Dilapidated “Cinema 21” Building Finally May Get a Decades Overdue Facelift

The City of Pasadena’s Historic Preservation Commission may decide to approve the continuation of needed renovation work on the dilapidated Cinema 21 building, also called the Washington Theater, at 851 E. Washington Blvd. in Pasadena, which was declared a Historic Landmark by the City in 2010.

On Tuesday, the Commission will hear updates from David Reyes, Director of the City’s Department of Planning and Community Development, about the current state of the planned renovation project on the building. Reyes’s presentation will focus primarily on what should be done about the theater marquee, a major issue that has to be determined before the City gives its green light for the renovation project.

The Commission approved an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the exterior rehabilitation of the building on January 19, 2016, but the applicant has requested clarification about the approved disposition of the theater marquee.

In a memorandum intended for the Commission’s Tuesday meeting, Reyes indicated he is referring the matter back to the Commission.

“Upon reviewing the approved plans and decision letter, staff is unable to determine the Commission’s final determination regarding the marquee,” Reyes said. “Therefore, staff is requesting that the Commission review the information that had been provided for review at that time, and advise staff as to the Commission’s intent with respect to the marquee.”

The Washington Theater was constructed in 1924 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style and substantially remodeled on the exterior in 1937 in the Streamline Moderne style. In the 1960s, the Washington Theater became Cinema 21, then closed in 1990 and never reopened as a theater. It was severely damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Attempts in the early 1990s to run it as music rehearsal studios foundered when tenants complained of the noise.

With the current state of the building reflecting elements from both 1924 and 1937, the scope of work on the project generally contemplates retention of extant features from both of the building’s historical periods as well as the restoration of altered features.

Reyes says in his report that a determination has to be made on whether to retain and repair the existing marquee, or remove the 1937 marquee and restore the original 1924 marquee.

An analysis conducted by historic architect Peyton Hall, Managing Director of the Historic Resources Group said the 1937 marquee was found to be a character-defining feature of the building, based on archival photographs of the exterior following 1937.

Hall was commissioned by the City to undertake the analysis to help the Planning and Community Development decide on how to act on the renovation project.

But the owner has expressed concerns about ongoing damage to the 1937 marquee as it is being frequently hit by large trucks servicing a shopping center to the south of the building, and now prefers to restore the original 1924 marquee, which is smaller in size.

At the time of the Commission’s review before the January 2016 approval, it was suspected but not confirmed that the original 1924 marquee was encased within the 1937 marquee. Since that time, a small panel of the marque has been removed, confirming that the original marquee remains beneath the 1937 marquee.

Reyes said the owner and the project’s architect will be present in the meeting on Tuesday to discuss the issue with the Commission and await advice.

The Washington Theater was determined in 2010 to be significant for designation as a landmark in the areas of social history and entertainment/recreation due to its influence in the development of the North Lake-Washington area in the 1920s and its combination of theater, commercial/office and residential uses.

It was also considered significant under another criterion in the designation for embodying the characteristics of the Spanish Colonial Revival style in a theater and as a work of noted California architect Clarence L. Jay.