By Special to the Daily Press BY IRENE MANAHAN
While moviegoers the world over flock to the generic theater chains that feature today’s hottest blockbusters, there’s something about those old school movie houses that still spark the imagination. Marquee Santa Monica’s venerable movie palaces give the city’s entertainment district some real flavor.
“The Aero,” as most Santa Monicans know it, opened for business on Jan. 10, 1940. The Montana Avenue theater was built in the style of French Norman architecture by Donald W. Douglas, of Douglas Aircraft fame, and designed by architect R.M. Woolpert.
Seven nights a week, the Aero operated with a small staff and presented double features that changed three times weekly. It also showed children’s flicks.
Built during the run-up to World War II, the Aero’s 1940 launch is still shrouded in mystery, according to those in the know.
The popular belief is that the Aero started as a theater house for pilots, according to assistant manager Nick Perry. The Aero was situated by a nearby aircraft base, and is said to have been a 24-hour operation to give off duty airmen something to do with their precious little free time.
However, Donald Krehbiel, head usher and one of the Aero’s original four employees, discredits the myth included in an oral history of the theater compiled by Margot Gerber, American Cinematheque’s publicist.
“In 1939, we weren’t in the war yet,” he said. “Douglas was building bombers for the British.”
The theater was simply built as a real estate investment, and the Douglas employees didn’t even live in that neighborhood, he added.
At the time of its opening, the Aero played such films as “The Great Dictator,” “On Borrowed Time” and “Arsenic and Old Lace.”
Although the Aero has been remodeled and refurbished over the years, it was just two years ago that the vintage movie house underwent a major facelift. It has since added a high-performance Klipsch sound system, improved acoustics, expansion of the screen to three times the previous size, upgraded projection equipment, including 70 MM projection, a new concession counter and improved seating.
“The Aero is clearly a beloved neighborhood cinema,” said Barbara Smith, the director of the American Cinematheque.
The NuWilshire was constructed in 1931 and is presently managed by Landmark — the nation’s largest theater chain that exclusively presents independent films.
When it first opened, the NuWilshire was operated by Fox. It was later taken over by Mann Theatres, and in the mid 1970s, was turned into a twin-screen house.
The theater has been featured in James Ellroy’s famous novels “Crime Wave” and “My Dark Places.”
“I watch movies at the NuWilshire all the time, but I never would have thought that it has been around for that long,” said independent movie enthusiast Joshua Palacio, 29.
Currently, the NuWilshire features both an independent and foreign language film on each of its two screens.
“I grew up in Santa Monica and I remember when these theaters were still single screens. We used to be able to find a large number of historic single-screen theaters,” said Greg Laemmle, president of Laemmle Theatres. “It’s interesting to see how Santa Monica used to be in the shadow of Westwood, and now it is really doing its own thing.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 19, 2007. Read the original PDF.