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GOLDEN GATE THEATRE
On March 17, the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission approved the conversion of the 1927 Golden Gate Theatre into a retail pharmacy, subject to a long list of conditions to protect its historic features. Significant changes to the original plan include retaining the balcony and exposing at least seventy-five percent of the auditorium ceiling, leaving visible all of the original gold ornamentation. The project will also level the auditorium rake in a reversible manner. The shell-shaped concession stand will be removed and safely stored for future use.
Although the building’s use as a retail pharmacy is not ideal, the Conservancy believes that it is far better than leaving the theatre vacant and deteriorating, as it has been for nearly twenty years. The modified plan is a significant improvement over the original project, and the long list of mandatory conditions agreed to by the owner and tenant provide much-needed safeguards. The reversible nature of the alterations will ensure that the Golden Gate can be returned to theatrical use in the future. We appreciate the willingness of the Charles Company and CVS to reconfigure their plan to protect the theatre’s most significant features, and we applaud the County Regional Planning Commission for making the building’s preservation a priority. We look forward to seeing the long-vacant Golden Gate Theatre once again occupied and accessible to the community.
Built in 1927 at the prominent corner of Whittier and Atlantic Boulevards in unincorporated East Los Angeles, the Golden Gate Theatre is one of a handful of neighborhood movie palaces remaining in Southern California. It is the only East Los Angeles building listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Spanish Churrigueresque-style theatre was designed by William and Clifford Balch, who also participated in the design of the El Rey Theatre on Wilshire Boulevard and the Fox Theatre in Pomona.
The Vega Building, a historic retail building that once surrounded the theatre, suffered severe damage from the 1987 Whittier Earthquake and was demolished in the early 1990s. The theatre has sat vacant ever since.
In March 2009, the County released the draft environmental impact report (EIR) for a proposal to convert the Golden Gate Theatre into a retail pharmacy. The original plan would have left the theatre interior virtually unrecognizable by removing or covering up architectural features, including removing the balcony. The Conservancy commented on the draft EIR stating our position that any alterations should meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, be reversible, and maintain the theatre's listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
We also requested thorough consideration of alternative uses more compatible with the theatre's historic function, as desired by many in the community. At the request of the County Planning Commission, the Conservancy provided several examples of historic movie theatres that have been sensitively converted for retail use. In response to concerns raised by the Conservancy, the State Office of Historic Preservation, the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation, and community residents (among others), the project was substantially modified to leave more of the historic theatre interior intact and visible. The Conservancy has worked with owner the Charles Company, tenant CVS, and preservation architect Robert Chattel over the past year to explore options for improving the project.
While the final EIR concluded that the modified project does not fully meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, the revised plan retains the theatre’s listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The final EIR was released on February 2, 2010 and certified by the Regional Planning Commission on February 17. The Conservancy and several members of the public spoke at the hearing. The Conservancy asked the commission to impose specific conditions to ensure maximum retention of historic fabric, including an explicit requirement to repair the auditorium ceiling and leave it exposed to the public. These conditions were incorporated into the project before its final approval on March 10.
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Wilshire May Company This Streamline Moderne department store with its prominent cylindrical gold tower signals the western entrance of Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle Mile district. The Conservancy swung into action when the May Co. building was threatened with demolition for office towers and a hotel during the early 1990s. After successfully nominating the building for City Historic-Cultural Monument status, the Conservancy worked with County officials to ensure the building's reuse by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Now LACMA West, the May Co. had a splashy reopening in 1999 when it played host to a blockbuster Van Gogh exhibit. Photo courtesy of Julius Shulman |
