Regulars Bemoan Loss of ‘Glitter of Yesteryear’ : Old Neighborhood Picture Palace’s Days Numbered

It is Tuesday night at the Palms Theatre and the crowd is lining up early.

Gray-haired couples wait for the evening’s first film along with teen-agers and a young family. They laugh and chatter in the twilight. No one seems anxious or impatient, despite the line.

After all, where else in Los Angeles can one see a double bill of current films, eat freshly popped corn, park nearby and pay just $1 admission?

Only at the Palms.

But to the dismay of the regulars, many of whom have been watching movies here for 20 years, the Palms is scheduled to close at the end of the month.

Replacement: Post Office

The U. S. Postal Service, which has bought the property, plans to tear down the 60-year-old building to put up a post office.

When it closes its doors at 3751 Motor Ave., the Palms will be the latest in a string of casualties among a dying breed, the neighborhood theater. In just more than five years, the Westside has lost the Paradise and Loyola theaters in Westchester, the Westland Twin in West Los Angeles, the Meralta in Culver City and the Bay in Pacific Palisades.

And Culver Theatre, seven blocks from the Palms, is scheduled to close for remodeling under a Culver City redevelopment program.

The old theaters have been replaced by multiscreen “cineplexes” in regional shopping centers distant from homes.

“With the advent of the shopping center theaters and their convenience, they have pretty much eliminated the so-called neighborhood house,” said Robert W. Selig, president of the Theatre Assn. of California.

There were 2,077 motion picture screens in California as of last August, according to the National Assn. of Theatre Owners. But, while that number was 400 more than five years before, few were single-screen, neighborhood houses.

“I don’t think there is a theater being built today that has just one screen,” said Wayne Green of the national association.

The “glamour and illusion of yesteryear” is often lost in the new theaters with their smaller screens and fewer seats, Selig said. Even the dramatic opening and closing of screen curtains has disappeared at many new theaters.

Owners of Great Western Theatres Inc., the Canoga Park-based operator of the Palms, said they have continued to profit despite competition from the multiscreen operations. Bill Ward, a principal in the company, asked for an extension to operate the theater at least through the profitable summer season.

The request was denied. The Postal Service is anxious to begin construction on the new station so it can move out of cramped quarters in an old office across the street, according to spokesman David Mazer.

‘Plenty of Notice’

“We have a construction schedule to meet,” Mazer said. “We purchased the property some time ago and the theater operator was given plenty of notice.”

Two adjoining businesses, Frank Trades Recycled Books and Beverage Limited, will also be torn down to make way for the post office.

Many of the faithful Tuesday night gasped in disbelief when they learned from a reporter that the Palms is closing.

“Oh! That is just terrible,” said Jean Abramson, a veteran along with husband Leo of more than 20 years at the Palms. “It makes me mad. This is a neighborhood theater. I don’t have to go downtown. I don’t have to go to Beverly Hills and I don’t have to pay $5. I refuse to pay $5 to see a movie.”

Where to Go Now?

Leo Abramson nodded sadly. “Where are we going to go now?” he asked her.

Regulars enjoy quirks of the Palms operation, like the theater’s playful telephone recording that welcomes callers with “Shalom, Bubbie” and signs off with “We’ll see you at the movies. Ciao , baby!”

“In the old days they always had something funny to say about the movies,” said longtime customer Augusta Goldman. “Sometimes they’d even say, ‘Boy, is this movie bad. . . . You should come and see the next one.’ ”

James Allen, who owned the theater from 1951 until 1976, said, “We were very forthright with people. It made for better business. If we had a stinker we told people. And if we had a really good one we let them know too.”

Appreciated Customers

Allen said the Palms built its business because it appreciated its customers. “I go to Westwood once in a while to see a film,” he said. “You are in a very nice theater, with a good picture and wonderful sound. And nobody cares, despite the fact you paid $6 for a ticket. . . . Only once in a while will a ticket taker or someone say ‘thank you.’ ”

The freshly popped corn has been such a big seller at the Palms that some fans stop for a snack even when they aren’t seeing a movie. Manager Don Nakagiri, who has been at the Palms for eight years, said he lets them in because it’s good for business.

Besides Tuesday’s $1 night, the Palms also offers a special $2.50 admission to the first screening of each evening. Even the regular admission of $4.50 beats the going rate in Westwood by $1 or more--and for a double bill, not a single show.

Like most of its offerings, the current “Witness” and “The Breakfast Club” were released elsewhere for at least a month before they arrived at the Palms.

“It’s a great theater for senior citizens,” said gray-haired Leonard Lipkin. “The audience is much more orderly than in a lot of theaters. I come here all the way from West Hollywood. It’s polite and it’s comfortable.”

Nakagiri said the audience roots out smokers and noisy patrons on its own. “They know what kind of theater this is and they try to keep it that way,” he said. “They almost usher themselves.”

‘Small-Town Theater’

Movie-goers can park in free lots on either side of the theater.

“It’s just a cozy, small-town theater,” said Shelly Huniu. “I had no idea it was closing. I’m depressed.”

Nakagiri and assistant manager Alfredo Valverde stood beneath the hissing neon sign above the Palms marquee. They remembered the eight years they have worked at the theater since graduating from Culver City High School.

“Yeah, I’ll miss it,” Nakagiri said.

“It hurts,” Valverde said. “We kind of grew up here, didn’t we?”