Leimert Park theater funded

After years of delays, a nearly $10-million plan has been unveiled to revitalize Vision Theater, the cultural heart of Leimert Park Village in South Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other civic leaders said that $2.4 million will be financed from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment and more than $7.4 million from the city of Los Angeles.

The renovation project will begin next year to showcase performing arts events and films produced by and featuring African Americans. The theater also will serve as a facility for community lectures and exhibits.

Originally a 1930s movie house, the venue, at 43rd Place and Degnan Boulevard, was dark for years before actress Marla Gibbs bought it in 1990, renaming it the Vision Theater in hopes of instituting quality black theater in the neighborhood. Her plans went awry in the aftermath of the 1992 riots and she lost the property in a bank foreclosure in 1997, after which the city stepped in. The theater’s management is currently overseen by the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs.

-- Chris Pasles