Fox Westwood / Mann / Regency / Directors Village Theatre: interior

961 Broxton Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90024 | map |

Also see: Fox Westwood/Directors Village - history + exterior views

Lobby views: 

 

Looking in from the entrance doors in 1931. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library 

The wall behind the auditorium. That's an entrance door over on the left. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library

The view down from the landing on the stairs to the balcony. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The November 21, 1931 Motion Picture Herald had a cropped version of this photo as part of a spread on foyers. It's on Internet Archive.

The house left end of the lobby. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library   

A lounge area near the ladies room. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library

These five vintage lobby photos from the Los Angeles Public Library also appear as part of "Catering To A University Community," an article about the new theatre in the October 24, 1931 issue of Motion Picture Herald. It's on Internet Archive.

A look out the exit doors. Note the 40s vintage Skouras cartouches above the doors. It's a photo from the Regency Village & Bruin Theatres Facebook page. See their Vintage Theatre Photos and Regency Village Theatre albums for many more photos. Thanks to Obet Maldonado, manager during Regency Theatres' tenure, for his hospitality! Everything was plush and extremely well maintained. It has always been a great place to see a show.

 

The lobby as viewed from the entrance. It's one of many views of the theatre from "Fox Westwood Village Theatre," a 2009 post by Doug on the blog Experiencing Los Angeles.

 

The fountain at the left end of the bar. Photo: Bill Counter - 2023

Another look into the lobby. Thanks to Adam Martin for his 2009 photo on the Cinema Tour page about the Village Theatre.

The view exiting the auditorium. Photo: Regency Theatres Facebook page

 

The right end of snackbar #2 and handicap accessible restrooms. Photo: Regency Theatres Facebook page

A 2003 photo of snackbar #2 from Scott Neff on the Cinema Tour page about the Village Theatre.

Looking back toward the street from the house left end of the lobby. The balcony stairs are off to the right. The photo once appeared on a now-vanished UCSD page about L.A.'s best movie theatres.

A view over toward the snack bars and balcony stairs from the house left end of the lobby. Photo: Bill Counter - 2007

On the landing on the way to the balcony. Or for a restroom stop. Photo: Regency Theatres Facebook page

A detail of the sculpture on the landing near the restrooms. The theatre's decor is a curious mix of original touches and a Skouras era re-do. Photo: Bill Counter - 2007

 

The ladies lounge, on the left side of the Skouras sculpture. Photo: Bill Counter - 2023

 

 

 

Looking back out to the landing. Photo: Bill Counter - 2023

 

The men's room. Photo: Bill Counter - 2023

 

The vintage urinals. Photo: Doug -  Experiencing Los Angeles - 2009

The house right stairs to the balcony. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 A painted panel on the house right stairs. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

The view back down to the landing from the house right stairs. Photo: Bill Counter - 2007

 

 

A peek into the auditorium from the house left stairs. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

 

 

The lounge area near the balcony entrance house left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

 

 

A view back down on the house left stairs. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

A landing view across toward the auditorium entrance and a Skouras-era bit of "art." Photo: Regency Theatres Facebook page

 

A peek in the front doors the day after Regency closed the theatre. The snackbar inventory had been cleared out but all the equipment was still in place. Photo: Bill Counter - July 26, 2024

 

 

A look after concession equipment had been removed. Photo: Bill Counter - August 11, 2024

 

The vanishing snack bar. Many thanks to Russ Jones for his September 12, 2024 photo. 

 

 

The look for the "interim" Summer 2026 season prior to closing again for renovations. Note the temporary red carpet and temporary snackbar. It was a July 9 screening of two episodes of the Netflix show "The Hawk." Photo: Bill Counter

 

 

At the house left end of the lobby. Photo: Bill Counter - July 9, 2026 

 

 

The vista from the stairs. Photo: Bill Counter - July 9, 2026

 

 

Looking in from the front doors. Those two guys on the right are looking at costumes from "The Odyssey," a film that opened July 16 for a three week 70mm run. Photo: Bill Counter - July 11, 2026. The screening this particular evening was the Cinematheque's print of "Lawrence of Arabia."  

 

 

The temporary bar. Photo: Bill Counter - July 11

 

 

  

The muses of drama, dance and music, rendered in 1951 Skouras-style, on the landing restrooms. It has blue neon behind it, not turned on this week. Plus a sofa for tired bodies. Photo: Bill Counter - July 11

 

 

Ornament on the house left stairs. Photo: Bill Counter - July 11 

 

 

The end of the lobby with ADA compliant restrooms. Photo: Bill Counter - July 11, 2026 

 

Auditorium views:

The auditorium in 1931. Note the organ console house left and stairs to the stage instead of a pit.  Thanks to Graeme McBain for sharing the photo as a post for the Facebook group Theatre Architecture. There's a slightly cropped version in the Los Angeles Public Library collection that also appears as part of "Catering To A University Community," an article about the new theatre in the October 24, 1931 issue of Motion Picture Herald. It's on Internet Archive.

A house left organ grille view from the November 21, 1931 Motion Picture Herald. It's on Internet Archive. 

A 1980s shot with subwoofers arrayed below the screen. Reed Edwards shared it as a comment to a post about the theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres Facebook page. He notes: "Not sure who to credit for this one, but the inside of the Village back when they had a bank of subwoofers in front of the screen. Think these were removed in a mid-late 90s remodel when new seats were put in." He adds a quote from someone on a Film-Tech forum: 

 

"Here in the United States 'Altered States' didn't premiere until December 1980, and, at least where the Village was concerned, they used Cerwin Vegas across the front of the auditorium. They were the same type used for the front units of Sensurround. The Village continued using these units for all 70mm baby-boom format films until they installed a THX system. Then they disappeared for a while, returning after the Village re-wired using Monster Cable (and presumably, when THX certified Cerwin Vega subs). They disappeared again from view when the Village remodeled in the late 90's (as did the Bose surrounds, replaced with JBL surrounds). Now when I said 'disappeared' I don't know if they were removed, or just placed behind the below-screen curtain."

 

Peter Cheng adds: "I recall that those subs were the Cerwin Vegas that originally arrived as part of the Sensurround presentations in the mid-70s. I think this configuration came with the THX upgrade. A Daily Bruin article from the mid-80s said that seats in the front of the theater were removed to install those subwoofers. In that era, the theater had a lighted sign in the lobby that went over the equipment used in the sound system. When Mann did the THX upgrades to their flagship theaters, they used Bose 802 speakers for the surrounds at all of them except the Bruin, which used Boston Acoustics speakers. At the National, the Bose 802s were suspended, but at the Chinese and Village, it looked like they were installed into the wall. The subwoofers were removed at the time the Village theatre was renovated with the seating replaced and the Bose 802s replaced by JBL surround speakers (the THX screen speakers were always JBL horn speakers). The new speaker setup didn't go nearly as deep on the bass as the combo with the CV subs did. There were other upgrades at various times, and they did seem to extend the bass range (or at least recalibrate the levels) better."

 

Reed Edwards: "I recall the lighted placard with the sound system details, would love to find a photo. I saw some lousy movies at the Village because I’d read about it being a top-notch theater in ‘Widescreen Review.' One was 'The Island of Dr. Moreau,' which was abysmal, but there was a scene with an explosion and recall that bank of CVs actually moving the air around my feet."

There used to be a chandelier -- and no downlights. Thanks to Behr Browers Architects for this c.2001 photo. 

 

A view from the back of the main floor. The decor we see is the result of the 1951 Fox West Coast "Skouras-style" remodel. It's a 2003 Scott Neff photo on the Cinema Tour page about the Village Theatre.

A 2007 ceiling view. It's in great condition except for the downlights. And now there are Dolby Atmos speakers as well.  Photo: Bill Counter

A ceiling view from contributor Hollywood 90038 that once appeared on the Cinema Treasures page for the Village Theatre.

 

 

Thanks to Don Solosan for this 2010 shot taken during a Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation "all about" tour of the theatre. The photo appeared on the LAHTF Facebook page.

The house left wall. Thanks to John Hough and Mark Mulhall for sharing this 2017 photo. 

A detail of the Skouras era ornament. Photo: John Hough / Mark Mulhall 

 

 

A closer look at some of the Skouras swirls surrounding one of the original air grilles. Thanks to Cat Whalen for sharing this fine photo, one taken before a 2021 screening of "Licorice Pizza."

 

The view to the rear. Thanks to Ben Abkaryan for sharing his 2021 photo. It was part of a now-vanished post for the Theatre Architecture private Facebook group. Note the added sound absorbent material and draperies between the side wall pilasters. 

 

 

The theatre closed in July 2024 when Regency's lease was up. Here we're looking in during the temporary 2026 summer reopening. Netflix had sent a crew in to augment the lighting on the Skouras ornament near the screen and along the sidewalls. The event was a premiere of two episodes of their series "The Hawk." Photo: Bill Counter - July 9 

 

 

Across the front with the ornament in a red mood. Photo: Bill Counter - July 9 

 

 

The rear of the house. They ended up with a full house that night. Photo: Bill Counter - July 9 

 

 

 

Looking in before a July 11, 2026 screening of "Lawrence of Arabia" as part of the American Cinematheque's "Ultra Cinematheque Festival." Photo: Bill Counter - July 11, 2026  

 

 

Up in the balcony:  

A look down c.2001 from the website of Behr Browers Architects. It's on a Mann Theatre Westwood page where they discuss a 12 plex that Mann was planning that would have incorporated the Village and Bruin Theatres as well as adding more screens.

 

 

With the curtain in 2010. That doorway on the right gets you backstage. Thanks to Mark Peacock for sharing his photo taken during a LAHTF "all about" theatre tour. Also see Mark's Vintage Theatres photo set on Flickr.

 

 

The house in 2021 -- after the Atmos installation. Photo: Bill Counter

The view from house left: Bill Counter - 2021

Back to the booth. Hey, that's the door in the upper right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

 

 

A shot during the 70mm run of "Oppenheimer." Photo: Roy H. Wagner, ASC - July 2023 

 

The Norelco DP70 in action. Photo: Roy H. Wagner, ASC - July 2023. You can listen to his short clip on Facebook. 

 

 

Some black and white "Oppenheimer" footage on the screen during the film's 5 perf 70mm run. Photo: Roy H. Wagner, ASC - July 2023. Thanks, Roy!  

 

 

Augmented auditorium lighting by Netflix for the premiere of two episodes of their series "The Hawk." Photo: Bill Counter - July 9, 2026 

 

 

The house right corner with a doorway in the upper left to the side fire escape -- or over to the base of the tower. Photo: Bill Counter - July 2026 

 

 

The revamped ports. For the Summer 2026 "interim" season" it's two newly installed Norelcos at the center and a digital machine on wheels. Here it's over on the right for a pre-show. Photo: Bill Counter - July 2026

 

 

The house left vom and the door to the booth at the top of the aisle. Photo: Bill Counter - July 2026 

 

Backstage:

 

After going through a door near the screen on the right side of the auditorium you're in this corridor leading to the stage. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

 

Looking across from stage left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

Another view from stage left. On the left are the platforms to support the speakers, part of a THX wall built in front of the proscenium. Thanks to Christopher Crouch for his photo. He got a tour of the theatre in 2014 that he discusses in his Cinelog post "A Visit To The Village Theatre of Westwood." See his post for nine additional photos.

 

 

A look at the sloped concrete roof over the stage. Note the round smoke vent, one of two the stage has. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

 

The stage left side of the proscenium. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

The theatre never had fly full capability. The orange steel on the left is the smoke pocket for an asbestos curtain but perhaps one was never installed. It would have had to be in several sections or a braille-type curtain. There isn't enough height to fly a conventional curtain. It's possible the theatre was designed with a full-height stagehouse and plans were changed during construction. 

 

 

A detail from the previous photo. Note that strip of beige plaster with gold accents that's just in front of the original proscenium. Perhaps it's a remnant of the proscenium decor installed during the Skouras remodel.  

 

 

The right side of the proscenium. The strip of blue just out in front of it is a bit of the auditorium ceiling. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

A look up from off right. That's the proscenium on the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2017

 

 

Electrical gear near the proscenium stage right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

 

A closer look at the control panel. The top row of pilot lights reveals that the theatre once used two curtains. The lower rows indicate that the panel was reworked post-Cinemascope with masking designations "Std, "Mag" and "Wide." Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

Offstage right. There's a loading door on the right beyond the stuff. Photo: Bill Counter - 2017 

 

The vista back toward stage left. Photo: Mike Hume - 2022 

 

 

The motor and counterweight for the waterfall curtain, located on the back wall at the centerline. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

In the booth:

The booth in 1994. Thanks to Thomas Hauerslev for including this photo he took with his article DP70s in California on In70mm.com, the site he curates. He notes that the Norelco DP70 machines were serial #1339 and #1341. In addition, #1369, the machine from the Plaza Theatre, was moved here for storage after that house closed in 2004. There's a platter out of the frame to the right. Note the rollers on machine #2. 

 

An undated look at machine #2 in the Village Theatre booth. The photo by Alysson DeFaria is another appearing with the DP70s in California article. At the time there were 5 different soundheads. In addition to the 6 & 4 channel mag head and optical head in the Norelco, they had stacked on top a DTS reader, a Sony SDDS head and a Dolby Digital head. 

A 2010 look across the front of the booth from contributor Senorsock on Cinema Treasures. Note that the Norelco is an early one -- separate motors for 24 and 30 fps. Later versions had a single motor and a clutch. 

 

In 2017 the house got a Dolby Atmos sound installation.  

 

 

They got a "THX Ultimate Cinema" package in 2019 that included two Barco laser projectors. These ended up in the ports closest to the centerline and, for a while, the film equipment was retired. A Christie unit positioned on the left end of the booth was retained as a backup and is seen on the right in this shot. 

 

Thanks to Charlie Maselli for sharing this photo he took in October 7, 2017, the day of the premiere for "El Camino." This was before they had the ventilation issues figured out. Charlie comments:"First projectors I had encountered that didn’t need an exhaust fan but rather Barco recommended an air conditioned booth. I installed a Mitsubishi mini-split after that."

 

 

A May 2021 look at the Barco laser units. Photo: Charlie Maselli 

 

 

  

At the far right end of the booth in October 2021. Thanks to Charlie Maselli for sharing his photo. Note the tracks on the floor to slide the Norelco over into position when needed. 

 

Closest to us is a backup Christie digital unit with xenon lamp, then the two Barco THX laser machines and the one remaining Norelco with a Strong lamphouse. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

A wider view revealing the Christie platter at the right end. One of the amp racks is seen on the right. At the far end, beyond the platter, is the front of a 1931 Ward Leonard dimmerboard, no longer in use. Photo: Mike Hume - 2022. Thanks, Mike! Visit his Historic Theatre Photography site for historical data and thousands of great photos of the many theatres he's explored in the L.A. area and elsewhere.  

 

 

Equipment racks along the back wall.  Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

 

A closer look at the Atmos amp rack.  Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

 

Looking along the #2 THX laser unit. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

 

Looking back to the booth entrance door and the 1931 vintage DC switchboard.  Photo: Bill Counter - 2022  

 

 

The DC board on the left wall. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

 

Getting ready to run 70mm again for an engagement of Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza." Thanks to Regency Theatres for the photo, appearing as a November 2021 post on the Regency Village and Bruin Theatres Facebook page. Due to the increased room required for the laser digital upgrade, there was only one Norelco left in the booth.

 

 

A shot taken during a "Licorice Pizza" screening. Note the tracks in the floor so the machine can be re-positioned when not in use to allow access to the right Barco THX laser unit. Thanks to Michael S. Hall for sharing his photo on the Reel Projectionists private Facebook group.

 

A closer look at the Norelco. Above the head are DTS and Dolby Digital readers. Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

 

The original Ward Leonard dimmerboard on the right wall.  Photo: Bill Counter - 2022

 

 

A wide view from the right end of the booth. The platter is out of the frame to the right. That's the old DC switchboard at the far end. On the far left edge it's a bit of one of the amp racks. Photo: Mike Hume - 2022 

 

When Regency's lease expired and the house closed in July 2025 they sold the sound system to Jason Reitman's group, the new owners. Regency took the digital projectors and contractors for Jason's team packed up the film equipment and removed it, expecting a renovation to begin soon. Dolby outfitted the empty booth with two Dolby Vision machines for Paramount's rental of the theatre for the May 2025 premiere of the Billie Eilish film "Hit Me Hard and Soft." 

 

The new programmers, American Cinematheque, brought in a Christie 4400 digital unit for a June "Jackass" marathon, their first event. Two rehabbed Norelcos #680 and #681 (originally from the Carthay Circle, later at the Bruin) were installed in June 2026 for four shows July 11 and 12 as part of the "Ultra Cinematheque 70" festival. "The Odyssey" was up next with a three week 70mm run beginning July 16. 

 

 

A look at the new two-machine Norelco DP70 installation. American Cinematheque's head operator Ben Tucker, center, and Paul Smith of D-Mation, right, appear in an 80 second "Norelco teaser" that landed on YouTube July 8, 2026. The lamps are Strong Ultra 80s. Sean McKinnon of Boston Light and Sound notes: "We were hired by Universal for this project and hired D-Mation and Paul Smith locally to do the work. We provided some of the unobtainium parts."

 

 

Paul notes that the machines hadn't been used for two-machine operation with changeovers at the Fox (or the Bruin) since the 1980s. In recent years it had been just one machine and a platter.   

 

 

In the attic: 

 

On the catwalk. Thanks to the theatre's long-time HVAC service man Charlie Maselli for sharing his photo.  

 

The Fox Westwood/Directors Village Theatre pages: history + exterior views | back to top - interior views |

| Westside theatres | Hollywood | Westwood and Brentwood | Along the Coast | Westside theatres: alphabetical list | Westside theatres: by street address | Downtown theatres | [more] Los Angeles movie palaces | Los Angeles theatres - the main alphabetical list | theatre history resources | film and theatre tech resources | contact info | welcome and site navigation guide |