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Sunday, March 29, 2009

Fox Theater, Westwood Village


Saturday I took my kids to see "Monsters vs Aliens" at the Fox Theater in Westwod (see my previous blog - below - for some thoughts on the film).



The Fox Village Theater (now owned by Mann, so it's also called the "Mann Village Theater") is located in Westwood Village, just a block away from UCLA. We were there around 11am and because it was still Spring Break, it was really quiet.


The Fox was built in 1930 and opened in 1931. I really wanted to find a way to climb to the top of that tower back when I was a student at UCLA. The tower, and the theater itself, remind me a lot of the old Fox Carthay Circle Theater, which I've only seen pictures of (located south of Wilshire and torn down in 1969).



My kids just before going in.




I took the rest of these photos after we saw the movie (and the audience left). It's really a unique and amazing theater!



The lobby - like everything is with this theater is massive - with some beautiful detail.



The drinking fountain. Beautiful tile work.



An amazing bass relief in the lobby. The gold-miner theme is again similar in many ways to the old Fox Carthy Circle Theater. I can't imagine this being green-lighted in a theater built today. But then again, The Fox Village is almost 80 years old.




The steps leading up to the balcony ... and bathrooms.



Amazing artwork.



OK, normally, I would never take a photograph in the men's room --- but I felt like I was in a time machine. These are the funkiest looking urinals I've ever seen.



Part of the men's room included a "waiting area" ... with old photos of the theater from over the years.



Back when it opened. Look at the car to the right.



The Fox is still used for major Hollywood premiers by the Studios.



The auditorium is just massive, seating 1341 people. It has to be one of the largest single screen theaters in Los Angeles. And it's in pristine condition! I would definitely recommend seeing a movie here.



Even the ceiling is impressive!



The Fox Village was built just two years after sound was introduced to motion pictures. Really incredible. Yet movies are based on one thing: stories.


Stories capture our imaginations, they move our heads and our hearts. They're incredibly influential. What do my kids want to hear when I tuck them in at night? A story.


As a Christian, I'm reminded that Jesus did much of His teaching in parables, stories. They were immediately remembered by His audience, and His opponents. To this day, the stories and parables Jesus told continue to influence hundreds of millions of men and women, in countries and cultures the world over.


A couple days ago I had the privilege of meeting over coffee with a young film maker whose upcoming film will be showing in the Cannes Film Festival. He's a Christian, committed to bringing his faith and his world-view into what he does. Fantastic, really. I wish him all the best.


The Fox was built when, aside from radio and print medium, movies were the only way of conveying story. Yet, despite advances in technology, that's what it all comes back to.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for compiling these wonderful pictures of Mann's Village Theater. I actually worked there back in the late 70's - actually met my husband there (although the marriage part didn't happen for many years after that). It's nice to walk down memory lane.

Anonymous said...

Great looking theater - glad it's been remodeled!

I think the other theater you mentioned is actually the Carthay, not the Carthy.

The Fox Carthay Circle Theater.

Keep up the good work.