Bringing Back Broadway Gives New Momentum to District's Renewal

Also see:
Photo Gallery: Broadway Historic Theatre District
Bringing Back Broadway (official site)
Last Remaining Seats

Broadway looking south from Seventh Street, 1936. Photo from Security Pacific Collection/Los Angeles Public Library. More Photos

On January 28, 2008, Los Angeles Conservancy Executive Director Linda Dishman joined Councilmember José Huizar, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, downtown property owners, and other stakeholders at the Los Angeles Theatre on Broadway.

The occasion was the announcement of Bringing Back Broadway, a new effort spearheaded by Huizar to harness the momentum of downtown’s ongoing revitalization into the long-awaited renaissance of the historic Broadway theatre district.

While Broadway has long been a vibrant Latino shopping district, the historic theatres and spaces above the ground floor in many buildings have sat vacant and underused for decades.

The Conservancy's Last Remaining Seats series brings thousands of people to historic movie palaces such as the spectacular Los Angeles Theatre. Photo by Larry Underhill. More Photos

The Conservancy has worked for more than twenty years to foster the renewal of these spaces, from raising awareness of historic theatres through our Last Remaining Seats series to a host of efforts in our proactive Broadway Initiative, including historic design guidelines, small business workshops, and more than a million dollars in façade rehabilitation and design grants.

Building on these and many other efforts over the years by the downtown community, Bringing Back Broadway forms a public-private partnership between the City of Los Angeles and Broadway property owners. It creates specific, mutual agreements by both the public and private sectors to share responsibility for the district’s revitalization. This series of “linked agreements,” as well as its unprecedented level of collaboration and momentum, set this initiative apart from past attempts at reviving Broadway.

Ceiling detail, Loew's State Theatre. Photo from the book The Last Remaining Seats: Movie Palaces of Tinseltown, by Robert Berger and Anne Conser. More Photos

For the initial phase of the initiative, Councilmember Huizar has identified more than $16.5 million in city, state, and federal resources to help fund public infrastructure improvements such as streetscape design, property for a new parking facility, and the next steps in exploring the revival of the streetcar system downtown.

The city will also provide business incentives, which could include streamlined permit processes and/or tax relief, for using Broadway for entertainment, retail, and cultural purposes. Property owners have committed to invest more than $20 million in capital improvements such as lighting, restoration and rehabilitation of historic structures, business improvement activities, and technical upgrades.

The beautifully restored marquee of the 1926 Orpheum Theatre. Photo by Larry Underhill. More Photos

Together, these efforts seek to enhance Broadway’s existing vitality with entertainment, dining, cultural, and retail options for current patrons, new downtown residents, and visitors alike. Bringing Back Broadway envisions a revitalized corridor to complement and connect new large-scale downtown development projects, such as L.A. Live and the Grand Avenue Project.

Bringing Back Broadway is overseen by a broad and diverse group of Trustees, including a representative from the Conservancy. The Trustees will help refine the plan and oversee its implementation.

For more information about Bringing Back Broadway, please visit www.bringingbackbroadway.com.

Photo Gallery: Broadway Historic Theatre District

Many thanks to Robert Berger and Anne Conser for the use of their images from The Last Remaining Seats: Movie Palaces of Tinseltown (available for purchase through Conservancy merchandise), and to the Los Angeles Public Library for use of images from their archives.