Opened in 1929, the Loew's Pitkin was a premier silent movie and Vaudeville stage show venue that evolved into a movie theater with the advent of cinematic technology. Imagine what the venue and surrounding neighborhood must have looked like with appearances by Jolson, Bogart, Bacall, Benny and Gleeson throughout its storied history.
Built by architect Thomas Lamb, it featured a multi-tiered auditorium with opulent, ornate, Hispanic-Moorish influenced decor. After closing in 1969, it fell into disrepair through subsequent uses as a church, retail and storage facility and continued its decline as portions of its roof collapsed and opened a crumbling interior to the uncontrolled, destructive powers of the elements.
Remarkably, the theater's Mayan inspired exterior is in good shape and will remain to house a k-8 charter school and a retail development, spearheaded by developer POKO Partners, LLC and ASCEND. The project is set for completion in time for the 2012-13 school-year to commence. |
