2023 - The community is rallying to save the theater!
Most Wednesday nights, the 800-seat Gardena Cinema has only a handful of people sitting in front of its single screen.
But last week, hundreds of moviegoers almost filled the historic theater twice in one evening, for back-to-back shows as part of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. And that came days after another film organization hosted a special event, drawing about 500 guests to the cavernous space behind an unassuming front on Crenshaw Boulevard.
“I haven’t seen that many people at the theater in probably a few decades,” said Judy Kim, who runs the cinema, one of the last family-owned and operated single-screen theaters in Los Angeles. “I’ve been going nonstop with these special events.”
The revival of the neighborhood cinema, built in 1946 and purchased by Kim’s parents almost 50 years ago, was ignited a few months ago, when Kim realized she couldn’t keep the theater afloat on her own.
It had been a difficult few years for the family: Her mother — the cinema’s heart since the Kims took over in 1976 — had recently lost her battle with cancer, and the theater remained shuttered for almost three years due to the pandemic.
“The money started running out,” said Kim, 51. “I told my dad, ‘I’m going to need volunteers because I can’t do this by myself.’”
Almost immediately, the community responded to her call.
A groundswell of energy and support breathed new life into the theater as volunteers pitched in to sell tickets, fill concessions, improve the theater’s social media presence and spread the word about the longtime family business.
Great theater! Die Hard 2 in THX, Terminator 2 in 70mm THX, Star Wars Special Editions, Batman Returns, Dances With Wolves. Braveheart test screening with Mel Gibson in the theater. Wasn’t going to win any awards for the design (and the location was terrible), but once the movie started in Auditorium 5, it was amazing.
In response to moviebuff82’s question, this theater does not have “reserved seating”. For special events, they’ll often rope off the center section for special guests, so in one sense there is “reserved seating”, only that it’s reserved for someone else. But if you get there early, it’s not too hard to get a good seat.
Great memories at this theater. All-THX in the early 90s, which was a rarity.
Uh, I’m guessing that’s 1983, not 1993.
2023 - The community is rallying to save the theater!
Most Wednesday nights, the 800-seat Gardena Cinema has only a handful of people sitting in front of its single screen.
But last week, hundreds of moviegoers almost filled the historic theater twice in one evening, for back-to-back shows as part of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. And that came days after another film organization hosted a special event, drawing about 500 guests to the cavernous space behind an unassuming front on Crenshaw Boulevard.
“I haven’t seen that many people at the theater in probably a few decades,” said Judy Kim, who runs the cinema, one of the last family-owned and operated single-screen theaters in Los Angeles. “I’ve been going nonstop with these special events.”
The revival of the neighborhood cinema, built in 1946 and purchased by Kim’s parents almost 50 years ago, was ignited a few months ago, when Kim realized she couldn’t keep the theater afloat on her own.
It had been a difficult few years for the family: Her mother — the cinema’s heart since the Kims took over in 1976 — had recently lost her battle with cancer, and the theater remained shuttered for almost three years due to the pandemic.
“The money started running out,” said Kim, 51. “I told my dad, ‘I’m going to need volunteers because I can’t do this by myself.’”
Almost immediately, the community responded to her call.
A groundswell of energy and support breathed new life into the theater as volunteers pitched in to sell tickets, fill concessions, improve the theater’s social media presence and spread the word about the longtime family business.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-19/fans-rally-to-save-family-owned-gardena-cinema-los-angeles
Great theater! Die Hard 2 in THX, Terminator 2 in 70mm THX, Star Wars Special Editions, Batman Returns, Dances With Wolves. Braveheart test screening with Mel Gibson in the theater. Wasn’t going to win any awards for the design (and the location was terrible), but once the movie started in Auditorium 5, it was amazing.
In response to moviebuff82’s question, this theater does not have “reserved seating”. For special events, they’ll often rope off the center section for special guests, so in one sense there is “reserved seating”, only that it’s reserved for someone else. But if you get there early, it’s not too hard to get a good seat.