Westwood: Of Moviegoing the Way It Used to Be and the Village’s Prospects for a Comeback

I grew up in Westwood and have always found the village to be true to its name. A community centerpiece where neighbors once knew all the merchants and students gathered to eat, shop and look forward to the next Bruin championship. Then, the ‘80s hit. Money drowned out old friends, rents increased, community-serving uses disappeared (remember Safeway?) and small shops that had never changed hands were replaced by anonymous high-rent franchises. The village could not compete with the prepackaged appeal of the Third Street Promenade. Hostility and violence most Westsiders aren’t familiar with came too close to home. The crowds left and Westwood began to fall into neglect.

Somehow, the big theaters weathered it all and Westwood held its charm. As The Times pointed out [“The Vast Picture Show,” May 7], there are few places in the city, let alone the country, where cineplexes are outnumbered by big-screen, 1,000-plus-seat theaters separated by a block or two. In a city where entertainment is king, the big theaters of Westwood are proof that moviegoing magic does not have to be homogenized. Balconies. Sound that pummels the chest. Screens that swallow you up. It’s all there, because it never left. Without the theaters, the village would not have survived. Times are harder now than in the village’s heyday and change seems constant. Maybe that’s why people are discovering Westwood again.

I encourage those folks who have stayed away to come back, get ready for a huge summer movie season and remember how important a sense of community is in this often-fractured city of 4 million. Besides, parking is cheap and the pizza at Mario’s is worth the trip.

JIM BROCK

Beverly Hills