4020 Marlton Ave. Los Angeles 90008 | map |
Opened: June 30, 1995 as the Magic Johnson 12. The complex, now with 15 screens, is a block west of Crenshaw on the south side of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. It's behind the mall, where a Von's grocery store had once been. This is the south side of the building, facing a lot and parking deck. There's no entrance to the theatres from the MLK side. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
Website: cinemark.com/theatres/ca-los-angeles/cinemark-baldwin-hills-crenshaw
Seats: The count was 2,643 in 15 auditoria following the Rave remodel of 2011. Screen #2 is a THX house seating 325 that's now branded as Cinemark XD. Across the hall, the other XD house, screen #3, seats 278.
Architects: Unknown
This was first in the Magic Johnson chain, a joint venture between Johnson and Loew's, then owned by Sony. Thanks to RideTheCTrain for locating the ad for a post on Cinema Treasures.
It was expanded to 15 screens in 1998 with an opening on May 29. The three new ones were small stadium-style auditoria added on the east end of the complex. Later it became the AMC Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15. A June 10, 2010 story about the "decommissioning" of the theatres from mall owner Capri Urban Investors appeared on the site PR Newswire:
"Movie Theaters to Get a Makeover at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza; New Operator to Bring First Class Moviegoing Experience -- Starting Monday, the movie theaters at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza are getting an extreme makeover. The mall's owner... will transform the current theaters into a modern, state-of-the-art multiplex featuring stadium seating, new amenities, digital technology, 3-D screens and new decor throughout. The theater upgrade also calls for a new operator, which Capri plans to announce later this month.
"'We are thrilled to be bringing in a new theater operator at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza,' said Ken Lombard, Partner and President of Capri Urban Investors, LLC. 'We are currently finalizing a new contract with an operator that truly understands Los Angeles, the urban marketplace, and has an absolute commitment to delivering the best movie experience you'll find anywhere. Transforming the mall is about giving shoppers more choices and better amenities, and having a new state-of-the-art multiplex is an important step in that direction.'
"The transformation will begin with an immediate decommissioning of the existing theater, to be followed over the next several months with an extensive remodel of the theater complex both inside and out that will provide a completely new movie-going experience..."
AMC closed it on June 13, 2010. After a $10 million renovation it was reopened by the Rave Motion Pictures chain and reopened on June 28, 2011 as the Rave Cinemas 15 Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.
Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this ad. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org
All of the original auditoria were fitted with stadium seating during the Rave renovations. See "Former Magic Johnson Theaters reopens as Rave Cinemas," Roger Vincent's June 28 story for the L.A. Times. Chris Utley had an opening day report:
"It is considerably smaller than it was during the Magic Johnson era. Lobby is drastically smaller with one concession area servicing the whole theatre (a nightmare waiting to happen for the poor soul who gets to the theatre 5 minutes before showtime!). Auditorium seating ranges from 90 to over 300. The 300 seaters are their 'RaveXtreme' auditoriums featuring nicely wide screens (but not tall like Imax or even the wannabe Digital Imax/AMC ETX/Cinemark XD screens) and top notch sound.
"I caught the 2nd half of 'Fast Five' in the X2 Extreme auditorium… pity the poor souls who have to sit dead in front! Regular auds fluctuate between side masking in some and top masking in others. Theatre is all digital projection with 7 auditoriums exclusively dedicated to Real 3D projection."
It became a Cinemark operation in November 2012 with the Rave branding still used until 2016. It's now advertised as the Cinemark Baldwin Hills Crenshaw and XD.
A map of the mall, adapted from one on the Mall Hall of Fame page about the center.
The mall, originally called the Broadway-Crenshaw Center, opened in November 1947 as the first open-air mall in the country. Anchor stores included The Broadway, May Co., Vons and Woolworth's. It got a major remodel in 1988 that included a bridge connecting stores on the other side of Santa Barbara Ave., the street now known as Martin Luther King, Jr Blvd.
Interior views:
Looking in the front doors. Screens 1-6 are off to the left, 7 to 15 to the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
The boxoffice area, on the left side of the lobby. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
A closer look at the bar. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
Looking west, down the corridor with screens 1 to 6. At the end are the two XD branded auditoria. #2, the largest, is on the left. #3 is on the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
A peek into the black void of house #2, seating 325. It's branded as an XD theatre and is also THX certified. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
House #3, seating 278. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
The rear of #3. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
Across the lobby to the east corridor for houses 7 to 15. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
The corridor for 7 to 15. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
House #7, on the east side of the lobby. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
The rear of #7. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
Looking back out to the lobby. The bar is off to the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
At the bar looking south toward the doors. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
Out to the parking lot. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
More exterior views:
1947 - A look across to the May Co. and the new Von's store. Thanks to Atomic Hot Links for sharing the photo on
Flickr.
1947 - A photo taken by Loomis Dean for Life. Thanks to Alison Martino for sharing it on her
Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. She noted that the May Co. was over on the left.
1950s - Looking north on Crenshaw. Thanks to the
Historic Los Angeles Facebook page for sharing the photo.
2007 - The Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. side of the Magic Theatres, designed to look like an entrance but actually fenced off. Image: Google Maps
2009 - On the left we're looking east on MLK toward Crenshaw. That's Marlton Ave. on the right. Image: Google Maps
2009 - A closer look at the MLK "entrance." Image: Google Maps
2011 - Under renovations to become Rave Cinemas. It's a view west on MLK. The galleria-like look on this side of the building was getting redone with a plainer and less-inviting treatment.
2011 - The new look of the parking lot side as Rave. Thanks to Chris Utley for sharing this June 29 photo as a post on
Cinema Treasures.
2012 - A view east. Image: Google Maps
2014 - Looking northeast at the parking lot side of the building. Image: Google Maps
2020 - A photo from the parking deck taken by Gilberto San Jardin.
2024 - Looking east on MLK. We're a half block west of Crenshaw. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
2024 - The north side of the complex, along MLK. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
2024 - Looking east, back toward Crenshaw. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
2024 - The entrance on the south side of the building. It's a photo from the Cinemark Facebook page.
Nearby: Leimert/Vision Theatre | Crenshaw/Kokusai Theatre | Bard's West Adams | Baldwin Theatre |
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page about the complex. Cinema Tour also has a page.
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