National Theatre

Mark Campbell: Thanks! That’s a great link: http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=2134 to a terrific collection of photos.

One odd photo in that collection caught my eye- the Evacuation Plan, of all things! View link
Were there really no emergency fire exits towards the front of the auditorium?? So that the only way out of the auditorium for potentially 1112 people would have been towards the rear through the basically two entrance-ways?

I know nothing about Los Angeles fire codes, but that seems dicey for 1112 people.
(I guess I’m just used to seeing illuminated exit signs to the left and/or right of screens now-a-days.)

Very well put BobT. It is that magic you speak of that seems to be missing in everyones life these days. My father, a projectionist for 55 years, before moving on to that movie palace in heaven always told me how I missed out on another great treasure, the Roxy, in New York City. And like you, I have seen many a great treasure from my youth fall to the wrecking ball. And yes, even as we speak here, our beloved Shea Stadium, home to those loveable Mets, will see the same fate in less than a year. How sad, how sad in deed.

Lets not forget the why we loved it:
That great auditorium!

http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=2134

just think thats what that corner looked like in 1969 and before, minus a few modern surrounding bldgs and cars

I drove through Westwood the other day, it is as sad as you expect seeing the National gone. :–(

As an Assistant Manager in August of 1986, I met my husband while working at the National. At the time, Westwood Managers would gather at Josephina’s after hours to drink and B.S. while seated by the fireplace. This was Westwood with cruisers and gangsters, stars and premieres, and young twentysomethings so full of themselves—– full of potential and craving excitement.

Last summer, my husband and I visited LA and brought our children (ages 15, 12, and 8) to see the National for the first time. They have heard all the stories, they have seen the photo albums loaded with snap shots. Shock and sadness cannot begin to describe the feelings I felt as we walked up to the box office to read the sign that said: Theatre Closed. Thank you for your patronage.

Together we walked on the sidewalk along the lobby side doors, peeking inside through cupped hands to see the office, the preview lounge, the hallway to the guys locker room and the grand staircase. As I stood there feeling the growing loss I glanced down at the footing of one of the marble pillars (one of several that adorned the lobby side doors). At the bottom it was cracking with age.

Before I knew it, I gave the footing a quick, swift kick with my boot. Amidst a chorus of yells from my children— “MOM, what are you DOING?” I dislodged a 5 inch piece of that marble and ran back to our minivan to keep it safe.

That piece of marble has now been added to my treasures of the National. Mann’s National (my cashiers used to answer the phone Nan’s National) Without that place I wouldn’t have married the beautiful soul I still share life with all of these years later.

RIP National Theatre. Thanks Cinema Treasures for allowing me the opportunity to confess my vandalism and bare my heart.

Here is a September 1973 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/33y73a

It’s surreal and gut-wrenching to have witnessed the photographic documentation here of the destruction of the National. (I thank the contributors nonetheless for providing it.)

I attended UCLA from 1973 to 1977, and Westwood Village was, obviously, an extension of the campus. Because I relocated from Los Angeles in 1984, I didn’t get to witness — fortunately! — the decline of the Village in the ensuing years. It’s so hard to believe that restaurants like the Charthouse, Yesterdays, Alice’s and the Good Earth are a thing of the past, not to mention the wonderful variety of retail stores — especially for books and records — that made the Village such a great place to be, day or night.

In the realm of movie theaters, I was much more captivated at that time by the palaces of downtown L.A., Hollywood and Beverly Hills than the more modest venues of the Village. Nevertheless, the famous window promoting The Exorcist that was painted on the east-facing outside wall of the National was a thoroughly iconic presence during my freshman year, and my memory of the line around the block in the evening is still vivid. And having gained an appreciation for the mid-century modern esthetic over the years (finally!), the loss of the National is incredibly sad to me.

Thirty years ago, I prayed for the revival of the Broadway theater district. The collapse of mainstream retail outlets along Broadway and the sordid types of movies booked at places like the Los Angeles and the State during that era made this seem like a truly impossible dream. I would never in my wildest imagination have thought that plans for a real renaissance of the Broadway district would come to fruition at the same time that one of the largest and most modern venues in Westwood Village would be erased with hardly a tear shed except from movie palace geeks like us!

I recall the loss of the Carthay Circle and the destruction of the Stanley Warner (later Pacific) in Beverly Hills. I remember the pain of other demolitions, too: I hated it when the Richfield Building was taken down; when the magnificent Broadway Wilshire department store (formerly Coulter’s) was destroyed, it left a pit in my heart in addition to the pit at the corner of Wilshire and Hauser that’s still there 30 years later. For those who don’t care about such things, it all must seem a bit silly — but, truly, some things you never get used to!

very sad

WOW, the curtain has fallen. My screen saver right now is the shot of the National Theatre playing “The Exorcist” with the famous window ad on the east side of the building and a parking lot and a Very long line going up Westwood Blvd. towards the old B of A.

Thanks for sharing all those pictures of the National.

yea wierd there’s a cross in that one shot—(a piece of hanging metal) like a last brief message from the otherworld, this was the theater where demons were exorcised, and people were fainting left and right. It is a SIGN..a final departing message from Father Merrin

i worked at the Regent for most of 1985, Breakfast Club, St Elmos Fire, Wierd Science, Pee Wee’s Adventure. Birdy, etc. It was total madness, chaos, constantly selling out, this was the peek of the hip Brat Pack era, and Westwood was at the center of it. Every girl was in love with Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthey (and drove a VW Cabriolet), flat top haircuts, hair gel and trench coats were the ‘in’ thing. I was an outcast of the era, a rejected “film nerd” who only wanted to talk about Spielberg dolly shots and SFX techniques, so i missed out on all the club going fun.

I agree with the last post. I remember when “Raging Bull” opened at the Regent in November 1980. Shows were sold out well in advance. Of course back then Westwood theaters had a late night 11:45 p.m. showing too, with the films letting out close to 2 a.m. Seems incredible now, but often times you had to wait around until that 11:45 p.m. showing to see a film. But then again in 1980 there was plenty to do in Westwood to past the time. Lots of entertainment on the streets too with people busking and, I seem to recall, lots of break dancers on the streets. What in the hell happened?