In their heyday before World War II, the Fox movie theaters stood as neon-lighted beacons over hundreds of cities big and small.
It was the era of the silver screen, before television, and movie theaters were a center of city life: places for Friday dates, Saturday matinees for the kids, a chance to escape everyday life into a western or a screwball comedy.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday December 15, 2004 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 39 words Type of Material: Correction
Westwood Village -- An article in the Dec. 2 California section about Fox theaters said the Fox cinema in Westwood mirrored the area's Art Deco style. The predominant architectural style of Westwood Village is more Spanish than Art Deco.
And the movie was only part of the experience. The Fox chain was known for the striking architecture of its theaters. The buildings' designs often blended with the styles of their communities.
In Westwood Village, the Fox theater features a soaring tower, with ornate columns and plaster reliefs that mirrored the Art Deco style of the rest of the shopping district. In Fullerton, designers favored a Moorish look. The Fox in Riverside reflected the Spanish mission designs of nearby landmarks such as the Mission Inn.
California once was home to nearly 200 Fox theaters, according to the Cinema Treasures website. They ranged from grand movie palaces such as the Belmont in Los Angeles and the Crest in Long Beach to more modest neighborhood cinemas such as the Brentwood theater on the Westside and the Larchmont in Hancock Park.
But by the 1960s, the theaters were in decline. Television had battered the movie industry, leaving fewer first-run films to be shown. The downtown districts that housed many of them were fading in an era of shopping malls, and people were beginning to favor new multiplexes.
Scores of the theaters were demolished. Others were converted for other uses.
The Carthay Circle cinema in Los Angeles was one of Fox's grandest and was used for gala movie premieres. It included a massive rooftop neon light and a circular tower. It was demolished in the 1970s.
But in recent years, there has been a push to preserve and restore some of the remaining cinemas. Preservationists in Fullerton have raised $3.5 million to save that city's Fox theater from demolition. But $9 million more is needed to restore it.
Riverside officials want to restore that city's Fox theater. Other California cities -- including Visalia, Oakland, Salinas, Bakersfield and Glendale -- have already done so.
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Exit Stage Right
Here is a list of some of the Fox movie theaters in Southern California that have been closed or demolished:
Fairyland Theatre, Anaheim
* Fox Compton Theatre, Compton
* California Theatre, Glendale
