Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 2/1/10 at 01:02 PM
The end of an era: Historic Fox Theatre in Inglewood for sale
Sarah Moore and Amanda Smith | 1-30-2010 | Comments |
[UPDATE] by Jonathan Kendrick: The Fox Theater auction date, originally set for February 5, has been pushed back 45 days by the marketing company contracted to sell the property. Benjamin Cherney, a leasing agent and senior advisor for Sperry Van Ness Accelerated Marketing Co., the firm hired by Fox Theater owner and former NFL linebacker Mark Fields to sell the building, said the decision was made to push the auction to March 22 in order to give prospective buyers more time to research the building and look into city zoning laws.
Cherney said there are currently five to ten possible buyers that are interested in the Fox Theater.
FULL STORY: By Sarah Moore and Amanda Smith
No one sits in the plush velvet seats. Instead of moviegoers lining up for a premiere, on a recent afternoon a lone leasing agent waited outside for a potential buyer.
The theater, which is owned by former NFL linebacker Mark Fields, is up for auction by Sperry Van Ness Accelerated Marketing Co. It will be sold to the highest bidder – with a minimum bid of $200,000 – on February 5, according to Dave Gilmore, a managing partner for Sperry Van Ness.
The building on Market Street, in the center of Inglewood’s formerly thriving downtown, is boarded up and has been vacant for more than 20 years. Out front, the marquis that used to glow with neon lights that spelled out “Fox” to draw in visitors is no longer visible. Inside, the once elegant ceiling is crumbling, leaving chunks of plaster on the dusty carpet. The odor of mildew fills the darkness, the projection equipment has been left to rust, and peeling paint hangs off the dingy walls. Empty film reels are stacked in corners.
Just as the paint is fading, so are memories of the theater’s history. Residents and fans argue over when, exactly, the Fox Theatre closed. Some say it was as early as 1983, while others claim that Spanish-language films were screened there until 1988. But everyone agrees that at some point in the 80s, the competition from multiplexes got to be too great.“People weren’t looking for quality anymore” in their movie-going environment, said Ted Gooding, former Los Angeles regional director of the Theatre Historical Society. “They were looking for convenience.”
When the single-screen Fox opened on March 31, 1949, its 1,000-plus seats were often full. According to a Los Angeles Times article published on March 21, 1949, the $400,000 theater was built to replace the Granada Theatre, which was destroyed in a fire. The Fox hosted the Marx Brothers, Marilyn Monroe and the Three Stooges and premiered many films of the era. “Mr. Belvedere Goes to College,” starring Clifton Webb and Shirley Temple, was the first film to grace the screen. Both actors appeared at the opening celebration, which featured a 60-piece Inglewood High School orchestra.
“This is an exceptional theater, one that we won’t see the likes of ever again,” said Hillsman Wright, executive director of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation, which is seeking to include the Fox in the National Register of Historic Places.
Architect Charles G. Moeller designed the theater using the Streamline Moderne and Art Deco styles often referred to as Hollywood Regency, which were popular in the 30s and 40s, said Gary Parks, the west region director of the Theatre Historical Society.
The glamor of the era is present in the lavishly vibrant orange curtains flanking the screen, gilded ornamentation on the walls and elaborate swirling designs adorning the ceiling.
It’s a time capsule from 1949,” said Wright, who said the theater’s carpeting and drapery are original, as is a concessions stand complete with an old-fashioned soda machine.
Friday’s auction has investors, preservationists, and city officials wondering about the future of the historic building, with financing being a key concern.
Preservationists such as Wright and Parks, who say a functioning space would benefit the community, would like to see the theater restored to its intended use. Doing so, they argue, would fill an entertainment void: where once Inglewood was home to many movie theaters, now there are none.
“Inglewood is trying to build new life after dark, and Market Street needs a little help,” Wright said. “I hope that the city would see the opportunity and marshal the necessary resources to save this exceptional theater.”
Gooding has his doubts. “People have the misguided notion that a theater can save a town, and that’s just not true,” he said.
Ben Cherney, the leasing agent for the Fox Theatre, said restoring the theater could require a lot of money, particularly because it entails removing asbestos. The theater building is approximately 12,000 square feet and sits on three lots, according to the Sperry Van Ness website.
“While preservationists have the best of intentions, they don’t always have the money,” Cherney said.
The cost may explain why Inglewood officials decided not to buy the Fox the last time it went on the market. Now, with the fate of the theater again uncertain, city leaders are considering their options.
“We could renovate it, but the issue becomes operation, and we can’t afford to operate it,” said Inglewood’s Redevelopment Manager Margarita Cruz, who also said the city is “considering the possibility of making a bid.”
Another potential bidder was also concerned with costs. “It has to be torn down and used for something else,” said Cy McGraph, a Los Angeles businessman who said he may be interested in using the lot for commercial or residential development. “It’s too expensive to restore as a theater. It can’t be done,”As for owner Mark Fields, he is ready to move on, according to Cherney. Fields purchased the property seven years ago with the intention of transforming it into a complex of condos anchored by a sports bar and parking garage, Cherney said. But the project never materialized. “He has money sitting there doing nothing,” Cherney said on Fields’ behalf. “It’s a cash drain and he wants to get his money and move on, a rip-the-Band Aid-off kind of approach.”
From a business standpoint, Gilmore said, the theater site is ripe for redevelopment, and restoring the theater to its former glory a dubious proposition. “It is a great historic site and it can have a lot to offer,” he said. “It will cost a lot of money in my opinion to make it what it could be. Fox is nice but there are many theaters in this country in the same state, they really are a dime a dozen type of thing.”
Gooding noted the absence of an advocate from the community willing to fight for the Fox. “All it takes is one dedicated person to be the sparkplug to save a theater,” Gooding said. “I do not know if Inglewood has that person.”
A week before the close of the auction, not a single bid had come in. But Gilmore said he was not concerned. “In all my years of running auctions, my experience is that everyone comes in on the last day,” he said.
In the meantime, the theater still stands, a reminder, Wright said, “of an inspirational space designed to take away your cares and open the imagination to whatever entertainment it might find.”
Josanta Gray and Meagan Medick contributed to this story.
Related videos: The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation presents a rare look inside a long-closed movie palace -- the Fox Theater in Inglewood, CA. Hillsman Wright provides the introduction.
Read more from the South Los Angeles Report on Inglewood's Fox TheatreWould you like to contribute added information to this report? Email us at southla@usc.edu or leave a comment below.
Tags: auction fox theatre inglewood mark fields sperry van ness
