It’s nice to see the comments as my friends & I spent most of our childhood at this theatre…. And at all the little spots on the boulevard (Ventura Blvd) that made this a great little neighborhood in Hollywood’s backyard in the 70s & 80s; Party Peddler, a lá Popcorn, Brown Center Deli, La Fiesta, Tiempo Records, Eggshell restaurant, Fabs, Beas Bakery, Sambo’s & The Pantry Shelf etc
It did open in 1974… The Leftons were indeed some of the same owners that owned the Pan Pacific on Beverly near what is now The Grove and the PepperTree, a second run multi screen in Northridge. Despite the best efforts of all those who invested so much it was allowed to spiral downhill like a runaway train until the smallest screen (theatre 6) had threadbare screen & curtains and I could hardly stand to see a movie there distracted by the disrepair. The lobby card collages & the sprint car video game as well as the smokey and the bandit pinball machines were soooo cool back in the day.
It was loosing money before they did their deal with Mann’s…. And while MVW sued Pacific for keeping first-runs too long & destroying their business…. that really wasn’t it at all. Ventura was hopping in those days and you had to drive for miles to Sherman Oaks in one direction or Woodland Hills in the other. They just didn’t care anymore about the experience they gave the neighborhood so we stopped caring back… and it became HAUNTED!
It’s nice to see the comments as my friends & I spent most of our childhood at this theatre…. And at all the little spots on the boulevard (Ventura Blvd) that made this a great little neighborhood in Hollywood’s backyard in the 70s & 80s; Party Peddler, a lá Popcorn, Brown Center Deli, La Fiesta, Tiempo Records, Eggshell restaurant, Fabs, Beas Bakery, Sambo’s & The Pantry Shelf etc It did open in 1974… The Leftons were indeed some of the same owners that owned the Pan Pacific on Beverly near what is now The Grove and the PepperTree, a second run multi screen in Northridge. Despite the best efforts of all those who invested so much it was allowed to spiral downhill like a runaway train until the smallest screen (theatre 6) had threadbare screen & curtains and I could hardly stand to see a movie there distracted by the disrepair. The lobby card collages & the sprint car video game as well as the smokey and the bandit pinball machines were soooo cool back in the day. It was loosing money before they did their deal with Mann’s…. And while MVW sued Pacific for keeping first-runs too long & destroying their business…. that really wasn’t it at all. Ventura was hopping in those days and you had to drive for miles to Sherman Oaks in one direction or Woodland Hills in the other. They just didn’t care anymore about the experience they gave the neighborhood so we stopped caring back… and it became HAUNTED!