I think this was the first theatre in the South Bay to have stadium seating. They had warning signs telling you to watch your step on the stairs leading down the aisles since the incline was steeper than a normal theatre. This was the best theatre in the south bay area, even better than the horrendous new AMC theatres in the Galleria (which used to be General Cinemas before the merger or whatnot). I think it opened in ‘89? The stadium seating was such that you were guaranteed a clear view of the screen, even if a ridiculously tall guy sat right in front of you. And that sound system was top notch for its time. I don’t know why this theatre shut down so quickly. I think Mann wasn’t in good shape financially and had to shut down a lot of their theatres. It was really nothing to look at from the ouside or the inside. It had some ugly pink and blue neon around the marquee out front. I guess it was eye-catching. There were also some weird pyramid shaped(?) skylights above the main lobby. I’m not sure if these are still there. Oh, and I remember one of the weirdest things about the theatre was that right in front of the theatre, right in front of the box office there was a driveway that connected one side of the big parking lot to the other, so people could drive right in front of the theatre. There were even a few parking spots right in front of the theatre along this road. A lot of kids would drive through this driveway with their loud stereos and their lowered cars, showing off to the people lined up to buy tickets. I always thought they were ridiculous. Also this contributed to the overall ugliness of the theatre, since it made the front of the theatre feel like the back alley behind a building. In fact, it sort of was the back alley, since the other side of the building had little shops that faced the parking lot to Del Amo mall. I’d be very curious to see if that theatre was actually supposed to be in that building, or if it was sort of shoehorned into that building because there was space left over. It was all very weird. But the theatre was awesome. Good times.
I think this was the first theatre in the South Bay to have stadium seating. They had warning signs telling you to watch your step on the stairs leading down the aisles since the incline was steeper than a normal theatre. This was the best theatre in the south bay area, even better than the horrendous new AMC theatres in the Galleria (which used to be General Cinemas before the merger or whatnot). I think it opened in ‘89? The stadium seating was such that you were guaranteed a clear view of the screen, even if a ridiculously tall guy sat right in front of you. And that sound system was top notch for its time. I don’t know why this theatre shut down so quickly. I think Mann wasn’t in good shape financially and had to shut down a lot of their theatres. It was really nothing to look at from the ouside or the inside. It had some ugly pink and blue neon around the marquee out front. I guess it was eye-catching. There were also some weird pyramid shaped(?) skylights above the main lobby. I’m not sure if these are still there. Oh, and I remember one of the weirdest things about the theatre was that right in front of the theatre, right in front of the box office there was a driveway that connected one side of the big parking lot to the other, so people could drive right in front of the theatre. There were even a few parking spots right in front of the theatre along this road. A lot of kids would drive through this driveway with their loud stereos and their lowered cars, showing off to the people lined up to buy tickets. I always thought they were ridiculous. Also this contributed to the overall ugliness of the theatre, since it made the front of the theatre feel like the back alley behind a building. In fact, it sort of was the back alley, since the other side of the building had little shops that faced the parking lot to Del Amo mall. I’d be very curious to see if that theatre was actually supposed to be in that building, or if it was sort of shoehorned into that building because there was space left over. It was all very weird. But the theatre was awesome. Good times.