When the lights dimmed during movie showings at AMC Broadway 4 on September 22, audiences were unaware it was the final curtain call of a 90-year film legacy.
The date was the final one for the AMC, which sent out a message on its website Wednesday that the theater has been permanently closed. The Third Street Promenade location came under AMC ownership after the chain purchased Loews Cineplex theaters.
“AMC regularly evaluates locations outside of and within its US circuit, and makes decisions on a theatre-by-theatre basis based on what will best strengthen the company moving forward,” AMC VP of Corporate Communications & Public Relations Ryan Noonan said. “We thank our Broadway 4 guests for their many years of patronage.”
The space between Broadway and Santa Monica Blvd. initially opened in 1934 as the Elmiro Theatre, originally seating 900. The opening films were The Cat and the Fiddle starring Ramon Novarro and Six of a Kind starring Charlie Ruggles. The theater has seen the best of Hollywood’s finest, with the final features of the Broadway 4, including Beetlejuice Beetlejuice starring Michael Keaton and Jenna Ortega.
During the 1900s, the theater was operated by circuits like Century, Statewide, General Cinema, Metropolitan and Loews; also operating as an independent theater for several stints. In the 1980s, the space was converted into Cine Latino, showing Spanish language films, until its closure in September of 1987.
Cineplex Odeon became the operator of the four-auditorium theater in October 1989, named the Cineplex Odeon Broadway 4, eventually renamed the Loews Cineplex Broadway Cinemas 4, the AMC Loews Broadway 4 and finally, the AMC Broadway 4. AMC eventually renovated the space in 2015, with the current setup remaining through this past week.
This is not the first time AMC pulled the plug on a Santa Monica theater, shuttering the Criterion 6 in 2013. The Downtown regained a movie theater when Arclight opened on the third floor of the Mall, but that theater subsequently closed.
The closure follows the departure of the American Film Market from the city earlier this year with organizers taking the movie deal event to Las Vegas. The AMC Santa Monica 7 on the Arizona Avenue block of the Promenade remains as does the Aero Theater on Montana and the Laemmle on 2nd Street.
Mayor Phil Brock recalled venturing to the theater as a child, but recognized the struggles of the Broadway 4, particularly in presentation.
“It hurts to see it go … I think they weren’t keeping [it] in great repair, and they probably decided not to renew their lease,” Brock said. “Having movie theaters in downtown Santa Monica is integral to [the city] as an entertainment, shopping, visiting destination.”
Adding that the city “needs” movie theaters to bring tourists into the Promenade area, Brock hopes that the Santa Monica 7 can improve their exterior look to make it a “more powerful looking movie theater” to go alongside the “fantastic” seating inside the venue.
The Broadway block of the Promenade will soon be bolstered by the addition of athletic wear store JD Sports, set to open in the next several months. Construction is also ongoing at the Keller Building at the Broadway corner, with a new Google Store set for the space.
thomas@smdp.com
