on this date: Downtown Theaters in 1971

Very cool~ Can you imagine a rehabilitated Broadway hosting an foreign film festival? Or better yet, a permanent theater district featuring classic, foreign and independent films?

It’s really a huge difference between New York City’s thriving Broadway district and L.A.’s crumbling historic Broadway. Why? Maybe because NYC mayors, the viewing public, and theatrical groups all supported Broadway through hard times. Not abandoning our history and cultural institutions is key to a revival. There is profit to be made in Los Angeles for performing arts, the creative talent is certainly here, but our city leaders must work harder at getting people to visit Broadway. Clean up the place, bring back the best companies to perform like Will and Co. did at the LATC before being wrongfully evicted for political reasons. Support Broadway, make the streets safer and the revival will come.

Joy! I wish I could have gone. This is actually fairly close in feel to the Times Square area of New York at that time. Unfortunately, by the time I was old enough to go down there, the grindhouses had mostly gone and the Disneyfication of the area was soon to begin. And I didn’t live near New York anymore.

Looks like some great exploitation bills, though I can’t comment on the Spanish stuff. Really obscure titles, and some of them I’ve never even heard of. And I seek out obscure horror films. Probably these are imported B-movies.

I’ve lived in LA since 1989, so during the 1990s I was able to attend movies on Broadway, when a few of the theatres were still open and showing stuff. I went to the Palace, the State and the Orpheum. These were mostly second-run showings of major studio Hollywood fare though. No freaky grindhouse type stuff.

I recall seeing “Ace Ventura Pet Detective” and “Money Train,” along with several dozen others before the theatres all shut down.