Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Surprised to learn that HOB on Sunset Blvd is closing. Then again, I was surprised to see Universal Amphitheater close too. What's next? The Greek? Hollywood Bowl?
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Yup. They didn't own the land, and the landlord wants to build condos and a hotel and shops and all that. Because of the business issues I mentioned in the other post, HoB wasn't wildly successful there anyway, but they thought they had two years starting from August, 2014 to find a new home. The landlord said otherwise and expects to demolish the HoB very soon and start building before year end 2015. HoB couldn't find anything they like in West Hollywood and now they don't know if they're ever going to re-open in L.A. proper.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder BY the way, the Greek is owned by the city of L.A. and the Hollywood Bowl by the county of L.A. They're safe. But yeah, I NEVER understood closing Universal Amp.
Originally Posted By TP2000 Very interesting info SinglePark. I was living in Boston in the early 90's, I took a summer session class at Harvard (anyone can get in to summer session) on urban planning just for fun, and vaguely remember hearing about HOB there in Cambridge. I was also an avid David Letterman watcher at that time, so Paul Shaffer probably made the connection for me too. But until you mentioned that, I had always assumed HOB was something that dated back to the 1970's and started in West LA. The facility the Anaheim HOB will move in to in GardenWalk is massive, and has the luxury of owning that entire mall and over a thousand parking spaces at their easy disposal. Plus it's literally at the end of a southbound offramp of the 16 lane Santa Ana Freeway, so access is a breeze compared to anyone trying to get anywhere in West LA on a Saturday night. If they can get this new Anaheim location up and running by January, I wouldn't be surprised if they focused solely on Anaheim and gave up on an LA location. It could finally be the thing that helps GardenWalk start to get off the ground. Start, being the key word there.
Originally Posted By phruby The Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre will be closing in 2017 for homes backed up to the 405. Hopefully it can get moved to the great park. I wish they would bring back Wild Rivers or even better Wild Country Safari in the great park. Good luck there.
Originally Posted By leemac <<The Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre will be closing in 2017 for homes backed up to the 405. >> I've always been surprised that the Irvine Company has continued to renew the lease. They are voracious when it comes to land development. It is all about build, build, build with them. They sure threw up those homes on Wild River quickly. I guess it was inevitable that the rest of that plot would be developed into more McMansions. Who owns the Great Park? I had always thought it was owned by the City of Irvine. It seems to have a lot of lofty goals for the site but nothing seems to have happened except for yet more housing stock.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Is there even a difference between the City of Irvine and the Irvine Company? I always thought they were essentially the same thing, even more connected than WDw and Reedy Creek
Originally Posted By oc_dean I'm shocked they are closing that theater. It was a nice theatre complex. I loved the way it was decorated. Very "1970" ... a 'transitional' year ... with a bit of 60s .. and a bit of 70s at the same time. I'm going to miss that theater complex.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Is there even a difference between the City of Irvine and the Irvine Company?>> Irvine Co. created the City of Irvine as a planned community. Ex-Disney chairman and director Ray Watson was the driving force behind the site. Irvine Co. is still the biggest developer in the city but not the only one. It is entirely privately held - Don Bren owns most of it now.
Originally Posted By leemac <<I'm shocked they are closing that theater. It was a nice theatre complex. I loved the way it was decorated. Very "1970" ... a 'transitional' year ... with a bit of 60s .. and a bit of 70s at the same time. I'm going to miss that theater complex.>> No-one has successfully cracked that luxury movie theater chain concept in the US. UltraStar still have 5-6 in CA and AZ I believe. IMHO Anaheim was never going to work - just too low rent. iPic seem to be expanding - their site in Pasadena isn't bad although it is the 2nd or 3rd operator to try that same location. It seems the concept works best in Australia. No idea why.
Originally Posted By irishfan >>It seems the concept works best in Australia. No idea why.<< True, most of the new or redeveloped Cinema complexes here now have a few "luxury" options. My local multiplex just reopened with nine screens, plus three screens in "Gold Class".
Originally Posted By TP2000 leemac>>"No-one has successfully cracked that luxury movie theater chain concept in the US. UltraStar still have 5-6 in CA and AZ I believe. IMHO Anaheim was never going to work - just too low rent." And yet they are building a swanky 4-Star JW Marriott Hotel in that same location. It's not that the Anaheim Resort District is too low rent, it's that GardenWalk is a textbook case of opening a mall at exactly the wrong time (2008 Financial Collapse). With JW Marriott moving in, and the House of Blues taking over for the failed movie theater, I think GardenWalk finally stands a chance of succeeding by 2018. A ticket to a House of Blues concert is easily triple or quadruple the cost of a movie ticket, after all. Their tickets for the next few weekend concerts are in the $40 to $50 range.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I can't speak for the public at large, but going to the movies already seems like a mini-luxury for me. With the prices they charge, it's not something I do very often. If I was paying more for "premium" service (even though most local theaters have great projections and audio), I would go even less frequently than I already do. Luxury theaters seem like they could work in big cities with a huge population to feed into them, but it just doesn't seem super practical for everyday folks
Originally Posted By RoadTrip What is a 'Luxury Theater'? There is a complex near where I live that offers a screen with food and beverage service for those over 21. Orders are taken and delivered during previews and bills settled during the credits. Those wanting additional drinks during the movie can order them just outside the auditorium. Is that what you are talking about? At this theater the ticket prices are only $2 more than standard, but food and drink prices are through the roof. We went once for the novelty and decided it just wasn't worth it.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I'd pay a premium price to go see a movie:n a quiet theater with no talking and no texting. Dream on Little Jimmy!
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<I'd pay a premium price to go see a movie:n a quiet theater with no talking and no texting.>> That is one nice thing about the theater I talked about. Since you have to be 21+ to enter there are no kids or teens... usually the worst offenders.
Originally Posted By leemac <<It's not that the Anaheim Resort District is too low rent>> I guess you live in Anaheim to say that. There is very little 4- or 5-star inventory in the resort district due to the fact that their isn't much market for it. None of the major brands in that space are in Anaheim - no Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, etc. You have the Grand Californian and thats it for now. Sure it does VERY well but there just isn't much market. In addition the median income for Anaheim is one of the lowest in the OC - it is even behind the whole state average. It is a working class city and therefore premium product like luxury cinema just isn't likely to work there.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>You have the Grand Californian and thats it for now.<< Although it's very nicely decorated and does have the spa (which of course isn't included in the room price), I don't think the GCH is really that spectacular of a place. I think the Hilton and Marriott by the Convention Center are at least as nice, if not better; they just don't have the fun theme and are a longer walk from the parks
Originally Posted By leemac << I think the Hilton and Marriott by the Convention Center are at least as nice, if not better; they just don't have the fun theme and are a longer walk from the parks>> GCH was everything you would expect from a 5-star hotel - and a Disney one at that. Good spa. Good pool. Great dining (Napa Rose is still the jewel in the area). Well-appointed rooms. Is it good value? No chance but what Disney hotel truly is? The Hilton and Marriott are faceless and joyless concrete towers. Sure functional. The Marriott is a tired property but works. The Hilton is more like a nasty Vegas casino. Hardly any natural light. Insufficient elevators. The Hilton before the renovation was truly awful. The renovation (maybe 10 years ago now?) has improved it but made it a lot darker.
Originally Posted By leemac <<What is a 'Luxury Theater'?>> It's usually driven by the seating - AMC's Fork & Screen is just bigger regular seats but there are chains out there that have funky sofa-type seats - even love seats. Significantly fewer seats per screen - all at a premium. I saw Inside Out in 2D at a luxury chain. It was nice to see it without kids screaming and running around. I think more movie theaters would do well to show that type of product in adult-only screenings.
