By Daily Press staff
Where else in Los Angeles can you go to find a 1939 style movie theater? Nowhere except in Santa Monica, thanks to a local developer and a preservationist.
The Santa Monica Conservancy has awarded local developer Jim Rosenfield and Tom Cleys, the conservancy’s former president, with its highest honors for their accomplishments in promoting preservation in the city.
The conservancy recognized Rosenfield for his dedication and success in restoring the Aero Theater on Montana Avenue. Rosenfield purchased the building in order to save it, while maintaining its use as a movie theater. The single-screen theater was built in 1939 by aviation pioneer Donald Douglas as an entertainment venue for Douglas Aircraft employees. Like the aircraft plant, the theater was open 24 hours a day so that workers could see movies any time during their off hours. The Aero is one of the few surviving neighborhood movie theaters in the Los Angeles area today, officials said. Rosenfield worked for eight years to find the right operator who would reuse the building in its original configuration and restore it to its original glory. The theater reopened in January under the auspices of the American Cinematheque.
“Jim’s efforts are important, not just because he has saved the last neighborhood movie theater in our city, but because he has demonstrated that preservation can be good business,” said Joel Brand, president of the Santa Monica Conservancy. “He’s a developer with passion and vision that goes beyond the easiest way to make a profit, and that’s a combination we don’t see enough of, unfortunately.”
The second award was presented to Cleys, the conservancy’s first president. “His service has been so critical that without him, the preservation movement in Santa Monica would not be where it is today,” Brand said. “Without Tom, there would be no Preservation Award and likely no conservancy. He has been the lifeblood of the organization.”
When Cleys moved into Santa Monica in 1998, he became active in the neighborhood group Friends of Sunset Park, and then worked with Doris Sosin to form the conservancy. Elected to serve as the first president of the new nonprofit by his co-founders because of his initiative and energy, Cleys brought the Santa Monica Conservancy from concept to practical reality. He continues to contribute to the work of the conservancy, and is in the forefront of raising preservation awareness and support in his home neighborhood.
Each year, the Santa Monica Conservancy presents awards to individuals or organizations in recognition of outstanding accomplishments in preserving Santa Monica’s unique heritage, and for promoting the value of historic preservation in the city.
The Santa Monica Conservancy is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to the preservation of the city’s historical, architectural and cultural heritage through tours and educational programs. For more information on the conservancy, check out www.smconservancy.org, or call (310) 485-0399.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 12, 2005. Read the original PDF.