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Campaign to Save Reseda Theater Launches
posted by
Kirbmeister
on
June 3, 2004 at 8:21 am
RESEDA, CA — The Reseda Theater was built in 1948 by architect S. Charles Lee and is an excellent example of Art Deco and Moderne that characterizes Southern California.
However, the theater has been neglected for several years and is currently boarded up. The facade is still intact and the marquee features a beautiful (unlit) neon sign greeting motorists as they drive down Sherman Way.
I am a board member of the San Fernando Valley and am launching a campaign to preserve this historic theater. Any help whatsover, be it advice, news of events, or even tax-deductible contributions would be very appreciated.
Thanks,
Kirby Pringle
Comments (4)
I wish to encourage you in your endeavor! When we purchased the Port Theatre in August of 1995, it had been boarded up for nearly 30 years, and was a real eyesore. However, it was a solid building, and with ALOT of work became a usable building with extreme character! Those several years of neglect leave their toll, but you can reverse the process, make a building come back to life. It is well worth the effort. In our case, we put the building to use in a way that helped to pay the bills of continuing to restore it, but eventually we hope to see the building used again for performing arts. One thing I would suggest, you might wish to reach out to find folks who knew the building from the beginning. In our case, we heard lots of stories, but never could get any photos of the inside, as it was. Time passes, and that makes it harder to obtain old photos and the stories that go along with them. Good luck! Feel free to email me anytime regarding your project. If nothing else, I can encourage you to keep at it!
Here is a short article I wrote that may be of some help: http://www.cinematour.com/article.php?id=3
I have lived in the San Fernando most of my life and would love to see this theater preserved. Are there any idea for saving it?
You might want to exchange notes with the person heading up the restoration effort at the Westlake Theatre in Los Angeles.
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