The Fox Theater, Westwood Village, also known as the Fox Village Theater, is a historic, landmark cinema in Westwood Village

Westwood Village, Los Angeles, California

Westwood Village is the main shopping and commercial center of the Westwood district in the City of Los Angeles, California. It is located north of Wilshire Boulevard, east of Gayley Avenue, south of Le Conte Avenue, and west of Hilgard Avenue.-History:...

, Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It is currently operated by Regency Theaters under the name Regency Village Theater. The theater has been one of the leading film premiere theaters in the history of cinema.

Designed by architect Percy Parke Lewis the Fox opened on August 14, 1931 part of a widespread cinema construction program undertaken by Fox West Coast Theatres. The Fox Theater quickly became the most recognizable symbol of the new Westwood Village, a Mediterranean

Mediterranean Revival Style architecture

The Mediterranean Revival was an eclectic design style that was first introduced in the United States about the end of the nineteenth century, and became popular during the 1920s and 1930s...

-style village development adjoining the University of California Los Angeles planned by Harold and Edwin Janss of the Janss Investment Company

Janss Investment Company

The Janss Investment Company was a family run, Los Angeles, California, real estate development company that operated from 1895 to 1995.-First generation:...

.

The Fox was destined to become famous for the many Hollywood

Cinema of the United States

The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...

 movie premieres held there and still to this day is one of the main venues for movie premieres in Los Angeles.

Architectural features

The most striking feature of the Fox Theater is the iconic 170-foot
white Spanish Revival

Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture

The Spanish Colonial Revival Style was a United States architectural stylistic movement that came about in the early 20th century, starting in California and Florida as a regional expression related to history, environment, and nostalgia...

/Moderne

Streamline Moderne

Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone or as Art Moderne, was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s...

 tower which looms over the Broxton and Weyburn Avenues intersection. Atop the tower is a blue and white metal Art Deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

 “Fox” sign, which was renovated in the late 1980s.

Halfway up the tower there are carved winged lions which sit at the base of projecting columns. At the bottom of the tower just above the entrance is a blue and white sign with the legend "Fox Westwood Village". By night the elegant white tower literally becomes a beacon with its signs and the shaft of the tower illuminated.

The rectangular cinema building immediately behind the tower features long rows of Churrigueresque

Churrigueresque

Churrigueresque refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th century and was used up to about 1750, marked by extreme, expressive and florid decorative detailing, normally found above the...

 stucco

Stucco

Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...

 decorations. Perched atop the corners of the building stand carved griffins.

Interior

Seating capacity in the cinema is for approximately 1,400 people. The interior of the theater was remodeled during the period of the late 1940s to early 1950s. The lobby and exits were upgraded and California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...

 artwork was added in the lobby. Golden flourishes were added near the stage areas.

In the late 1970s new 70mm projection equipment was installed and a larger screen added. The Fox Westwood Village has a reputation for top quality sound and projection. The most recent re-modelling was about 1998-1999 with the theater getting new seating and carpet.

In 1988 the Fox Theater was designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as an Historic Cultural Monument (HCM #362).

With on-going efforts to re-vitalise Westwood Village, the Fox Theater continues to be a major drawcard and asset for the area.

Movie Premieres

The Fox Village Theatre is typically thought of as one of if not the best movie premiere venue in the world. For 60 years some of the biggest films in cinema have premiered at the theatre including: A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born may refer to:* A Star Is Born , starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, directed by William A. Wellman* A Star Is Born , starring Judy Garland and James Mason, directed by George Cukor...

, James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

, JFK, Mission Impossible, Batman

Batman

Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...

, Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

, Independence Day

Independence Day

An Independence Day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's assumption of independent statehood, usually after ceasing to be a colony or part of another nation or state, and more rarely after the end of a military occupation...

, Terminator

Terminator

-Science:*Terminator , the line between the day and night sides of a planetary body*Terminator , the end of a gene for transcription-Technology:*Terminator , a resistor at the end of a transmission line to prevent signal reflection...

and hundreds of others. Typically the streets get shut down and are used for red carpet arrivals.