In passing the Los Angeles Theatre last night, I saw a notice of June 6 hearing on several business being proposed for the structure.
The big question is what exactly would be done to the interior and how much the building would be compromised by these alterations.
The proposal calls for “the sale and dispensing of a full line of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption and public dancing.”
The proposed venues are:
1) The 37,924-square-foot theater, which would have 15 portable bars and public dancing.
2) A 2,441-square-foot ground-floor bar and lounge with video and electronic games, with 85 seats, including 24 seats within the public right of way.
3) A 2,049-square-foot ground-floor bar and lounge with live entertainment with a total of 114 seats.
4) A 7,904-square-foot restaurant, bar and lounge on the ground level, second floor and rooftop with live entertainment with a total of 378 seats.
5) 2,490-square-foot restaurant with bar and lounge with live entertainment, with 153 seats, including 22 in an outdoor patio within the public right of way.
6) A 3,168-square-foot second-floor nightclub with ground floor entry via St. Vincent Court alley with live entertainment with 158 seats.
ladailymirror.com 
If this hadn’t come from Larry Harnisch, I would assume it was somebody’s idea of a bad April Fool’s joke. I like nightclubs, eateries and watering holes as much as the next barfly, but the Los Angeles Theatre? Really? We’re going to “repurpose” America’s (and L.A.’s) grandest movie palace into a multiple-use nightclub and dining complex? How nice. Maybe the French should turn the Versailles palace into a paintball park. It is inexpressibly sad to know that in spite of the vast fortunes that have been made in Los Angeles, not a single institution or individual is willing to assume the position of angel or benefactor to the Los Angeles Theatre. Instead, we’re going to scoop the old girl’s guts out and tart her out like a hooker, for the sake of a quick buck.
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It will be interesting to see what’s proposed. I have to think that the Los Angeles Conservancy will have something to say…. With Clifton’s getting a big overhaul and Cafe Mozart up the street, this part of Broadway could be in transition in the next year or two. I don’t think anyone who was in L.A. in the 1980s would have expected the downtown renaissance.
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Can that neighborhood cope with that much drinking? Sounds like the proposal for a binge palace.
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All you had to do was go over to Curbed LA. Here’s the story: the Deljani family is adding restaurants and bars to four theatres, including the Los Angeles, and keeping them as theatres, so all in all, it shows the revitalization of the neighborhood.
http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/05/all_the_plans_for_broadways_4_gamechanging_theater_rehabs.php
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In the Downtown News: http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/delijanis-move-forward-with-plans-to-bring-restaurants-and-bars/article_396285da-c4c9-11e2-973e-001a4bcf887a.html
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