Majestic Crest Theatre

The Crest Theatre (formerly known as Majestic Crest and Bigfoot Crest Theatre) is a movie theatre located in Westwood United States. Originally founded as the Westwood Theatre in 1940, was built for live performances but switched to a newsreel cinema during World War II. Through ownership changes, it has been known at various times as UCLAN Theatre, Crest Theatre, and Metro Theatre. The original 500-seat art deco style theater was designed by Arthur W. Hawes.^[1]

In 1987 while being owned by Pacific Theatres, the Crest underwent an extensive transformation by renowned theatre designer Joseph Musil for Walt Disney Studios, who paid for the renovation and held the right to program it. The successful result (including the eye catching marquee and interior blacklit wall murals) led Disney to engage Musil again to remake the faded Paramount Theatre in Hollywood into the glorious El Capitan.

Eventually Pacific sold the theatre to independent operator Robert Bucksbaum, who renamed it the Majestic Crest. In 2008, it was designated Historic Landmark No. 919 by the city of Los Angeles, California.^[2]

In 2010, the theatre was purchased by Bigfoot Entertainment and briefly managed by the Carmike theater chain.^[3] Bigfoot opted not to renew their contract with Carmike as of September 2011 and the theater was put up for sale.

In 2013, after being closed nearly two years, the Crest Facebook page posted that the theatre had reopened under new management with a series of ballet and opera screenings. With the guidance of longtime Crest staffers plus new help, the Crest is regaining some of its lost luster, announcing their intention to program more movies and events in the future.

References

External links

• The Majestic Crest, Los Angeles at Flickriver.com
• Majestic Crest Theatre at Cinema Treasures
• The Crest Theatre on Cinema Sightlines

Coordinates: 34°03′28″N 118°26′34″W / 34.057750°N 118.442763°W / 34.057750; -118.442763