Hi there,
My name is Joe Milner, I’m the owner of the Del Mar Theater, and my company, Puget Sound, Inc., does post-production sound editing and mixing for films. We have a mixing and ADR stage in the rear of what was once the main auditorium, and my girlfriend Laura Mendoza has her graphic design studio, La Artista Design, in the main room as well.
When I got the building in 2001, it had long since been gutted; no seats, screen, lobby equipment, projection, etc. The raked floor had been removed, and a new level slab poured. At that time, it was being used as a photography studio. The exterior was as you see in Bob Meza’s photo above; dead marquee, boarded-up ticket booth, many coats of whitewash, poster frames missing. Through the City of Los Angeles’ Pico Revitalization project in 2003-05, the marquee was restored and is lit every night, the building was painted, and the slate tiles around the base of the building uncovered. I restored the booth and exterior poster frames myself. I’m hoping to find a solution that will allow me to demolish the ugly security fence, yet still keep the booth and outer terrazzo foyer protected.
I often get questions about reopening as a cinema, but even without the inherent problems of keeping a one-screen theater in business these days, the ongoing problem of a complete lack of parking in this area makes the idea a non-starter.
So for now, although it is not an actual cinema, I’m doing my best to at least keep it as part of the moviemaking process!
Hi there,
My name is Joe Milner, I’m the owner of the Del Mar Theater, and my company, Puget Sound, Inc., does post-production sound editing and mixing for films. We have a mixing and ADR stage in the rear of what was once the main auditorium, and my girlfriend Laura Mendoza has her graphic design studio, La Artista Design, in the main room as well.
When I got the building in 2001, it had long since been gutted; no seats, screen, lobby equipment, projection, etc. The raked floor had been removed, and a new level slab poured. At that time, it was being used as a photography studio. The exterior was as you see in Bob Meza’s photo above; dead marquee, boarded-up ticket booth, many coats of whitewash, poster frames missing. Through the City of Los Angeles’ Pico Revitalization project in 2003-05, the marquee was restored and is lit every night, the building was painted, and the slate tiles around the base of the building uncovered. I restored the booth and exterior poster frames myself. I’m hoping to find a solution that will allow me to demolish the ugly security fence, yet still keep the booth and outer terrazzo foyer protected.
I often get questions about reopening as a cinema, but even without the inherent problems of keeping a one-screen theater in business these days, the ongoing problem of a complete lack of parking in this area makes the idea a non-starter.
So for now, although it is not an actual cinema, I’m doing my best to at least keep it as part of the moviemaking process!
Cheers,
Joe