Watts Movie Theater Project Gets Boost

A much-delayed plan to build the first movie theater in Watts in three decades received a significant boost this week as $890,000 in funding was announced.

The idea for a combination entertainment and film training facility has been in the works since 1995. But the proposed Wattstar Theatre suffered a major blow last year when a plan to convert an existing school auditorium fell through.

On Thursday, supporters said the project is back on track after the U.S. Economic Development Administration announced this week that it has awarded the project $650,000. The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency will give $240,000, supporters said.

The proposed $15-million plan now calls for a new facility to be built on city-owned land near the Metro Blue Line station.

The new funding will go toward completing the architectural design for the two-story, 35,000-square-foot facility. It will bring the amount raised so far to about $4 million, and backers said that having blueprints will make it easier to raise the remaining $11 million.

“With this funding we have reached a critical milestone in the planning process for an important community resource,” said Barbara Stanton, executive director of the Watts Cinema and Education Center, the nonprofit group spearheading the project.

The theater would be the first in Watts in more than 30 years. Most residents have to travel up to seven miles to see movies in Hawthorne or South Gate.

The proposal to use a converted school auditorium was scuttled last year by Los Angeles Unified School District officials who said the project was too far behind schedule.

The proposed facility would feature two 300-seat auditoriums and space for classes in video and film production, animation and music editing.