Developer Will Try to Preserve Marquee of La Reina Theatre

Developer Dennis Bass has agreed to try to preserve the neon marquee of the 46-year-old La Reina Theatre in Sherman Oaks. The proposed demolition of the movie theater has prompted some community opposition.

Jackie Brainard, a spokeswoman for Bass, said Thursday that the developer has consulted with the theater’s architect, S. Charles Lee, and hopes that he can incorporate the marquee into his proposed project at Ventura Boulevard and Cedros Avenue. Bass is planning a complex of retail stores and restaurants.

Bass, who is in the process of purchasing the theater from the Mann Theatre Corp., met Thursday night with representatives of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. to discuss his plans and seek community response.

The strongest opposition, however, is expected to come from a group called Save the La Reina, headed by Sherman Oaks resident Lee David. David has filed an application with the city’s Cultural Heritage Board asking that the art deco theater be declared a historic monument.

The board is studying the application and will decide Feb. 20 whether to recommend a historic declaration for the theater to the City Council. If the council approves the application, La Reina could not be altered without the board’s permission.

David said his group will lobby to have the building maintained as a movie or performing arts theater, or developed into a restaurant and retail complex with the exterior left intact.

Brainard said that Bass has consulted with his architects and does not believe that it would be feasible to incorporate the theater building into his project.