Academy Theater
3141 West Manchester Boulevard,
Inglewood,
CA
90305
3141 West Manchester Boulevard,
Inglewood,
CA
90305
19 people
favorited this theater
Opened on November 7, 1939 and designed by architect S. Charles Lee, the Academy Theater, a classic Art Moderne style structure, was originally designed to house the Academy Awards.
Sadly, however, the Academy Theater never did host the ‘Oscars’, but it was often the location of film premieres and served as a major suburban theater for the Fox West Coast Theatres chain.
The Academy Theater continued to show movies until 1976, when it became a church.
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Recent comments (view all 72 comments)
Thanks to all who came and to the wonderful hosts at the Academy. The church, which has owned the building since 1975 has kept the building on wonderful condition.
You can see photos on the Los Angeles Historical Theatre Foundation FaceBook Page!
Since I did not take the tour, the church operator was nice enough to let me inside for a look at the interior. Note that the woman in the etching is holding an Oscar. The churcj operator said it was not copyrighted, as that kind of art would not pass unnoticed by the AMPAS today. On the bottom right corner of the etching it says S. Charles Lee architect.
http://tinyurl.com/yaoezx8
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Close up of the Oscar:
http://tinyurl.com/yek2f6h
Well, Ken, we told you they were nice people! The etched glass is very tough to photograph during the day because it faces the front entrance and the greenish neon lighting it up from behind can’t compete with the daylight.
I couldn’t get the script at the bottom of the etching at all. I took some interior photos but my bb failed me, so I didn’t post those.
Nice photo here:
http://tinyurl.com/yc3427q
That’s nice, Ken. I’ve seen the tower lit up, but not the marquee. Very colorful.
My husband and I visited the Academy yesterday. A member of the church saw us taking pictures and introduced himself, we talked for a while about the Academy and Inglewood’s other churches. Such a pleasant encounter.
I had wanted to visit the Academy for a long, long time, and was so impressed with it. (photos to come)
A photo I took of the Academy on 4-16-11:
View link
I changed the marquee at the Academy Theatre in the early 70’s. One title I misspelled late at night that caused the manager to phone me to come pack and correct was for a movie called “The Public Eye.” I innocently spelled the second word and put “The Pubic Eye.” My uncle, Arlo Nalder, was part owner of the Yum Burger across the street. As a child, I remember seeing a movie I didn’t understand there called “A Letter to Three Wives.” I saw the movie recently and remembered sitting in the Academy trying find some meaning to all the talk about love and marriage…