Grande 4-Plex

It looks like time is running out for this theater. Greg Laemmle was interviewed in the LA Times today and said the theater was on a month to month lease. There are plans to open a megaplex by the Staples Center in the next few years as part of a large scale entertainment complex. This theater will be long gone by then.

Still open over a year later, but it could go anytime. Architecture wise, it's totally undistinguished and built in the 1970's.

The new multiplex (large number of screens, maybe 12-14) at L.A. Live will open in about two years. Could they be keeping the Grande going until then?

I hope so, because IT'S THE ONLY MOVIE THEATRE SHOWING MOVIES IN ALL OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES!

Yes, I'm yelling about that. That just STINKS. Come on, somebody, open up at least ONE of the movie theatres on Broadway!

The problem with opening up one of those Broadway theatre to run movies is getting people to go to it at normal hours. The larger theatres run nearly empty during the day. I ran many of the theatres during their last years from the booth. During that time most of the patrons were near homeless and stayed all day in the theatres. The last time the Millon Dollar reopened after being a church for a few years was a disaster, there was 10-20 people a show. That type of business really does not pay the bills. That was even with first run movies, the rental of the film plus operating cost with the theatre make it a no win business. Metropolitan theatres ran all of the theatres in mainly during their last decades as theatres. They started closing theatres one by one when the business started drying up. At one point each theatre had a projectionist in the booth, then they teamed theatres up (so one operator ran two to three theatres). Then they had management running the booths part of the time. The Orpheum and Los Angeles and Palace theatres do run special event type programs from time to time. Most of the times people do not venture on to Broadway at night like New York.

The only time suburbanites travel en masse to DTLA for movies is during the Last Remaining Seats program in June. Even with the gerntrification of Skid Row, I don't think there's enough of a market to support an everyday theater. Perhaps the Staples development will change things.

In general, how common are these theaters in hotels?

Just returned from Las Vegas where a few hotels such as Bills a/k/a The Barbary Coast and The Palms have theaters.

Frankly, I don't know how this theater stayed open even this long. I believe it opened in about 1984 as I saw "Racing with the Moon" staring Nicholas Cage and Sean Penn in their early salad days. The 4 theaters are basically box like with no slant or rake and I've never seen more than a hand full of people there at any given time. We used to see big Friday opening night films there for the simple reason that we knew that the place would be empty and there would be plenty of seats. Having worked in downtown LA for 30 years the city rolls up it's sidewalks and the place is a ghostown after the commuters have all gone home to suburbia. With all the lofts being build in downtown and a Ralph's supermarket opening on 9th street, maybe this place can survive.

It's hard to see the theater when you're walking down Figueroa. The entrance is downstairs, and there is a lot of shrubbery obscuring the entrances. I suppose it's more visible if you're staying in the hotel. I'm surprised that this dismal place is still open a year and a half after my original posting.

Still hanging on.

The Regal Cinemas at L.A. Live won't be open until 2009, so this might keep going until then.

William, I know that's how the theaters on Broadway were running: on fumes. I even went to movies there at the end, in the mid 1990's. Probably 20-30 times. All I'm asking for is ONE theatre to open up.

I think we might need a non-profit operator like the American Cinematheque to come in and run one of the theaters. But one thing is for sure: downtown's population IS growing and most of the new arrivals do have disposable income to go see a movie. I guess we'll see how popular the ImaginAsian Center is. If they start making money, maybe small single screen art house cinemas, or a calendar house could be profitable. I intend to patronize that place, at least part of the time.

They talked about the downtown's population and the theatres in a PBS show "Visiting..." back in 1994. This was back when the Orpheum, Palace, The State were still running movies on a daily basis. I remember looking out of the booth ports and seeing hundreds of people watching the movies at one time. And then later seeing only less than 10 people in a 2000 seat house. Metropolitan Theatres could only run them for so long before they became unprofitable. When leases started to come up for renewal they let them go. I'm not saying it can't happen again, but the theatre would have tobe a live performing arts type of houses. It takes alot of money to keep large size theatres maintained. With the Orpheum Theatres doing all those many types of specials and shows it shows that the theatre can draw people to downtown. I that PBS show it talked about at one time a major studio was interested in doing something with one of the theatres.

Still showing first run films. Amazing. Must be hotel guests only.

Here's my yearly update on this theater as my last visit was a year ago. The place is still open and went to see the new Bond movie. Sunday evening showing and the place had about 20 people in it - not bad! Place still needs alot of work, though the staff are very friendly. Bathrooms are worn out but clean. Tile needs to be completely replaced. The projection is still bright, but there was a hum through the film that would come and go. Absolutely no asthetics in this theater. Still a great place to see a first run film without the crowds. I did see a "Available for Lease" sign out front but did not get a chance to ask any of the staff if this applied to the theater space. Still wondering if this place will remain open when the LA Live theaters open early next year. I hope so. In a way this little place has soul and is a little secret in downtown Los Angeles. Lammelle did pull out of their lease at the "Colorado One" theater in Old Town Pasadena. Now they only have the "Playhouse 7" complex open which does great business. So, I am rooting for this place to stay open as long as it can

Thanks for the annual update.

The Laemmle Grande 4-Plex was designed by architect Thomas Berkes, whose Woodland Hills-based firm has been designing movie theaters in California since the 1980s. Here's a partial list of their theater projects. The Grande is listed as having 800 seats.

Saw Star Trek the other night. Maybe 6 people for 7 pm weeknight showing. Can't beat the price, including easy freeway access, validated covered parking across the street and student discounts with id. Hope it can survive the 14 screens and 3800 seats Regal multiplx at LA Live when they open later this year.

Here are some photos from last weekend. The box office is down in the hole:
http://tinyurl.com/kwctez
http://tinyurl.com/knpdcx

According to this article, the Grande 4 will soon close:
http://la.metblogs.com/2009/09/30/does-a-theater-closing-alone-in-downtown-make-any-sound/

Sad, sad, sad. Bummer about it finally closing. Knew it was going to happen for quite some time, but thought maybe it could hold on even with the ugly Regal 14 theaters opening soon. I won't be giving my money to the Regal - I hate these supermarket theater establishments and the cel phone people are rude as can be. Loved the Laemmle Grande. Was there when it opened in 1984 and saw "Carmen" and many, many other films during it's 25 years of operation. I'll hate to see it go. I'll be by one last time to say good-bye before they close their doors. God speed.

Closing is tomorrow:
http://tinyurl.com/ylfv2d5

Good-Bye Grande 4-Plex and thanks for 25 years of memories.

I guess it's time to change the status above to closed now.

I saw "Titanic" at the Grande 4-Plex. It wasn't the most memorable theater but it served a purpose for a while that no other did; to bring first-run films to downtown Los Angeles.