Pacific's Winnetka 20 / 21 / 12 & XD

9201 Winnetka Ave. Chatsworth (Los Angeles) CA 91311 | map |

Opened: February 6, 1998 as Pacific's All Stadium Winnetka 20. A 21st screen was open by June 1999 making it Pacific's Winnetka 21. The 2019 photo by Robin Franke is one shared by Google Images.

The location was Winnetka Ave. and Prairie St. with the back of the building on Oso Ave. It was the site of Pacific's Winnetka Drive-In, a venue that ran from 1975 to 1996.

Seating: They advertised it as 5,900 seats when they opened with 20 screens. The two big houses each sat slightly over 700. One had a 79 foot wide screen. The other auditoria were in the 200 range.

Architect: Perkowitz & Ruth

Michael Coate comments about a 1999 digital projection milestone: 

"This was one of the four locales for the first Digital Cinema release ('Star Wars:Episode I—The Phantom Menace'). See Page 2 of my retrospective: "Remembering 'The Phantom Menace' on its 20th Anniversary."

After a 2016 renovation it was advertised as the Pacific Winnetka 12 & XD. They just left 8 of the auditoria unused. 

One screen got a Samsung LED screen in 2019.

Closed: March 2020 with only 13 screens in operation. In April 2021 Pacific announced that they wouldn't be reopening any of their Pacific or ArcLight locations. 

An early plan was to demolish the theatres and replace them with new industrial buildings. See "Pacific Theatres multiplex in Chatsworth will be demolished for industrial complex," a December 2021 story from the L.A. Daily News. 

The next plan was news was that Tesla would be involved in using the property for a delivery and service center. The new plan involves keeping the existing building but gutting it for the new use. See "Tesla To Convert Los Angeles Movie Theater Into Delivery Hub in National Expansion," a July 2023 story by Jack Witthaus for CoStar News. 

 

A rendering appearing with the CoStar article. 

The Daily News followed up in August 2023 with "Tesla to turn closed Pacific Theatres in Chatsworth into delivery hub, service center," a story by Olga Girgoryants. She hadn't grasped that the new scheme was to retain the buildings and only demolish the interior. The permit application that can be seen on the Los Angeles City Planning Department terms the work interior and exterior tenant improvements.

"Huge Movie Theater Liquidation!" In August 2024 the theatre's equipment was offered for sale on Facebook Marketplace by Jonathan Sirop. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for spotting the post.

 

Part of the inventory Jonathan listed in his post:  

"Currently 1,628 of the purple/grayish seats. 700 of the black leather seats. Popcorn machines - Deep fryers - Pretzel/hotdog warmers - Full sized soda dispensers (yes those large ones) - Claw machine - Stacker arcade machine - Tons of business essentials such as screens/card readers etc. - Sound systems - Speakers - Amps - Large sized movie theater screens - Merch from movies back in 2020."

 

Interior views:

The lobby in 2007. Photo: Bill Counter  

 

 

 

A 2018 bar shot by MaryAnn Martinez shared by Google.  

 

 

A 2018 shot by Shawn Spencer shared by Google.

 

 

 

The center of the lobby ceiling. It's a 2020 photo appearing via Google Images that was taken by KamarArarat-Kalpakciyan. 

 

 

A daytime take on the lobby's occulus. It's a 2019 shot by Mary Ann Martinez that's shared by Google.

 

 

 

Snackbar equipment looking for a buyer in 2024 on Facebook Marketplace.

 

A 2017 view of one of the auditoria taken by Steve's Slide and Jazz. 

 

 

A 2024 view from the booth of one of the houses. Photo: Jonathan Sirop - Facebook Marketplace

 

Discarded film equipment looking for a buyer in 2024.  Photo: Jonathan Sirop

More exterior views:

 

2007 - Photo: Bill Counter 

 

c.2017 - A view from Flighttime.photos that's shared by Google.

  

 

2017 - A lovely night shot by Justo Bassd / BigEyeMusik.

 

 

2019 - A shot by Tony S. that's shared by Google.

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Winnetka 12 & XD. Cinema Tour also has a page about the complex. The Yelp page about the theatre is still up and has many photos.

In late 1998 Pacific had opened the Fashion Center 10 nearby, in what had been a Robinsons-May home store. AMC grabbed it in 2022 and rebranded it the AMC Northridge 10.

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