Culver City : Culver Theater Studied

Thirtieth Street Architects of Newport Beach has been selected by the Redevelopment Agency to prepare estimates and plans for the rehabilitation of the city-owned Culver Theater.

The theater, which closed in January, had operated as a three-screen movie house for 10 years. In November, the City Council decided to convert the facility into a single 800-seat auditorium.

The city staff is preparing a study to determine the market demand for commercial and other non-city uses. The study is also looking at potential traffic and parking problems, and whether the theater should be managed by the city or a private operator.

The agency bought the theater in May, 1985, and tried to sell it to Filmcorp Group Inc. The two sides could not reach an agreement, and negotiations ended in June, 1987. The theater had been showing second-run movies until it closed in January.

Thirtieth Street recently completed a historic resources study of the city for the Redevelopment Agency, and is preparing plans to move the Willat Studio “witch’s house” back to Culver City. The house, nicknamed because of its appearance and used in the early Hollywood days as a movie studio, was moved to a site in Beverly Hills several years ago as an alternative to demolishing it.