 | |
| Full name | Max Palevsky Aero Theatre |
|---|---|
| Address | 1328 Montana Avenue |
| Location | Santa Monica, California, United States |
| Owner | J.S. Rosenfield & Co. |
| Operator | American Cinematheque |
| Type | Movie theater |
| Genre(s) | Film |
| Capacity | 425 [1] |
| Construction | |
| Built | June 19, 1939 |
| Opened | May 15, 1940 |
| Website | |
| americancinematheque | |
The Aero Theatre is a single-screen movie theater in Santa Monica, California, built in 1939 and opened in 1940. [2] [3] [4]
Named in tribute to the aerospace industry, [3] the Aero Theatre was built in 1939 for aviation pioneer Donald W. Douglas of the Douglas Aircraft Company to serve as a 24-hour movie house for his employees at a nearby plant. [5] Designed by P.M. Woolpert, the French Normandy-style theater cost $45,000 ($1.02 million in 2024) to construct and originally seated 678. [6]
By the late 1980s, the Aero was one of Los Angeles' last repertory theaters, regularly programming double features. [7] [8] However, by the end of the 1990s, the theater, then owned by Chris Allen, had fallen on hard times. [9] Robert Redford, who spent time at the Aero growing up, attempted to buy the theater for Sundance Cinemas in 2001, but the deal was never completed [10] and the theater closed in April 2003. [9]
In January 2005, the theater reopened as the Max Palevsky Aero Theatre, after renovations were made by the American Cinematheque. [9] The $1 million ($1.61 million in 2024) renovation included a new 44x17 foot screen, larger and more comfortable seats (reducing capacity to 427), and a new concession stand. [5] The Cinematheque had previously overseen a $12.8 million ($25.1 million in 2024) renovation of Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, and the organization subsequently programmed both theaters. [11]
In 2006, the theatre began hosting the Dusk-to-Dawn Horrorthon, an overnight, six-to-seven horror film marathon. The event is held every year in October. [2]
The Aero underwent renovation again in 2019 and 2021, including improvements to projection, sound, and the general facility. [1]
Aero Theatre has made appearances in several films, including 10 to Midnight (1983), [12] [13] Masquerade (1988), [14] Sleepwalkers (1992), [15] Get Shorty (1995) [16] and Donnie Darko (2001). [17]
Alternative rock band Weezer referenced the Aero in their song "Aloo Gobi", the second track on their 2021 album OK Human . Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo resides in Santa Monica and wrote the song about a typical date he would go on with his wife Kyoko. [18]