Kirk Douglas Theatre
9820 Washington Boulevard,
Culver City,
CA
90232
9820 Washington Boulevard,
Culver City,
CA
90232
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Reopened with three screens on January 14th, 1976. Grand opening ad posted.
This theatre(then called CulverTheatre) was seen briefly(up the street from the Freeway Angels building) in an episode of Chips(season 6, episode 11 – Day of the robot).
This theatre was seen in an episode of Baywatch Nights(season 2 – episode 12, Possessed).
New photos added, taken November 1995.
Very nice 1947 photo ken mc.
Here is a 1947 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ksxo37
Here is a January 1950 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/qzmg5h
Here are additional photos from 1982 and 1983:
http://tinyurl.com/p7gnq7
http://tinyurl.com/qba8ls
http://tinyurl.com/r96m8w
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/c62ajk
New home for the “Culver” script:
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Photo of the gutted lobby from CinemaTour:
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Several photos, interior and exterior:
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http://www.gaytino.com/schedule.php
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No, not 1994, thats when it was gutted internally. The Culver Theatre (3 screens) closed in 1989 and then stood empty and unusued.
When I was a young teen in the late 70s, early 80s I would attend the “double bills” with my dad at this theater. They would show a lot of exploitation and second rate features. Lots of Charles Bronson and Cannon movies. I saw some pretty terrible movies here like “Gas” and “Cabo Blanco” — films that lasted about a week. As I recall two of the auditoriums were horrible but one was fairly good — for some reason I rarely saw films in the good auditorium. So it lasted til ‘94?
I photographed the Kirk Douglas Theatre in January 2005, soon after it opened. This is a night-time view with all the neon fully operational (the letters C U L V E R flash, so I had several attempts at photographing them all lit together):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/368517965/
Regarding the Culver script above: Julie Cerra, Culver City Historian, stated that after removal, the script was documented and put into storage.
Thanks, William.
I wonder who got the two signs?
Maybe Kirk!
Yes, They were part of the original neon marquee from 1947. Well the theatre is now known as the Kirk Douglas Theatre.
Were the two script ‘Culver’ signs above the entry original?
Since lots of the Culver City graphics are based on that script it’s weird that the sign disappered in the remodel.
“The total seating capacity is 320…Â The Kirk Douglas Theatre will also house a 1,500-square-foot space which will be used as a classroom for a series of special programs for children, and as a room for workshops and rehearsals…"
—from the Taper Ahmanson link above
That’s how you lose 800+ seats.
Aren’t 9820 and 9899 on opposite sides of the street?
Egotism?
How exactly was the seating capacity reduced from 1160 to 300?
Only marginally more attractive than the new Ricardo Montalban Theatre. Nice neon at night on the Culver, though.
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