AMC AVCO Center
10840 Wilshire Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90024
10840 Wilshire Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90024
24 people
favorited this theater
Showing 226 - 244 of 244 comments found
Some fleeting research says that Avco was initially some sort of aviation science/manufacturing concern (AV – aviation, CO – company, something like that) that broadened their reach into financial interests like insurance and credit, and then of course the decade or so they operated Avco Embassy Pictures and the radio/TV production bloc that included the mighty WLW in Cincinnati. The TV stations were sold to Multimedia, who also took over production of then-locally produced syndicated shows like PHIL DONAHUE, SALLY JESSY RAPHAEL and JERRY SPRINGER. The radio stations were spun off into a local company called Jacor, which of course now has become the ginormous Clear Channel company.
Urban legend has it that while they were essentially a hands-off corporate parent, Avco may have had a hand in the initial failure of the controversial political satire WINTER KILLS, since its plot involved the ever-popular “military-industrial complex” and Avco would have had fat government contracts for jet technology.
In the 1980s Westwood was the place to go see movies. Even for someone living, like myself, in the San Fernando Valley. The Avco supplemented the theaters in Westwood Village. It was a short walk down Wilshire Boulevard to the Avco from Westwood Village but it still always managed to be busy. I remember seeing “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” in 1988 at the Avco and it was extremely crowded. The line for the film stretched down Wilshire Boulevard. However by the 1990s the massive crowds that had flocked to Westwood for the movies had gone elsewhere.
Do any pictures exist of the Avco’s big screen before it was split?
In the 1960s and 70s, AVCO owned Cincinnati’s WLW radio and a regional network of Ohio and Indiana TV stations, all of whose call letters began with WLW.
The AVCO Company (I used to know what AVCO meant, but I have forgotten) was some kind of conglomerate and owned that finance company, among other things. Around the late 60s they bought Embassy Pictures, so there was a loose connection between the name of the property and the film operation.
For John, did you manage the theatre when the first three ‘Star Wars’ films played?
I was an assistant manager of the Avco Center Cinemas in Westwood when it opened in May of 1972. I was promoted from Assistant Manager of the Crest in Westwood. Our opening attractions were “PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM” from Paramount, the Shirley MacLaine film THE POSSESSION OF JOEL DELANEY from Paramount and ARUZA from Avco Embassy – film on the life of bullfighter Aruza. Soon after opening, our first change was BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE with Goldie Hawn. Our seating capacities were #1 at 1124, #2 at 424 and #3 at 714. I have many great memories and many many stories to tell from my days at the Avco.
It was named the AVCO Not because of AVCO Embassy films but because it shared the same area with AVCO Finance, which is now something else.
General Cinema ruined the Theatre when they split the Largest theatre into 2 smaller screens. The AVCO was on of L.A. Countys prime theatres. They should many exclusive films like most theatres in Westwood did in the 1970’s. It was a very well designed theatre for its time and along with the Village, Bruin, and National were the most popular theatres in Westwood.
I haven’t been to the Avco in many years. Sorry to hear the main auditorium was split up. I saw “Return of the Jedi” in ‘83, when they ran the very first THX trailer. The interior layout of this place was always a liitle confusing. They would line people up and let them in via the side doors or something. You went down these halls and climbed stairs (or downstairs, don’t remember) but in a large crowd I always felt in danger of getting lost in there! They always put on a great show, though! “Die Hard” and “The Abyss” were state of the art presentation.
During that time they needed an extra screen to remain profitable in that market of Westwood.
The screen split is very noticeable – just a wall down the centre of auditoriums 1 and 2…
GCC had two other theatres that could be called Prestigious, they were the Paramount Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. & the Beverly Theatre on Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills. Both theatres were bought when Loew’s Theatres moved out of the California market.
The Avco was GCC’s west coast flagship in the 70s – when it was mentioned in internal company memoranda in regards to a premiere or other noteworthy events it was always referred to as “Our Prestigious Avco Center Cinema”.
Any possible way all the Westwood theatres (Bruin, Village, National, Crest) can be re-classified as actually being in Westwood, not Los Angeles?
The Avco Center Cinemas also initially played films from Avco Embassy pictures.
The Avco opened in 1972, not in the 1960s. It initially played films from Paramount. Then in the 80s, it primarily played films from Universal, which it still does today.
The Avco Center Cinemas started out as a tri-plex theatre, not a twin. The main theatre was twinned in the mid 90’s. The main theatre used to be as wide as the Mann’s National Theatre but with a smaller screen and lower ceiling. The main theatre at the Avco was the first THX certified theatre in Los Angeles for the opening of “The Return of the Jedi”. The Avco Theatre opened all three of the original “Star Wars” features. When the Avco Theatre opened it was a two man booth, one projectionist ran the main theatre and the other ran the twin upstairs. Before the theatre was plexed into 4 screens, the three screens were all equipped with 70MM Dolby Stereo. The Avco Theatres were a major theatre that ran alot of Hollywood premieres. I worked the Avco Center Cinemas many time as a projectionist, during the early 90’s.
The Avco has been a fixture since the 1960’s in Westwood. It currently is a 4plex, but I beleive started as a twin, then both auditoriums split. It was built by General Cinemas, and remained so until AMC Took it over when it bought GCC.