Aero Theatre

The Aero has been showing movies since the mid 40's, when it was built for Donald Douglas. The Aero is located on Montana and 14th Street, on the north side of Santa Monica. On the south side of Santa Monica, Douglas had a large aircraft factory. The Aero's style is a little Art Deco. It seats between 500 to 600 people. In the late 90's, Robert Redford's Sundance Company and General Cinemas was going to start a new theatre chain for Independent films . The Aero was going to be part of this chain, along with a plex in Pasadena. But General Cinema going into bankruptcy and AMC going to but GCC. The plans for Sundance Theatres are on hold. For now the Aero is one of those great little neighborhood houses, we all grew up with in many cities in America. Remember to support the neighborhood house, they are just as rare, as the big palaces.

The Aero has been featured in many Hollywood movies as that small neighborhood house. You can see the marquee and some of the theatre in the Independent film "Donnie Darko"

When Montana Avenue was five gas stations and a Piece O' Pizza in the late '70s/early '80s, the Aero was a very second-run theatre with rock bottom prices. I grew up a few blocks away, and I've seen countless movies there. Now that the people of the neighborhood have changed, it is a different place (the prices are slightly lower than the rest of the screens in LA, but not by much, and the movies are a lot closer to first-run than they ever were). I'm glad that it was saved, I was always sure that it was about to be torn down. I am sad that our old house was razed for a 2 million dollar mansion, but I am glad that the Aero remains.

John Travolta and Rene Russo are seen exiting this theater in a scene in "Get Shorty".

After closing in mid-April, this theater will be renovated, restored, and reopened by the American Cinematheque.

Hi, I am doing a written and visual history on the Aero. If anyone has stories or pictures to share, I would greatly like to hear from you. This is a personal project that has blown up. I am a UC student and would love to get information. fab@umail.ucsb.edu P.S. my grandpa used to work for Douglas after WWII

According to the current issue of Los Angeles magazine, the Aero's reopening as a branch of the American Cinematheque may occur as soon as this month.

The Aero was such a great theatre until the Northridge earthquake, and they did renovations, putting in new seats that were so awful - They were too small and extremely uncomfortable... especially for a double-bill. I used to check their listings first and after they messed it up I rarely went... and I noticed I never saw it full anymore. I'm happy it's being rejuvenated and looking forward to it.

The architect of the Aero Theatre was P.M. Woolpert.

I just received the December/January schedule for the American Cinematheque and they have their first film. "In Good Company," scheduled at the Aero Theater for January 6, 2005.

LA is getting a second Cinematheque and NY has none. What a great thing to do with the Gramercy.

When I was a kid, my father took me to the Aero to see his favorite actress Ingrid Bergman. Lucky for me he was mistaken. It turned out to be an Inmar Bergman film, "The Magician". It was a double bill. I got to see "Seven Samurai". But "The Magician" was too dark a tale for my father. He made us walk out on it. I went to see "The Magician" at the Nuart theatre in Santa Monica later on when I was a teenager. It is one of my favorite movies.

There's a Ray Harryhausen tribute here on January 16, 2005.

Oh, and http://www.americancinematheque.com/pressreleases/2003/aero52003.htm

As a child I went to many Saturday morning movies including the Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, news reels and much more. We were even given a piece of bubble gum as we left the theatre ! My father (and myself) also worked at Douglas. What wonderful times and fun we had at the Aero Theatre and so glad the theatre has been restored.

This is great news! Looking at their initial calendar with its daily changes, it almost seems like the second coming of the Fox Venice or the original Nuart.

One question - why will it be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays?

One of the coming programs is 70mm shorts so I assume the theater is now equipped for the format. It also says the program is "eye-pooping"! LOL.

This theater's name sounds "streamlined" or Googie-esqe, but the theater is not streamlined at all!

Is Googie an actual type of architecture?

I guess it's not. I'M BACK!!!!

Googie styled architecture is loosely sort of space age, 1950's to early 1960's from what I can gather.

Couple photos of the Aero Theatre.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/Chuck1231/California%20Theatres/AeroTheatre1328MontanaAve.jpg
Box Office & Entrance.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/Chuck1231/California%20Theatres/AeroTheatreBoxOfficeEntranceSantaMo.jpg

Googie is a type of architecture, primarily from the 1950s, that is typically related to coffee shops such as Pann's in La Tijera and some of the old Ship's restaurants when they were still around. The term evokes memories of angled ceilings and stainless steel that was considered "modern" in the fifties.

This is a night view of the Aero Theater.

Thanks, guys! I go googoo for Googie!

Santa Monica was a wonderful town to grow up in. My father was born there too in 1913. The neighborhood kids would all troop down to the Aero on Saturday and see a feature movie and a Buck Rogers or a Hopalong Cassidy serial as well as oodles of newsreels all for 10 cents. Wonderful memories..............

My mother owned a school on montana between 9th & 10th Street "Happy Hour Day Care"For 35cents I could see a good movie with two cartoons. Lobo,living desert, swiss family Robinson. I am so glad its been restored.

I love this theatre-- i recently saw Donnie Darko and this theatre was used in that as well (the characters are watching Evil Dead).

According to the adverts in Evening Outlook, when the Aero opened they ran films continuous from 2pm on Saturday & Sunday. On weekdays the house opened at 6:30pm. This was Jan. 10, 1940.
So I'm not sure when they switched over to 24 hour screenings, but I would guess it would be after Pearl Harbor was bombed.

For folks interested in the wonderful world of googie, check out www.spaceagecity.com, or just google "googie".

It's all about the NuWilshire!

I first went to this joint during the 2007 Holiday season. I must say, I do love this place! American Cinematheque's doing a helluva job with it!

Here is a 1960 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/6cmojd

okay, someone has to report back here and their impressions on the upcoming 70mm presentations of THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES (May 29), and PATTON (May 30) and STAR! (May 31)

I was planning on going to see either Patton or Khartoum this weekend, but have some last minute family events which may get in the way. If I can break away and attend, I'll post a report. Regardless, I've seen 70 mm before at this theatre, and they put on a great show. They are also well attended: last time I saw Baraka at the Aero it was a sell-out.

JSA

Here's a night shot from June 18th:
http://tinyurl.com/5xr93g

Is this the same AERO theatre shown in the movie DONNIE DARKO?

Twistr54, yes.

"This theater's name sounds "streamlined" or Googie-esqe, but the theater is not streamlined at all!"

To address an ancient issue, you're confusing two types of architecture: Streamline Moderne and Googie. Streamline Moderne started in the 1930s, and took its inspiration from the shapes of aeroplanes, locomotives and ocean liners. The Academy Theater of Inglewood is a classic example of the Streamline Moderne style -- smooth, flowing shapes and free of Art Deco's obsessive details.

Googie comes from the 50s and is most typically associated with coffee shops, car washes, and fast food. It involves elements such as upswept roofs, sharp angles, large plate glass windows, exposed steel beams and flagcrete walls. See the Wich Stand in Ladera Heights in comparison to the Academy Theater. Very different.

Yes, the Aero building is not very streamlined. But the place was built for Douglass Aircraft Factory employees, and that's where the name comes in, not from representing any particular style.

Pann's Restaurant in Los Angeles is a good example of Googie architecture.
http://tinyurl.com/9ty7ms

Here is a promotional article from a company that makes theater speakers:
http://tinyurl.com/27hefr

This is a 2009 photo.

Above Photo courtesy of Kyle McCarthy

1981 Photo

1982 Photo