old theatre.
If anyone wants to see it in use, they have Bible study Wednesday nights and service Sunday afternoons.