Los Angeles Theatres: Aero Theatre

1328 Montana Ave. Santa Monica, CA 90403 | map |

Opened: January 10, 1940. It was built by Donald Douglas. The story is that he built it so that the workers at his aircraft plant at Clover Field in Santa Monica could have nearby entertainment. Douglas didn't operate the theatre himself, it was leased out.

During the war, the Aero stayed open until early in the morning for shift workers. Later the theatre operated as a second-run neighborhood house for decades while Montana Ave. changed from scruffy and working-class to a trendy shopping street. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010

Phone: 310-260-1528 Website: americancinematheque.com | schedule | on Facebook

Architect: P.M. Woolpert

Seating: Originally around 600, now down to 425.

Current screen size: 18' x 42'

The Santa Monica independent theatre listings in the January 10, 1940 issue of the L.A. Times.

The question about the actual involvement of Donald Douglas and the access to the theatre for his workers has never been satisfactorily answered. See Karl Gerber's post about Donald Douglas on the Employment Lawyers Group website. He also commented in a 2015 post on the So Cal Historic Architecture Facebook group:

"... Did Douglas build the Aero Theater in order to have a theater to show his Douglas Aircraft workers movies 24 hours a day?... The problem I am having with this claim about the Aero is NONE of it can be verified... Given the number of employees of Douglas Aircraft in Los Angeles County and the theater allegedly being available for employees through the 1940s, kids of workers or workers would have surfaced by now. Nobody has recounted sitting in the theater and watching a movie run for Douglas Aircraft employees..."

Steve Milner notes:

"It's not all that far from his factory in Santa Monica. Though it opened prior to the U.S.'s involvement in WWII, Douglas may have been running three shifts to support the British war effort."

Of course, Douglas wasn't a theatre operator. It would have made sense for him to stipulate a few conditions, such as hours of operation, and lease the building to an experienced individual to operate it.

Status: The building is now owned by developer James S. Rosenfield who purchased it in 1977 with the idea of preserving it. The American Cinematheque came along as a tenant in 2003.

The theatre reopened in January 2005 after a $1 million rehab by the Cinematheque. They offer almost daily changes of program including lots of classics. Projection and sound equipment includes 70mm capability.

The theatre became 75 in 2016 and celebrated in a big way. The L.A. Times had a fine March 2016 story "Santa Monica's Aero Theatre regulars believe in the joy of movies" by Susan King. In 2019 the Cinematheque signed a new ten year lease. The theatre closed in March 2020 due to Covid restrictions. The reopening, with a 70mm festival, was in June 2021.

Interior views:

The Aero's lobby in 2010. Photo: Bill Counter

Looking in toward the bar after some redecoration. Photo: Bill Counter - June 2022

The new paint job was one of many projects during the Covid shutdown. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

A look to the entrance doors. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

The west wall of the lobby with the "Glo-Dial" clock that in pre-Cinematheque days used to hang near the screen. That's the house right entrance to the auditorium this side of the bar. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

Stairs to restrooms and the booth. That's an ADA compliant restroom on the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

Above the landing. That's the booth straight ahead. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

The view from the bottom of the stairs. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

Looking in from house left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

A look to the rear of the house. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

An emptier view toward the booth. Photo: American Cinematheque

A view to house right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

One of the deco ladies on the end standards. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

In the booth:

A 2005 photo of the installation in progress on the two Norelco DP70 35/70MM machines. It's a photo by Paul Rayton on the DP70s in California page of Thomas Hauerslev's wonderful site In70mm.com.

Ben and Ivan checking a reel of a 70mm print of "Vertigo." Thanks to Scott Mumford for this June 2021 photo and the two that follow. They were included in a post for the Friends of 70mm private Facebook group.

A look to the front wall. Photo: Scott Mumford - 2021. Thanks, Scott!

Looking alongside machine #1. It's a June 2021 photo by Scott Mumford. He notes that it's a print of "Tenet" in the cases and presumably "The Master" on the open reels. Thanks Scott!

A look across the Norelcos taken by Ivan Rothberg while he was running the Cinematheque's 70mm print of "2001" in November 2021. He added it as a comment to a post on the Friends of 70mm Facebook group.

More exterior views:

A 1940 look at the theatre running "Anthony Adverse" (a 1936 release) along with "Jeepers Creepers," from October 1939. Thanks to Margot Gerber, then the American Cinematheque's publicist, for sharing the photo in a 2015 post on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.

"Roy Cummings, manager of the Aero Theatre, shows a film strip to a gathering of the State Guard in front of the theatre." The 1942 photo by Emerson Gaze is from the collection of the Santa Monica History Museum. In addition to being on their website, they shared it on their Facebook page.

"Cabaret" and "Eye To Europe" playing in 1973. Thanks to Scott Gillettte for sharing the photo on the You Know You're From Santa Monica if private Facebook group.

A 1980 photo from Malibu Times Magazine. Thanks to Michael Hayashi for sharing it in a now-vanished post for the Facebook group You know you're from Santa Monica if....

Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this May 1981 photo.

An April 1982 view from American Classic Images.

The Aero's entrance. It's a 1990 photo by filmmaker and cinematographer Gary Graver (1938-2006). Many of the photos of older single screen theatres he took can be seen in two compilations on YouTube: "Second Run - part 1" and "Second Run - part 2." Thanks to Sean Graver for use of the photo.

A view of the Aero marquee in 2002 from the Santa Monica Public Library collection. It's a photo by Cynni Murphy. Also in the collection are another entrance view and a 2002 shot from across the street.

A 2006 view taken by James L. Jacobson, who also owns that 1955 Studebaker Commander. The photo appeared as a post on the All Movie Theatres Facebook page.

A nice 2009 view of the line for a sold out showing of the "Back To The Future" trilogy. Thanks to Ori for sharing the photo on Flickr.

The theatre in 2010. Photo: Bill Counter

A closer entrance view. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010

The entrance terrazzo. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010

Looking west on Montana Ave. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010

An entrance shot shared on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group by Ken McIntyre in 2013.

A 2015 "75th Anniversary" photo appearing courtesy of Margot Gerber, at the time the publicist for the Cinematheque. It was with "Aero Still Flying High," an article by Kim Devore appearing in the Malibu Times.

Thanks to Howard Gray for this 2016 marquee photo. This and other views were shared by him in a post for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group but have vanished from that platform.

The Aero boxoffice. Photo: Howard Gray - Photos of Los Angeles - 2016

The view from across the street. Photo: Howard Gray - 2016. Thanks for these, Howard!

The Aero is one of a number of revival venues discussed in Mark Olsen's 2017 L.A. Times article "A film festival every night: The new ecology of the old-movie scene in L.A." It's a photo by Genaro Molina for the Times.

Thanks to Stephen Russo for this look at the marquee he took in August 2017.

A fine ticket lobby view from the Cinematheque. It was used on a "welcome back" email in May 2021.

Thanks to Victor Garcia for this June 2021 photo, a post for the Friends of 70mm Facebook group.

Film fans chatting after a screening. July 2022 was the month of a 70mm festival with many rarities shown including "Short Cuts," "Howard the Duck" and Khartoum." Photo: Bill Counter - July 3

The Aero in the Movies: This theatre is a favorite location for filmmakers looking for a typical neighborhood movie house.

Heading down the aisle in a scene from J. Lee Thompson's "10 to Midnight" (Cannon Group, 1983). Charles Bronson stars as a cop on the trail of a psychopath who is targeting young women. The film also stars Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens and Gene Davis. Adam Greenberg did the cinematography. Thanks to Tommy Bernard for spotting the theatre in the film and getting the screenshot. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for four more views from the scene at the Aero plus shots of the Pantages, Cave and Vine theatres.

Mädchen Amick cleans the Aero lobby with enthusiasm in "Sleepwalkers" (Columbia, 1992). She has a job at a theatre in a small Indiana town in this Stephen King story about a shape-shifting mother and son who feed on young girls. "They feast on your fear - and it's dinner time." Also featured are Brian Krause, Alice Krige, Jim Haynie, Cindy Pickett, Ron Perlman and Lyman Ward. We get cameos by John Landis, Joe Dante, Tobe Hooper, Clive Barker, Mark Hamill and Stephen King. Mick Garris directed. The cinematography was by Rodney Charters. Thanks to Ivan R. Hahn for noting the theatre's use in the film. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for seven more shots from the scene at the Aero.

In Barry Sonnenfeld's "Get Shorty" (MGM, 1995) we see John Travolta and Rene Russo strolling down the block from the Aero after seeing a film. The Vista Theatre was used for the theatre interior. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more from the film.

It's set in a town in Virginia but we go to the movies at the Aero in Richard Kelly's "Donnie Darko" (Newmarket Films, 2001). Jake Gyllenhaal is a troubled teen who's encouraged to commit various crimes by a vision of a strange man in a rabbit suit. Richard Kelly directed the film which also features Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Patrick Swayze. The cinematography was by Steven Poster. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for seven additional shots from the scene at the Aero.

More Information: More about the Aero is on Cinema Treasures. The Cinema Tour page on the Aero has some photos by Bob Meza from 2002.

The theatre gets a mention in the Arcadia Publishing book "Early Santa Monica." There's a preview on Google Books. See a page about the Aero on the site From Script To DVD. The L.A. Conservancy also has a page on the Aero.

Aero Theatre

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