Since 1926, the Westlake Theatre has loomed over MacArthur Park as one of the city’s ultimate relics from Old Hollywood. The century-old movie palace closed in 1991, and while it’s still used as a swap meet at street level, the ornate auditorium has been mostly off-limits to the public for 35 years.
Now, local nonprofit Strindberg Laboratory is pushing an ambitious plan to buy and revive the space as a community arts and civic hub.
A glamorous neighborhood palace
The Westlake Theatre was built in a Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival style with ornate details, floral patterns, and murals. After its opening in 1926, the theater presented both motion pictures and vaudeville shows, with additional Art Deco elements and paving added in the 1930s.
Metropolitan Theatres Corp. bought the building in the 1960s, screening Spanish-language and Spanish-subtitled movies for several decades and anchoring the community’s immigrant and working-class district.
In 1991, the auditorium officially shuttered, and the interior fell into disrepair, even as storefronts and an indoor swap meet have kept part of the building active ever since.
A potential revival
The theater has changed hands several times over the last few decades with no real progress made to restore it to its former glory… except, perhaps, until now.
Nonprofit theater company Strindberg Laboratory is now leading a major effort to buy and reopen the theater with a new community vision.
Last week, the organization posted pictures of the theater on Instagram, writing, “A group of community members and nonprofit organizations recently toured the Westlake theater in MacArthur park. We are hoping to purchase the building and turn the building into a cultural and public space to uplift and transform the area. Join us in this endeavor!”
According to The LA Local, this would consist of a $6-to-$8 million venture to purchase and restore the theater, with the eventual goal of hosting live performances, film screenings, neighborhood meetings, and office spaces. Plans would also include the businesses already operating inside the building as part of the swap meet.
Strindburg Laboratory founder Michael Bierman told The LA Local that next steps involve forming a committee, securing partners and financing, and ideally purchasing the theater by this winter. Restoration would then likely take several years.
The Westlake Theatre is part of a handful of historic L.A. cinemas getting a second act. In Glendale, the nearly century-old Alex Theatre reopened to briefly screen Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey in 70mm after a major projection upgrade, returning the venue to its film roots. And in Highland Park, Kristen Stewart recently bought the 100-year-old Highland Theatre with plans to restore it as a community-centered home for adventurous cinema.
If these projects succeed, Angelenos could see not just the Westlake, but a broader lineup of L.A.’s Golden Age theaters coming back to life.
