I’m really sad to learn that this theater is closing. Yes, it is completely outdated and most of the screens seem to be about the same size as the flatscreen tv in my living room. But growing up in Beverly Hills in the 80s, this was the place to hang out and see a movie, along with Westwood Village. In the past year or so I rediscovered the theater and really enjoyed catching second run films there on lazy Saturday afternoons with the wife. We caught “How to Train Your Dragon” in theater 2 yesterday.
I’ll remember Starkey’s, Heaven, and now the Cineplex Odeon Cinemas. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Sbarro (even though it moved accross the food court a few years ago) and Mrs. Field’s cookies (original location) have been there since the mall opened.
Looks like 21 will be taking the Champs space as well. It’s closed and already boarded up. Decades ago, there was another corrodor of stores to the right of the cinemas in that same location. One was a “make your own video” place where people would jump around in front of a green screen sporting silly wigs and props. Ahh, the 80s.
My wife and I saw Runaways last weekend in Theater #1. I forgot how large that screen was! Really impressive. Ususally I associate the Bev Center with the unusually small screens downstairs. I think the last time I was upstairs was to see “Dying Young” with Julia Roberts almost 20 years ago. I’ll make and effort to go back the next time something decent is playing in #1. Can’t beat $7.00 a ticket for a late Saturday afternoon flick these days.
Movie was really entertaining as well.
By the way, out of curiosity I peeked into Theater #2 and Avatar was playing. As soon as I opened the door, I could smell that someone was smoking weed in there. I guess that’s who’s still seeing Avatar in 3D nearly 4 months after it’s release… Hope they had a great time :)
I just walked by the National this morning after working out at the nearby LA Fitness gym. The white plastic covering has been removed and the frame is completely exposed. I was lucky enough (or unlucky enough, depending how you look at it) that the demolition workers were eating lunch and they left the wooden barricade door open and didn’t mind if I took a peek inside. Surprisingly, the box office still stands virtually intact, glass windows and all. Even the paper sign that said “Closed for private screening” is still taped to the box office window. Other than that, the white brick walls from the lobby were the only recognizable parts of the structure still there.
I was able to speak with one of the demo workers. He said that the new structure would not be retail with parking on the roof, but rather a mixed use project with ground level retail, apartment units, and subterranean parking. Definetly better for the future of the Village than just more retail.
Alan (or whoever), is there a page on this website dedicated to the UA Westwood? I can’t seem to find it. I have many fond memories of that theater, including seeing Terminator 2 on opening day there in ‘91. I still go there all the time, but now, of course, it is a CVS pharmacy. At least they kept the theater’s outer shell virtually intact.
Actually, the Good Earth restaurant reopened a few months ago in the huge space that used to be Madisons bar, right next to the Regent theater. Unfortuantly, it looks nearly empty everytime I pass by. As for bars, Maloneys is still there but is now called O'Haras, and the Westwood Brewing Company (formerly the Chart House circa 1992) is still around as well.
Let us all hope that the new upscale Palazzo apartment buildings that are opening across from the Expo Design Center this month will help breath some new life and business into the village.
“The property owner, Simms Development corp, determined to demolish this irreplaceable theatre, even turned down an offer to buy the building, Simms plans to replace the theatre with "a one-story commercial space with rooftop parking.”
Wow, that is one smart developer! A one-story commercial space with rooftop parking….hmmm, that sounds very similar to a structure just across the street and about 50 yards south of the National. The one that used to be Hollywood Video, which closed about 6 months ago and has sat dark and vacant ever since. Even the damm Gap couldn’t make it in Westwood. Retail in Westwood has been dead for years, and that particular corner is the worst since it is a block or so off the beaten path. Smart move not selling the theater, Mr. Simms! And good luck!
“Once enormously popular, this six-screen multiplex closed in the summer of 2004, unable to compete with Pacific Theatres' stadium seating, 14-screen multiplex at The Grove.”
I visited this theater many times during its run, and it was never crowded or “enormously popular”. Maybe once when “Home Alone” first opened, but that was it. While it was a nice multi-plex at first glance, it didn’t have much character and was actually a bit depressing. When the Grove arrived it was really dead. It won’t be missed. Beverly Center 13 should be next—-who the hell still goes there? How is it still in business? Gut it or remove it.
“To all those that showed up, let’s think of that last Thursday night screening of Shooter as the true final night of this great theatre. We gave it a proper farewell, and though the film was mediocre at best, the sound was cranked up and it looked great on that big screen.”
Good thinking—-would you really want “Feast Of Love” to be your final memory of the National anyway? They could crank up the sound as much as they wanted and I’m sure that sappy movie would still stink. I’ll be glad to take “3:10 to Yuma” with me as the last film I saw there, and I saw many. It was a solid movie that looked awesome on that giant screen. While “Shooter” wasn’t great, at least better to have the taste of that film in your mouth as the sendoff for the National instead of “Feast Of Love”.
I was only ten years old, but I could sware that the original “THX” promo during the opening weekend of “Empire of the Sun” at the National was the loudest I’ve ever heard. I also have fond memories of having a birthday party watching Crocodile Dundee II at the National with my friends, as well as seeing Misery, Beetlejuice, Species, Christmas Vacation and many others. It will be missed.
I still live in Westwood and work out at LA Fitness (about a block from the National) several times a week. I’ll keep an eye out and post any noticable changes to the theater on this site.
A couple random thoughts:
-Wasn’t the Crest purchased and restored by some passionate independant investor a while back? Perhaps this person be looking at assuming the National as well?
-The corner that the National sits on is relativly quiet and parking is sparce. The Circuit City accross the street went out of business a few years back after Best Buy came to town, and the huge DSW shoe store that opened recently in it’s place always seems empty. I can’t see the National being converted into some big-box retail store and being too successful. Quite honestly, I can envision that space sitting vacant for years unless someone reopens it as a theater.
I was only ten years old, but I could sware that the original “THX” promo during the opening weekend of “Empire of the Sun” at the National was the loudest I’ve ever heard. I also have fond memories of having a birthday party watching Crocodile Dundee II at the National with my friends, as well as seeing Misery, Beetlejuice, Species, Christmas Vacation and many others. It will be missed.
I still live in Westwood and excercise at LA Fitness (about a block from the National) several times a week. I’ll keep an eye out and post any noticable exterior changes to the theater on this site.
A couple random thoughts:
-Wasn’t the Crest purchased and restored by some passionate independant investor a few years ago? Perhaps this person be looking at aquiring the National as well?
-The corner that the National sits on is relativly quiet and parking is sparce. The Circuit City accross the street went out of business a few years back after Best Buy came to town, and the huge DSW shoe store that opened recently in it’s place always seems empty. I can’t see the National being converted into some big-box retail store and being too successful. Quite honestly, I can envision that space sitting vacant for years unless someone reopens it as a theater.
I’m really sad to learn that this theater is closing. Yes, it is completely outdated and most of the screens seem to be about the same size as the flatscreen tv in my living room. But growing up in Beverly Hills in the 80s, this was the place to hang out and see a movie, along with Westwood Village. In the past year or so I rediscovered the theater and really enjoyed catching second run films there on lazy Saturday afternoons with the wife. We caught “How to Train Your Dragon” in theater 2 yesterday.
I’ll remember Starkey’s, Heaven, and now the Cineplex Odeon Cinemas. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Sbarro (even though it moved accross the food court a few years ago) and Mrs. Field’s cookies (original location) have been there since the mall opened.
Looks like 21 will be taking the Champs space as well. It’s closed and already boarded up. Decades ago, there was another corrodor of stores to the right of the cinemas in that same location. One was a “make your own video” place where people would jump around in front of a green screen sporting silly wigs and props. Ahh, the 80s.
My wife and I saw Runaways last weekend in Theater #1. I forgot how large that screen was! Really impressive. Ususally I associate the Bev Center with the unusually small screens downstairs. I think the last time I was upstairs was to see “Dying Young” with Julia Roberts almost 20 years ago. I’ll make and effort to go back the next time something decent is playing in #1. Can’t beat $7.00 a ticket for a late Saturday afternoon flick these days.
Movie was really entertaining as well.
By the way, out of curiosity I peeked into Theater #2 and Avatar was playing. As soon as I opened the door, I could smell that someone was smoking weed in there. I guess that’s who’s still seeing Avatar in 3D nearly 4 months after it’s release… Hope they had a great time :)
UPDATE:
I just walked by the National this morning after working out at the nearby LA Fitness gym. The white plastic covering has been removed and the frame is completely exposed. I was lucky enough (or unlucky enough, depending how you look at it) that the demolition workers were eating lunch and they left the wooden barricade door open and didn’t mind if I took a peek inside. Surprisingly, the box office still stands virtually intact, glass windows and all. Even the paper sign that said “Closed for private screening” is still taped to the box office window. Other than that, the white brick walls from the lobby were the only recognizable parts of the structure still there.
I was able to speak with one of the demo workers. He said that the new structure would not be retail with parking on the roof, but rather a mixed use project with ground level retail, apartment units, and subterranean parking. Definetly better for the future of the Village than just more retail.
Alan (or whoever), is there a page on this website dedicated to the UA Westwood? I can’t seem to find it. I have many fond memories of that theater, including seeing Terminator 2 on opening day there in ‘91. I still go there all the time, but now, of course, it is a CVS pharmacy. At least they kept the theater’s outer shell virtually intact.
Actually, the Good Earth restaurant reopened a few months ago in the huge space that used to be Madisons bar, right next to the Regent theater. Unfortuantly, it looks nearly empty everytime I pass by. As for bars, Maloneys is still there but is now called O'Haras, and the Westwood Brewing Company (formerly the Chart House circa 1992) is still around as well.
Let us all hope that the new upscale Palazzo apartment buildings that are opening across from the Expo Design Center this month will help breath some new life and business into the village.
“The property owner, Simms Development corp, determined to demolish this irreplaceable theatre, even turned down an offer to buy the building, Simms plans to replace the theatre with "a one-story commercial space with rooftop parking.”
Wow, that is one smart developer! A one-story commercial space with rooftop parking….hmmm, that sounds very similar to a structure just across the street and about 50 yards south of the National. The one that used to be Hollywood Video, which closed about 6 months ago and has sat dark and vacant ever since. Even the damm Gap couldn’t make it in Westwood. Retail in Westwood has been dead for years, and that particular corner is the worst since it is a block or so off the beaten path. Smart move not selling the theater, Mr. Simms! And good luck!
Not trying to argue with you, as it is probably just a misprint, but you couldn’t buy tickets for “3:10 To Yuma” online at the National either.
Moviefone.com lists “Saw 4” as playing at the National this evening at 7:00 PM. Could this be correct? I know it’s also playing at the AVCO.
“Once enormously popular, this six-screen multiplex closed in the summer of 2004, unable to compete with Pacific Theatres' stadium seating, 14-screen multiplex at The Grove.”
I visited this theater many times during its run, and it was never crowded or “enormously popular”. Maybe once when “Home Alone” first opened, but that was it. While it was a nice multi-plex at first glance, it didn’t have much character and was actually a bit depressing. When the Grove arrived it was really dead. It won’t be missed. Beverly Center 13 should be next—-who the hell still goes there? How is it still in business? Gut it or remove it.
“To all those that showed up, let’s think of that last Thursday night screening of Shooter as the true final night of this great theatre. We gave it a proper farewell, and though the film was mediocre at best, the sound was cranked up and it looked great on that big screen.”
Good thinking—-would you really want “Feast Of Love” to be your final memory of the National anyway? They could crank up the sound as much as they wanted and I’m sure that sappy movie would still stink. I’ll be glad to take “3:10 to Yuma” with me as the last film I saw there, and I saw many. It was a solid movie that looked awesome on that giant screen. While “Shooter” wasn’t great, at least better to have the taste of that film in your mouth as the sendoff for the National instead of “Feast Of Love”.
I was only ten years old, but I could sware that the original “THX” promo during the opening weekend of “Empire of the Sun” at the National was the loudest I’ve ever heard. I also have fond memories of having a birthday party watching Crocodile Dundee II at the National with my friends, as well as seeing Misery, Beetlejuice, Species, Christmas Vacation and many others. It will be missed.
I still live in Westwood and work out at LA Fitness (about a block from the National) several times a week. I’ll keep an eye out and post any noticable changes to the theater on this site.
A couple random thoughts:
-Wasn’t the Crest purchased and restored by some passionate independant investor a while back? Perhaps this person be looking at assuming the National as well?
-The corner that the National sits on is relativly quiet and parking is sparce. The Circuit City accross the street went out of business a few years back after Best Buy came to town, and the huge DSW shoe store that opened recently in it’s place always seems empty. I can’t see the National being converted into some big-box retail store and being too successful. Quite honestly, I can envision that space sitting vacant for years unless someone reopens it as a theater.
I was only ten years old, but I could sware that the original “THX” promo during the opening weekend of “Empire of the Sun” at the National was the loudest I’ve ever heard. I also have fond memories of having a birthday party watching Crocodile Dundee II at the National with my friends, as well as seeing Misery, Beetlejuice, Species, Christmas Vacation and many others. It will be missed.
I still live in Westwood and excercise at LA Fitness (about a block from the National) several times a week. I’ll keep an eye out and post any noticable exterior changes to the theater on this site.
A couple random thoughts:
-Wasn’t the Crest purchased and restored by some passionate independant investor a few years ago? Perhaps this person be looking at aquiring the National as well?
-The corner that the National sits on is relativly quiet and parking is sparce. The Circuit City accross the street went out of business a few years back after Best Buy came to town, and the huge DSW shoe store that opened recently in it’s place always seems empty. I can’t see the National being converted into some big-box retail store and being too successful. Quite honestly, I can envision that space sitting vacant for years unless someone reopens it as a theater.