Here at Broadway West, our goal to create community experiences via live theater is intrinsic to the revitalization of Downtown Los Angeles’ historic theater district, which today consists of 12 theaters. Did you know in its heyday, it once boasted over 100? Once upon a time, Downtown LA was the vibrant city center of a shared cultural experience, where people came together to laugh and find escape from daily life to the scars of world wars. Our mission is to return theater going in LA to its rightful place as the center of storytelling, live theater and uncompromising creative community.
Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace recounts the rise and fall of an experience that seems so distant from the streaming-centered world we know today. Don’t get us wrong- modern technology has facilitated sharing stories across the globe in a way that even the creators of the original movie palaces could have only dreamed of. In fact, as you learn in Going Attractions, that was the catalyst for the inception of these movie palaces. Former vaudeville houses became the first movie theaters, setting off a phenomenon that saw the birth of LA’s own theater district and legendary venues such as Radio City Music Hall. These multi-thousand seat halls were both feats of architectural splendor and spaces where the antiquated idea of art being only a privilege of the upper class died, in favor of an inclusive experience that anyone regardless of background could have.
Theater lovers will experience both awe and a sense of cultural loss as you travel through the eras in Going Attractions. But in the rubble of the movie palaces lost to time, there is hope.
Broadway West is among an interconnected, collaborative group of artists, architects and visionaries that are working to revive these once vibrant halls, bringing New-York caliber theater to the West Coast and uplifting our local artist communities with spaces to tell their stories. If you’re a fan of history and the arts, we urge you to check out Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace,
Watch now for free on Tubi.
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