The Star Theatre

Oceanside's Star Theatre, built in 1956, is celebrating the competition of restoration of its magnificent marquee, the largest and oldest operating neon sign in all of San Diego County. A sign dedication ceremony will take place this coming weekend.

In February 2012 I shared some photographs of the Star aside this caption:
"Located on Pacific Coast Highway in Oceanside, CA, the Star opened in 1956 and has maintained more or less in one variation or another -- church, movie house, Pussycat theatre, live venue -- since. It's a cute corner theatre which originally held just under 1,000 patrons. In the late 1990s the theatre was vacant, I remember passing by it countless times on my Vespa journeys from San Diego to Orange County and back, the bright yellow marquee [dark and] blank, until one day it wasn't anymore (if memory serves, I believe a Van Halen tribute band was passing through town and was going to rock the Star). The stars and the marquee are wonderfully colorful and stand out amongst the other buildings in downtown Oceanside." (Please click here to see those original photographs.)

In anticipation of the restoration of the Star's marquee, and in excitement for the new life that has been brought to the theatre via the Star Theatre Company, here's a look back at a 2012 photograph of the Star that I took with my Brownie Hawkeye camera. I am looking forward to visiting it again soon to see those stars shining brightly.

© Monika Seitz Vega, 2012

Theatres by Diana

In the fall of 2009 I shot the following photographs with my Diana F+ toy camera. The ultimate in low-fi unpredictability, it's always interesting see how the photos will turn out. Here are the results, straight out of the camera... light leaks and all.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, CA. © Monika Seitz Vega, 2009.

Fox Theatre, Pomona, CA. © Monika Seitz Vega, 2009.

Fox Theatre, Pomona, CA. © Monika Seitz Vega, 2009.

Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA. © Monika Seitz Vega, 2009.

Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, CA. © Monika Seitz Vega, 2009.

Vogue Theatre, Hollywood, CA. © Monika Seitz Vega, 2009.

Theatres of 2012 - Part 1

I'll admit it, I am ridiculously behind in my yearly theatre retrospective. It's not that I haven't been shooting (I have), or I'm not interested in my theatre project anymore (I am), it's just that things get shuffled around sometimes and unfortunately the theatres of 2012 have been relegated to the back burner. I'm committed to complete last years' entries before the end of this year, so let's get started with the first four theatres now.

Fox La Brea Theatre, January 2012 © Monika Seitz Vega

The Fox La Brea Theatre sits precariously at the corner of La Brea and West 8th Street in Los Angeles. The La Brea opened in 1926 and closed in the 1950s. Despite a brief run in the 1960s as an art house, and then in the early 1970s as a Japanese theatre, the La Brea ceased operation as a theatre in 1974. It is currently in use as a Korean church.

Bay Theatre, February 2012 © Monika Seitz Vega

The Bay Theatre in National City, CA opened in 1944. It was designed by renowned cinema architect S. Charles Lee, who designed such theatres as Inglewood's Fox and Academy (both of which are still standing) and my favorite movie house ever, San Diego's Ken Cinema. Just like the La Brea, the Bay ended its run as a theatre and housed a church for many years. Unfortunately, the Bay now sits vacant, awaiting its next incarnation.

El Rey Theater, January 2012, © Monika Seitz Vega

Los Angeles' El Rey Theater opened as a cinema in 1936. After many successful years on Wilshire Blvd., the theater was converted in 1994 to a live performance venue and continues to be one of the best small venues in the city. In 1991, the El Rey was given status as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument for the Wilshire District, joining another gem of a theatre, the Wiltern.

Del Mar Theatre, January 2012 © Monika Seitz Vega

I couldn't get through a theatre post without profiling one killed by the 1980s, could I? The Del Mar opened on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles in April of 1936. Out of business in the eighties thanks to multiplexes/home movies/etc., the Del Mar had a short run as a church before the auditorium was gutted and leveled for retail. The silver lining to the Del Mar's cloud is that Puget Sound, Inc., a group that does post-production audio work for movies, took over the theatre in the early 2000s and restored the facade with help from the Pico Revitalization Project. The Del Mar's beautiful neon shines nightly, a wonderful tribute to its days of being a neighborhood movie house.

There's more to come, and soon. In the meantime, check out the theatres of 2011 retrospective.

Theatres of 2011 - Part 6

According to my incredibly scientific calculations, it looks as if there are 7 theatres remaining in the recap of theatres I visited and photographed in 2011. Honestly, I am pretty ready to be done with these posts as I am eager to move on to something else, so I am going to do my best to consolidate the remaining 7 into this and one additional post. 

#11 of '11 is the aptly titled Unique Theatre in East Los Angeles. I had wanted to visit the Unique for quite a while after seeing a Flickr friend's photograph of it in all its glory. For as often as I take the 60 into downtown, it wasn't tough to hop off a couple exits early to experience the Unique. Like most locations, time of day -- as well as time of year -- is critical when trying to get the best photograph. This early May trip to East LA made for a series of photographs starring a (some would say rare, but not me!) blue sky and white clouds in exchange for vibrant colors and detail. The 1920s Unique has been a dollar store for some time, but from what I can see and have heard, many of its features have been preserved (by "preserved" I mean "not completely obliterated", which is a lot to ask, apparently). The fact that the (horribly ugly) "Unique Dollar" sign is on a board in front of the original gives me hope that there's something amazing underneath. 

Unique Theatre, Los Angeles, CA © Monika Seitz Vega, 8 May 2011 

Unfortunately the sun to cloud ratio wasn't balanced enough that day to get good detail on the blade sign. Here's another image from down the street/around the corner of some rough looking neon signs. Revisiting these today, I  realize I need to get off at Gage more often. The Unique is on East First, just north of the 60 freeway, in a pretty interesting old neighborhood.

© Monika Seitz Vega, 8 May 2011

Theatres 12 and 13 are a trip back to Part 2 of this series of posts, Inglewood, CA. I can't say it enough.... I love Inglewood. I plan on a future post focusing on my non-theatre images of Inglewood, of which there are many.

The Academy, located at 3141 West Manchester, opened in the fall of 1939. The theatre was originally designed by renowned architect S. Charles Lee to be the home of the annual Academy Awards ceremony, which unfortunately never happened. Movies were premiered and exhibited at the Academy until 1976, when it (you guessed it!) became a church. It is a lovely location, and well taken care of by pastor Hart and his congregation. I was told that the tower is illuminated only occasionally, what I wouldn't do to be nearby on one of those occasions.

Academy Theatre, Inglewood, CA © Monika Seitz Vega 17 April 2011 

Less dynamic in history and aesthetics is downtown Inglewood's Ritz Theatre. Though it was built in the 1930s, like the Academy, it is rather non-descript and not the kind of place I get particularly excited about. It was a cinema, then a church, and now it's vacant. The end?

Ritz Theatre, Inglewood, CA © Monika Seitz Vega 17 April 2011 

Theatres of 2011 - Part 1

I love movie houses. Each year since 2008 I've made it a point to visit and photograph as many theatres within the year as my travels will allow. Over the next several posts I'll be sharing my photographs and stories of the 17 different theatres I visited for the first time during 2011, two at a time, beginning today with the Union and the Warner Huntington Park. 

The Union Theatre is located at 1122 West 24th Street in the West Adams district of Los Angeles, near Exposition Park. It dates back to the 1920s. Over the years the single-screen Union has been a movie house, theatrical venue, church, and meeting hall. Since 2005, the theatre has been the home of the Velaslavasay Panorama. It is a darling little theatre, and a definite throwback to the days of neighborhood movie houses.

Union Theatre, 17 November 2011 © Monika Seitz Vega

The art deco Warner Theatre in Huntington Park, which sits at 6714 Pacific Blvd., was built in 1930. It exhibited films until the 1980s, when many of the old single screen giants were compromised by the megaplex generation. These days, Pacific Blvd. is a pedestrian-heavy street filled with a mix of discount stores and chain shops. The Warner was designated as a California Historical Landmark in 2007 and remains in good condition, despite being twinned during its management by Pacific Theatres in the 1980s. The troubled economy of the last few years has put Huntington Park's plans to renovate the Warner on hold.

Warner Theatre, 2011 © Monika Seitz Vega

In store for next time.... Two from Inglewood, CA -- the 5th Ave. and the Fox Inglewood.

If you're interested, previous years' collections are on view via Flickr:

2010 Theatre Retrospective

2009 Theatre Retospective

2008 Theatre Retrospective