California Fool's Gold Guide to Ice Skating in Los Angeles

Outside of the high mountains and high desert, we don't typically get a lot of ice and snow in the Chaparral-dominated landscape of Southern California. For some this is all the necessary proof that there are no seasons in California -- and most certainly no winter.

In reality, all climates have their own sorts of seasons and the short days and long nights should be a dead giveaway that it's no longer summer, even if you don't have frostbite. Additionally, the heavy rain and blooming buckwheat, California pipelines, manzanitas, snowberries, and Toyon should clue in the reasonably sensitive (or those cursed with allergies) that both change and pollen are in the air. Unless you subsist on a diet of junk food you should also hopefully notice the proliferation of blood oranges, cardoons, kumquats, leeks, mushrooms, pomelos, radicchio, rutabaga, satsumas, and sweet potatoes, which are hopefully making their way from gardens, orchards, and markets to your dining room table. If you've looked up anytime in the past few weeks, you've surely noticed the millions of geese, mallards, pintails, teals, and wigeons flying overhead on their way to wintering grounds in the Central Valley. Out in the ocean, you might notice gray whales arriving off the coast.

Thin Ice (1937) movie poster

If none of that is enough to get you into the winter spirit perhaps some ice skating will help remind you of those winters from your youth in the Middle West or Northeast which you consider to be the only true form of winter. Since 1997, winter in Los Angeles has included outdoor pop-up ice skating rinks, both made with real ice and the ersatz kind. In recent years they've been the subject of many an interchangeable listicle but none seem to acknowledge our handful of indoor skating rinks, which have been around at least since 1939.
Here's my list to all ice skating opportunities in Los Angeles County, so go get your skate on now and throughout the year!

*****

CHILL - The Queen Mary
(Queensway Bay, Long Beach)

Image Credit: SoCal Kids Outdoor Adventures

From 9 December until 4 January (and again from 8-11 January) Long Beach's RMS Queen Mary, a retired ocean liner (now a glamorous nautical hotel) hosts CHILL (all caps... although apparently not an acronym of anything), an annual event featuring ice sculptures, ice slides, ice tubing, and other ice-centric amusement including a 600 square meter skating rink.

CHILL - The Queen Mary is served by Long Beach Transit's free Passport line.



Holiday Ice Rink -- Pershing Square
(Bunker Hill, Los Angeles)

Image credit: Miss Traffic

When it began operation in 1997, the 400 square meter pop-up ice rink in Pershing Square was known as Downtown on Ice. Now that the City Department of Recreation and Parks and has handed over operations to a private operator, Willy Bietak, it's been renamed Holiday Ice Rink -- Pershing Square: A Willy Bietak Production (which I guess is slightly better than "The Ice at DTLA" or something like that). The rink, located in front of Schultze and Weaver's beautiful Beaux Art Biltmore Hotel, is in operation from 13 November - 19 January and there are special events including DJ Spotlight Nights, Wicked Wednesdays, and Polar Bear Skate, in which skaters are asked to don their gay apparel (i.e. swimsuits).

Holiday Ice Rink - Pershing Square: A Willy Bietak Production is served by LADOT's DASH Downtown B and Commuter Express lines; Metro's 2, 4, 10/48, 14/37, 16/316, 18, 28, 53, 55/202/355, 62, 70, 71, 76, 78/79/378, 81, 83, 90/91, 94, 96, 442, 460, 487/489, 707, Rapid 728, Rapid 794, Purple, Red, and Silver lines; Foothill Transit's 770 line; OCTA's 701 and 721 lines; and Torrance Transit's 4 line.



ICE at Santa Monica
(Downtown, Santa Monica)

Image credit: Downtown Santa Monica

The 750 square meter ICE at Santa Monica rink first opened in 2006. It operates from 1 November until 19 January. There's a concession stand on site and an enclosed rink for the under six set called "Tot Spot."

ICE at Santa Monica is served by Big Blue Bus's 2, 3, 3M, R3, and 4 lines.



Iceland Ice Skating Center
(Van Nuys, Los Angeles)

Image credit: Christine D.

Iceland Ice Skating Center operates year round but shortly before Christmas they do present an Iceland Holiday Show. I'm not sure what year it entered operations as a skating rink but the building was constructed in 1950 and from the sound of the reviews, it looks it.

Iceland Ice Skating Center is served by LADOT's DASH Van Nuys/Studio City line, and Metro's 154, 156/656, 233, 236/237, Rapid 740, Orange, and Valley-Westside Express lines.



LA Kings Holiday Ice at Nokia Plaza LA Live
(New South Park, Los Angeles)

Image credit: Time Out

LA Kings Holiday Ice at Nokia Plaza LA Live (can't they stick one more "LA" in the name?) operates in an outdoor mall dubiously promoted as "the most entertaining place on the planet." Having been there two or three times and having never seen more than remotely entertaining (including first part of Peter Jackson's Hobbit fan fiction trilogy) I can imagine that the dull assortment of standard mall shops are LA enlivened by the addition of a skating rink. The 500 square meter LA Kings Holiday Ice at Nokia Plaza LA Live rink is open from 29 November until 31 December.

LA Kings Holiday Ice at Nokia Plaza LA Live is served by LA DOT's Commuter Express and DASH Downtown F lines; Metro's 81, 442, 460, and Blue, Expo, and Silver lines; OCTA's 701 and 721 lines; and Torrance Transit's 4 line.



LA Kings Valley Ice Center
(Panorama City, Los Angeles)

Image credit: Come On Feel the Nuys

The Los Angeles Kings Valley Ice Center makes the more modest claim of being "a place for friends and family." Not only are its two rinks places for ice skating but (as is the case with most rinks) hockey, and more unexpectedly, curling.

LA Kings Valley Ice Center is served by LADOT's DASH Panorama City/Van Nuys line and Metro's 156/656 and 233 lines.



Paramount Iceland
(Downtown, Paramount)

Image credit: Difabu

Frank, Lawrence, and Pete Zamboni opened Iceland all the way back in 1939, right next door to their Zamboni Bros ice plant. In 1949, the Frank J. Zamboni & Company introduced their now-famous ice resurfacing machine, just one year after the communities of Hynes and Clearwater were joined together as Paramount. Paramount Iceland also boasts the presence of a mighty Wurlitzer organ, installed in 1941.

Paramount Iceland is served by Metro's 258 line.



Pasadena Ice Skating Center
(Civic Center, Pasadena)

Image credit: Stevens

The Pasadena Ice Skating Center is located in the Pasadena Convention Center, where it opened in 2010 after having operated nearby in a former ballroom since the 1970s. In addition to public skating the center also hosts the annual Pasadena Open Figure Skating Competition.

Pasadena Ice Skating Center is served by Foothill Transit's 187 line; LADOT's Commuter Express 549 line; Metro's 177, 180/181, 256, 267/264, 687/686, and Gold lines; and Pasadena ARTS's 10, 20cc, 20cw, 40, 51, and 52 lines.



Pickwick Ice
(Rancho Equestrian District, Burbank)

Image credit: Pickwick Gardens

Pickwick Ice is the skating rink at Burbank's Pickwick Gardens, which also includes a banquet hall, a bowling alley, and gardens.

Pickwick Ice is served by the Los Angeles River Bike Path and Burbank Bus's Metrolink to Media District line.



The Rink in Downtown Burbank
(Downtown, Burbank)

Image credit: Ice-America

Burbank's seasonal outdoor skating rink (stylized as "THE RINK IN DTN BUR") is located in front of Burbank's city hall from 28 November until 19 January. The rink's events lean heavily on irony and include special nights like Ugly Sweater Mondays, '80s Night Wednesdays, and Thursday Night Fever.

The Rink in Downtown Burbank is served by Burbank Bus's Empire to Downtown line, Metro's 92, 94, 96, 155, 183, 292, and Rapid 794 lines; and Metrolink's Antelope Valley and Ventura lines.



The Rinks - Lakewood ICE
(Lakewood Mutuals, Lakewood)

Image credit: The Lakewood Scoop

Founded in 1996 as Glacial Gardens Skating Arena, the venue was renamed THE RINKS - Lakewood ICE in 2013 after it was added to The Anaheim Ducks' The Rinks Presented By Honda network of skating venues which also includes THE RINKS - Westminster ICE, THE RINKS - Yorba Linda ICE, THE RINKS - Huntington Beach Inline, THE RINKS - Irvine Inline, and THE RINKS - Corona Inline -- all in Orange County.

The Rinks - Lakewood ICE is served by Long Beach Transit's 21, 22, 101, and 103 lines.



The Skating Edge Ice Arena
(Harbor City, Los Angeles)

Image credit: Jean Y.

The Skating Edge Ice Arena opened as Olympic Ice Arena in 1962 and operates year round. The facilities include a rink, a concession stand, and Vic's Pro Shop. Even if you're unwilling or unable to travel to the Harbor District, the arena's dazzlingly Angelfire/Geocities website is worth a visit.

The Skating Edge Ice Arena is served by Torrance Transit's 7 and 9 lines.



Woodland Hills Ice
(Warner Center, Los Angeles)

Image Credit: Any Tots

Woodland Hills Ice first launched its pop-up 650 square meter rink in 2008 at the Westfield Topanga, an otherwise unmemorable mall which is not located in the community of Topanga but in Warner Center -- a '70s futurist, walkable, mass-transit oriented planned community developed with sleek Late Modern office towers and a bit like the Valley's miniature version of Century City. Woodland Hills Ice operates from 14 November until 19 January.

Woodland Hills Ice is served by Metro's 150/240, 161, 164, 165, 169, 245/244, Rapid 750, and Orange lines.

Wintertime (1943)

*****

Eric Brightwell is a writer, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener who is always seeking writing, speaking, traveling, and art opportunities; however, job offers must pay more than slave wages as he would rather write for pleasure than for peanuts. Brightwell’s written work has appeared in Amoeblog, diaCRITICS, and KCET Departures. His art has been featured by the American Institute of Architects, the Architecture & Design Museum, the Craft & Folk Art Museum, and 1650 Gallery. Art prints of his maps are available from 1650 Gallery and on other products from Cal31. Brightwell has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post,Los Angeles Magazine, and on Notebook on Cities and Culture. He has been a guest speaker on KCRW‘s Which Way, LA? and at Emerson College. He is currently writing a book about Los Angeles and you can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

California Fool's Gold -- Visiting the Pasadena Model Railroad Club

Pasadena Model Railroad Club HQ

There are numerous model railroading clubs in Southern California, all devoted to various scale standards, and spread throughout a region not especially well-served by actual passenger rail. I recently decided to visit one such organization, The Pasadena Model Railroad Club.

A mining town

The Pasadena Model Railroad Club is one of (and possibly the) oldest model railroad clubs in the region, established in 1940. The oldest extant model railroad club in the world is apparently The Model Railway Club in King's Cross – established in 1910. Before that, most miniature trains had been viewed as children’s toys rather than a reasonably respectable adult hobby. The first toy trains are almost as old as the steam locomotive itself, having first appeared around the 1820s. By the 1840s there were so-called “carpet railways,” trackless toy trains with “live steam” engines. Electric model trains first appeared in 1897.

A ski resort

When I was a child, I was the proud owner of a model train with three engines from different eras. I never considered joining a rail club and generally preferred to conduct my operation undisturbed by others. Had I wanted to join a club, had I lived in Southern California rather than Central Missouri, and barring any minimum age requirements, I would’ve had numerous clubs from which to choose: the All Gauge Toy Train Association, Angels Gate Hi-Railers Model Railroad Club, Antelope Valley Model Railroad Club, Antelope Valley N'Scalers, Belmont Shore Model Railroad Club, California Southern Model Railroad Club, Citrus Empire Model Railroad Club, The Coachella Valley Model Railroaders, The Corona Model Railroad Society, Glendale Model Railroad Club, The Highland Park Society of Model Railroad Engineers, San Diego Society of N-Scale, Slim Gauge Guild Model Railroad Club, Southern California N-Scale, and the '20s & '30s Modular Model Railroad. I would’ve surely been one of the youngest members of any club but hardly the only male.

Rexal -- sponsors of The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show

The trains of my imaginary railroad traversed an unimpressive, half-finished landscape of plaster, particle board, and a few model buildings located amongst groves of fake trees and reindeer moss. The layout of a model railroad club is much more impressive than those found in most homes — with the exception of affluent celebrity enthusiasts like Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart, and Gary Coleman. My trains were HO Scale (1:87), the most popular, and the same scale as Pasadena Model Railroad Club’s Sierra Pacific Line. Before them, larger O scale (1:48 to 1:43.5) model trains had been the most popular. Model railroad trains come in more than fifty scales, from the (1:220) Z Scale up to the ridable live steamers (1:24 – 1:8) and the grand scales (1:4 and up) commonly found in amusement and theme parks.

A converted rail car diner!

After scale the serious model railroader must consider what company’s trains to operate and from what era. Although the model railroaders of the Sierra Pacific seemed to communicate in a strange mixture of jargon, in-jokes, and English, if I understood correctly, they also keep written records of the presumably imaginary contents of their trains’ freight cars. I attempted to draw conclusions from their choices but my questions were mostly brushed off. People chose railways generally because of the operators’ geographic origins, not because what rail agencies one is drawn to is a reflection of the operators’ personalities. However, in at least one case someone chose his company because they were the rival of his unloved former employers. I was told that in the past there had been operators of interurban and light rail but not currently and on the railroad as in real life, freight rail takes president over public transit.

Bates Motel

Back in 1940, when the PMRC was founded, the privately-owned Los Angeles Railway and Pacific Electric Railway were both still in operation. Santa Monica Bus Lines, Culver CityBus, and Montebello Bus Lines were all just about a decade old and Gardena Municipal Bus Lines and Torrance Transit were brand new – all outlived their rail rivals and still operate today. In 1940, when discussing Adolf Hitler's missed opportunity to destroy the UK and France, Neville Chamberlain tellingly said that Hitler had “missed the bus” rather than the train. However, as the world seemed to be increasingly forsaking passenger trains for buses, airplanes, and automobiles, model trains enjoyed their biggest explosion of popularity.

Today model trains are most popular in Europe, East Asia, and especially the US. Although trains were once widely regarded as an outmoded (if nostalgia-inspiring) means of travel on par with the dirigible, in Europe and Japan they were updated and became the most efficient means of travel. Japan’s Shinkasen bullet train debuted in 1964 and today carries more than 150 passengers annually. In Europe, a vast network of high-speed rail crisscrosses most of Europe and opposition to the construction of the massively Channel Tunnel (or “Chunnel”) came almost entirely from ferry boat operators. The United States has the largest rail network of any country (more than twice the size of second place China), and also one of the most antiquated. There are few pockets of rail that could be described as “high-speed” in the Midwest and Northeast and the planned construction of the California High-Speed Rail is opposed by environmentalists, politicians, NIMBYs, and indeed, most of polled-Californians.

Although less controversial, the Pasadena Model Railroad Club has also been the victim of the prioritization of the automobile over that of the train. Despite its name, the Pasadena Model Railroad Club is not located in the City of Roses, but in the Gateway to San Gabriel Valley – Alhambra. The club was found in Pasadena, at 856 E. Maple Street, but had to move in 1963 to make way for the construction of the 210 Freeway. Today the club is located at 5458 Alhambra Avenue, right next to the tracks of a Union Pacific freight rail line.

Although Southern California has benefit from the slow return of passenger rail since the establishment of Metrolink and Metro in 1992 and '93, respectively, it has a long way to go before it approaches the ridership of the bus. According to the American Public Transportation Association, Metro's buses are boarded over one million times a day and there are more than 80 other bus transit agencies serving Southern California. The only passenger rail agencies currently in operation are Amtrak, Metro, Metrolink, North County Transit District, and San Diego Trolley provide passenger rail (and if your definition of passenger rail is extremely liberal, the Port of Los Angeles’s Waterfront Red Car Line and (when it isn’t closed for repair) Angels Flight).

The Pasadena Model Railroad Club have open houses and meetings -- check their website for times. Although the Sierra Pacific Line is served by miniature trains Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, and other agencies, in the real world the closest passenger lines to the club’s location are LADOT's DASH El Sereno/City Terrace and Metro's 76 lines.

*****

Eric Brightwell is a writer, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener who is always seeking writing, speaking, traveling, and art opportunities; however, job offers must pay more than slave wages as he would rather write for pleasure than for peanuts. Brightwell’s written work has appeared in Amoeblog, diaCRITICS, and KCET Departures. His art has been featured by the American Institute of Architects, the Architecture & Design Museum, the Craft & Folk Art Museum, and 1650 Gallery. Art prints of his maps are available from 1650 Gallery and on other products from Cal31. Brightwell has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Magazine, and on Notebook on Cities and Culture. He has been a guest speaker on KCRW‘s Which Way, LA? and at Emerson College. He is currently writing a book about Los Angeles and you can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Midnight Movies and Canonical Classics -- A Guide to Los Angeles's Revival Movie Theaters

Hollywood Cinerama, Los Angeles, 2003 (image credit: Hiroshi Sugimoto)

No city on Earth is more closely associated with motion pictures than Los Angeles. 10% of all movie theaters in the entire country are located in California and Los Angeles County is home to over 100 of them. Although most of Los Angeles's theaters, like those throughout the country, showcase only the latest Hollywood product, there are also specialty theaters which show art films, adult films, classic films, experimental films, foreign films, independent films, revival films, &c. I've previously written about Southern California's drive-in theaters (For Ozoners Only) and overlooked commercial foreign language cinemas (Los Angeles's Secret, Foreign Language Movie Theater Scene). This is my guide to the repertory cinemas or revival houses.

Highly decorated ushers

You may ask yourself why you would leave your humble abode to go see a film which can be seen on YouTube, streamed, or owned on the video format of your choice. Well, presumably you don't have guest speakers doing Q&As at your residence -- a common feature of repertory cinema. Then there's the fact that whether its a bare bones nickelodeon or a grand movie palace, movies should be seen with an audience (although I did see both The Shadow and Edvard Munch in otherwise empty theaters, which was its own kind of fun) -- and don't be a slouch, put some effort into your appearance.

If you too enjoy the experience, it's important that you show support with attendance or they'll go away. Pour out some of your 64 ounce Double Gulp for Seal Beach's Bay Theatre, South Pasadena's Rialto Theatre, Westlake's Vagabond Theatre, Westwood's Mann Plaza Theater, and all the rest.  312 of Los Angeles's movie theaters have closed and their screens have gone dark; of those, 173 have been demolished and no amount of wishing will bring them back.

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THE AERO THEATRE
(Montana Avenue, Santa Monica)

(Image source: The Goethe Institut Los Angeles)

The Streamline Moderne-style Aero Theatre was designed by P.M. Woolpert and constructed by the Donald Douglas Company. When it opened in 1940, the Aero served workers in the aviation industry whose shifts ended around the clock by operating continuously. After becoming a second-run theater in the 1970s, it closed in 2003. The Aero Theatre was reopened in January, 2005 by the American Cinematheque (which also operates the Egyptian) after a renovation which updated the theaters equipment but reduced seating from 600 to 425. The theater shows classic films, foreign films, and independent films. The Aero also co-hosts (with the Egyptian) the annual Mods & Rockers Film Festival, a celebration of 1960s pop culture.

The Aero is serve by Big Blue Bus's 3M and 41 lines.



ALAN AND ELAINE ARMER THEATER
(Northridge, Los Angeles)

(Image source: Photos4CSUN!)

The 130-seat Alan and Elaine Armer Theater, located on the campus of Cal State Northridge in Manzanita Hall, hosts free film screenings every Thursday night that class is in session. Most of the films, curated by CSUN Cinematheque, are classics although they also screen contemporary works including retrospectives of both.

The Alan and Elaine Armer Theater is served by Metro's 150/240, 166/364, 167, 239, and Rapid 741 lines.



THE ALEX THEATRE
(City Center, Glendale)

The Alex Theatre opened in 1925 as a 2,030-seat picture palace named The Alexander after then-owner C. L. Langley's son. The theater was designed by in the Classical Revival-style by Lindley & Selkirk but given a Moderne makeover by the great S. Charles Lee in 1940. After a 1993 rehabilitation its seating was reduced to 1,400. The theatre is primarily used as a performing arts venue but the Alex Film Society does present occasional classic Hollywood films.

The Alex Theatre is served by Metro's 92 line and the Glendale Beeline's 1, 2, 4, and 11 lines.



THE ARENA CINEMA
(Downtown Hollywood, Los Angeles)

(Image credit: Ms Michele "YooPayMeNowFoo" P.)

The 92-seat Arena Cinema opened in 1972 as the Egyptian 2 & 3, which closed in 1992. The Egyptian 2 & 3 reopened after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake as a live theater and was subsequently used by several theater companies. In 2008 the Theatre of Arts College for the Contemporary Actor took over the building and transformed it into an acting school. In 2010, the venue began again showing films and in 2013 it became the Arena Cinema. The Arena's programming is among the city's most adventurous, showing truly independent productions and relatively obscure foreign films as well as older films.

The Arena Cinema is served by Metro's 156/656, 212/312, 217, 222, Rapid 780, and Red lines as well as LADOT's DASH Hollywood.



THE BILLY WILDER THEATER
(Westwood, Los Angeles)

(Image credit: Matt Construction)

The 295-seat Billy Wilder Theater, designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture, opened at the Hammer Museum in 2006 and is home of UCLA Film & Television Archive (the second largest archive of film and television in the country after the Library of Congress). The theater presents films from throughout cinema's history (often presented in retrospectives). One area of cinematic culture that they sadly do neglect is the snack bar.

The Billy Wilder Theater is served by Big Blue Bus's 1, 2, 3M, 8, 12, and R12 lines; Metro's 20, 233, Rapid 720, and Rapid 761 lines; Culver CityBus's 6 and 6R lines; and LADOT's Commuter Express 534 and 573 lines.



CINEFAMILY
(Fairfax District, Los Angeles)

(Image credit: Caroline Harrington)

The 224-seat Cinefamily is located in the historic Silent Movie Theatre. The Art Deco-style theater, designed by John Hampton, opened in 1942, fifteen years after the end of the silent film era. In 1997 the cinema's then-owner, Lawrence Austin, was murdered in the auditorium by a hitman who'd been hired by Austin's lover and the theaters then-projectionist. After that tragedy it was purchased by Charlie Lustman, who continued to operate the cinema as a silent movie theater until it was taken over by its current owners in 2006. The new owners, Cinefamily, introduced talkies to the programming (although they still show silent films once a month). Nowadays the theater primarily presents cult films, foreign films, and retrospectives, and hosts festivals including Animation Breakdown, Don't Knock the Rock, and the Everything is Festival. 

The Cinefamily is served by Metro's 10/48, 217, 218, and Rapid 780 lines as well as LADOT's DASH Fairfax line.



THE CINERAMA DOME
(Central Hollywood, Los Angeles)

The 937-seat, geodesic Cinerama Dome was designed by Welton Becket & Associates and opened in 1963. Today the Cinerama Dome is operated by ArcLight Cinemas, who in 2002 built a 14-screen multiplex next to the dome which became the flagship of that chain. Although the Dome, like the ArcLight, primarily shows first-run Hollywood films, they do occasionally there screen the odd revival classic.

The Cinerama Dome is served by Metro's 2, 210, and Red lines as well as LADOT's DASH Hollywood/Wilshire and Beachwood Canyon lines.

THE DOWNTOWN INDEPENDENT
(Historic Core, Los Angeles)

(Image credit: Discover DTLA)

The 250-seat ImaginAsian Center, designed by Hsin-Ming Fung and Craig Hodgetts, opened in 2007. The name was awful (a portmanteau and a pun‽), the theater did serve a great function, specializing in the exhibition of films from various Asian countries usually neglected by other cinemas. In 2008, however, the ImaginAsian was sold and became the Downtown Independent. Although the theater primarily exhibits an eclectic mix of new documentaries, independents, live theater broadcasts, and foreign films (among other things), they do occasionally screen some older cult films as they did with their 2013 Jon Moritsugu retrospective or 2014's Rose McGowan-curated Dawn Festival. 

THE ECHO PARK FILM CENTER
(Echo Park, Los Angeles)

(Image credit: Echo Park Film Center)

The tiny Echo Park Film Center is one of my favorite places to see films in Los Angeles, primarily because of the films shown there by Los Angeles Filmforum, the city's preeminent presenters of progressive media art and experimental film. The EPFM opened in 2002 and also operates a mobile cinema and film school. Although their focus isn't on non-experimental repertory films, I've nonetheless enjoyed a few there when presented by friends who've served as guest curators.

The Echo Park Film Center is served by Metro's 2/302, 4, 200, 603, and Rapid 704 lines.



THE EGYPTIAN THEATRE
(Downtown Hollywood, Los Angeles)

Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, a lavish, silent picture palace designed by Meyer & Holler, opened in 1922 as part of developer Charles E. Toberman's efforts to establish a theater district in Hollywood to rival the dominant theater district along Broadway. From 1927 until 1944 the Egyptian operated as a second-run theater, after which it reverted to a first-run one. It closed in 1992 and sat shuttered until1998 when it was renovated and reopened as The Egyptian by the American Cinematheque.  At that point it began mostly showing both Hollywood and cult classics. Downstairs from the 616-seat main theater there's the small, 78-seat Steven Spielberg Theatre, which is along with the Echo Park Film Center, one of the main exhibition venues of the Los Angeles Film Forum.

The Egyptian is served by Metro's 156/656, 212/312, 217, 222, Rapid 780, and Red lines as well as LADOT's DASH Hollywood line.



THE LEO S. BING THEATER
(Miracle Mile, Los Angeles)

The 600-seat Leo S. Bing Theater is located on the campus of Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Along with most of the original LACMA buildings, the Leo S. Bing was designed by mid-century futurist William L. Pereira and opened in 1965. The theater screens mostly Hollywood classics, new releases, and retrospectives on weekends and mostly Hollywood classics on their popularTuesday matinees. Unfortunately, like the Billy Wilder, they don't have a concession stand.

The Leo S. Bing Theater is served by Metro's 20, 217, Rapid 720, and Rapid 780 lines as well as LADOT's DASH Fairfax line.



THE LINWOOD DUNN THEATER
(Central Hollywood, Los Angeles)

The 286-seat Linwood Dunn Theater opened in 2003 and is located in the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences' the Claude Beeman-designed, Late Moderne-style Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study, built in 1948. Most weekends there are screenings of classic Hollywood and foreign film retrospectives. As with the Billy Wilder and Leo S. Bing, there is no concession stand. Furthermore, patrons are patted down for popcorn as they enter the auditorium. However, on at least one occasion there was food offered in the lobby although to me it smelled more like something I would serve my cat Alan than consider eating myself.

The Linwood Dunn is served by Metro's 210 line and LADOT's DASH Hollywood line.



THE MILLION DOLLAR THEATRE
(Broadway Theater District, Los Angeles)

(Image credit: Los Angeles Historic Film Theatre Foundation)

The Million Dollar Theatre is a Churrigueresque-style silent picture palace that was designed by Albert Carey Martin (interior) and William Lee Woollett (exterior). The 2,088-seat (originally 2,345), single screen theater opened in 1918 and is part of the nation's oldest and largest historic theater district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1945 it adde live entertainment to the bill and in 1950, reflecting the demographic shifts in Downtown and on Broadway in particular, The Million Dollar converted into a Spanish-language theater and live performance venue. After several decades as such it closed in 1993 and the space was taken over by a church. From 2005-2008 it was restored by Robert Voskanian and reopened featuring live performance and films presented in partnership with the UCLA Film Archive before once again closing in 2012. Right now it shows the occasional classic film.

The Million Dollar Theatre is served by Metro's 2/302, 4, 10/48, 30/3320, 40, 45, 81, 90/91, 94, Rapid 745, Rapid 794, Purple, and Red lines as well as LADOT's DASH Downtown Route D.



NEW BEVERLY CINEMA
(Fairfax District, Los Angeles)

(Image credit: Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival)

The 300-seat New Beverly Cinema was designed by architects John P. Edwards and Warren Frazier Overpeck and opened in 1929, apparently, as a candy store. Over the years its name and purpose changed quite a lot. In 1937 it became a famous nightclub Slapsy Maxie's. In 1943 and it became a French restaurant, La Lafayette. In 1947 it was became a nightclub again, The Blackhawk. In 1948 it became Jackie Green's Café.

The space only began showing movies in 1950, when it became The Century and shortly after, The New Globe -- although it was primarily a playhouse. By 1958 it had become the Dahl Theater and then The Riviera-Capri which by 1962 was presenting repertory programming as well as new programming.
Although it had by then occasionally shown adult films, in 1969 it began exclusively showing adult films, specifically those produced by Alex de Renzy. In 1970, as The Eros, the theater continued showing porn, albeit largely Danish imports. In 1972 it became The Beverly. In 1977, the Los Angeles Times stopped running ads for porn theaters and faced with declining business, owner Howard Ziehm leased the building to Sherman Torgan in 1878 and it transformed it into the New Beverly. Torgan died in 2007 and afterward the building was purchased by Quentin Tarantino, who assumed complete control of the theater in 2014. Anyone familiar with Tarantino's own films, or those released by his Rolling Thunder Pictures, will have a good idea of the sort of cult films screened at the theater, as the prints are from his own collection.

The New Beverly is served by Metro's 14/37 and 212/312 lines.



THE NUART THEATRE
(Sawtelle, Los Angeles)

(Image credit: Mark Peacock)

The 660-seat Art-Deco Nuart Theatre was constructed in 1929. In 1974 the building was bought by Gary Meyer and it, along with the UC Theater in Berkeley, served as the flagship in what would become the Landmark Theater chain. In the early 1980s, Douglas Brian Martin shot a "no smoking" PSA in which John Waters appears, relishing a cigarette, which was shorn before films in Landmark Theaters back in the 1980s. The theater was remodeled in 2006 and now seats 303. Its programming includes classics, cult films, foreign films, independent films, and special programming such as weekly screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The Nuart Theatre is served by Big Blue Bus's 1 and 4 lines, Culver CityBus's 6 line, and Metro's Rapid 704 line.



OLD TOWN MUSIC HALL
(El Segundo)

(Image source: The Beach Reporter)

The 188-seat Old Town Music Hall, converted from a pre-existing structure by engineer Edward L. Mayberry, Jr., opened in 1921 as a live performance venue called The State Theatre and originally catered to employees of the nearby Standard Oil Refinery. It was converted into a cinema shortly after but closed in the mid-1930s. It reopened in 1944 as The El Segundo Theatre before again becoming The State Theatre in 1951. In 1967, two local musicians, Bill Field and Bill Coffman (The Two Bills) rented the theater and installed a Wurlitzer pipe organ and began presenting silent films, Hollywood classics, and live performances. Since 1990 it has continued to do so as the Old Town Music Hall. Coffman passed away in 2001 but continues to be operated by Bill Field.

Old Town Music Hall is served by Beach Cities Transit's 109 line.



THE ORPHEUM THEATRE
(Broadway Theatre District, Los Angeles)

The Beaux Arts-style Orpheum Theatre was designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh and opened in 1926. It was the last theater on Broadway still showing films when it closed in 2000. After a renovation, the Orpheum reopened in 2003, primarily as a live music venue but also as a exhibition space for the Los Angeles Conservancy's Last Remaining Seats classic film series.

The Orpheum Theatre is served by Metro's 2, 4, 10/48, 33, 35, 40, 45, 55/202/355, 66, 83, 91/91, 92, and Rapid 745 lines; LA DOT's DASH Downtown D; and OCTA's 701 and 721 lines.



SAMUEL GOLDWYN THEATER
(Beverly Hills)

(Image source: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) 

The 1,012-seat Samuel Goldwyn Theater opened in 1975 and is located within the office building headquarters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It's primarily used by the Academy but it also presents events and screenings that are open to the public. Additionally, the building's fourth floor includes a gallery devoted to the exhibition of film-related ephemera.

The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is served by Metro's 20, 220, and Rapid 720 lines.

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So save what you can, see you at the movies, and special thanks to Film Radar for being the Los Angeles's best film calendar. Credit goes to Cinema Treasures and the Los Angeles Conservancy for information on theaters used in this piece.

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Eric Brightwell is a writer, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener who is always seeking writing, speaking, traveling, and art opportunities; however, job offers must pay more than slave wages as he would rather write for pleasure than for peanuts. Brightwell’s written work has appeared in Amoeblog, diaCRITICS, and KCET Departures. His art has been featured by the American Institute of Architects, the Architecture & Design Museum, the Craft & Folk Art Museum, and 1650 Gallery. Art prints of his maps are available from 1650 Gallery and on other products from Cal31. Brightwell has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Magazine, and on Notebook on Cities and Culture. He has been a guest speaker on KCRW‘s Which Way, LA? and at Emerson College. He is currently writing a book about Los Angeles and you can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.