By Long Beach’s one-house movie theater, simply titled “The Art Theatre,” may look small and dingy to the average multiplex moviegoer. However, this historical landmark, located on Fourth Street near Cherry Avenue, has served as a venue for a variety of hard-to-find films for nearly 84 years.
“It was established as a chain of [eight] single-house movie theaters back in the 1920s.” Art Theatre general manager Joanna Stanford said. “It started out as a silent film theater with an organ and an orchestra pit during the big boom of movies.”
The Art Theatre remains the only theatre of this original chain left standing, largely due to its catering to the demand for first-run specialty films that could not be found anywhere else in the Long Beach area.
“The other theatres did not do so well because they were doing second run, mainstream films.” Stanford said. “They could not compete with the giant multiplexes.”
Mark Vidor and partner Jan Van Dijs recently finished a major renovation of the Art Theatre, which they began after purchasing the theatre about a year ago.
“It had fallen into disrepair and needed a full overhaul,” Vidor said.
Vidor retrieved the theatre’s blueprints from its 1934 renovation, which followed a 1933 earthquake.
“About six months and $1 million in work later, we have reopened it,” Vidor said after bringing the theatre back to its classic 1930s façade.
Howard Linn, the theatre’s previous owner who acquired the property along with four partners in 1973, changed the theatre’s movie program from its original mainstream Hollywood and American art films to foreign art and cult films.
One of the theatre’s most popular events has been the Saturday midnight showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Continuously moving around theatres within the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, it became one of the main activities buoying the theatre’s success.
“When we tell people Fourth and Cherry, the thing people most recognize is the Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Stanford said. “It wasn’t this successful before. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is mostly what has kept this theatre alive.”
Other than the Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Art Theatre is well known for its array of “hard-to-find films you can’t see anywhere else,” Stanford said. Current management strives to maintain the caliber of films set by its previous operators.
“Howard Linn was very picky. He wanted only the best independent films. There are giant multiplexes showing all those other movies,” Stanford said. “We want to give people a broader perspective of what film can be, [which is] maybe a bit more intelligent rather than an action-packed blockbuster.”
The recent renovation brought a new coffee bar and wine bar where customers waiting for one of the theatre’s daily showings may relax and socialize.
“We are hoping to turbocharge the Fourth Street renaissance,” Vidor said.
As for the theatre’s success in the near future, it hopes to continue to bring audiences a different viewpoint on the art of film and serve up a fun, memorable, and entertaining experience.
I went to this theatre on Saturday to see the movie Burn After Reading and definitely loved the vibe of people in the audience and the type of film they presented. It is definitely a theatre I would like to visit again to get my juice of independent films.