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*According to reports, a greater alarm fire was reported at the historic Vision Theatre in Leimert Park early Tuesday morning.
The greater alarm fire was reported at 4:35 a.m. at the Vision Theatre and Manchester Youth Arts Center located in the 4400 block of South Leimert Boulevard, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
Here’s what Fox 11 is reporting:
The Art Deco, Spanish-style theatre, which was built in 1931, was undergoing renovations.
The fire was knocked down in 25 minutes by 105 firefighters, LAFD said.
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No injuries were reported.
The building suffered significant damage.
Actress Marla Gibbs purchased the theatre in 1990, according to the theater’s website. For more on that, scroll down and read the theater’s history
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
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Here’s the history of the Vision Theatre (via CultureLA):
A large neighborhood movie palace, this 1931 Spanish-style art-Deco wonder has retained its importance to the community for over 80 years since it first opened as the Leimert Theatre in 1931. It became a neighborhood movie theater soon after opening and was operated by Fox West Coast Theaters. Designed in a classic southern California streamlined Spanish Colonial style, the tall steel frame on top of the lower stucco clad tower originally had the theater’s name on it, and is a landmark for the area.
Actress Marla Gibbs purchased the theater in 1990 and renamed it the Vision Theatre. The theater fell on hard times after the 1992 uprising and the economic recession which hit this area of Los Angeles. The bank foreclosed on the property in 1997 and the City took it over. The theater was later converted into a performing arts center and participated each year in the Pan African Film Festival.
The Vision Theatre completed an $11 million renovation in 2011 and final construction on phases II, III and IV began October 2015 to reconfigure seating within the existing walls, add a lounge area under the seating, enlarge the stage, add a fly loft with office spaces, and build lower level dressing rooms, green rooms, trap room, technical staff office space, and orchestra pit.
The goals of the Vision Theatre is to provide a performing arts venue for professional performing arts presentations and productions; a training center for diverse cultural talent reflective of the surrounding Leimert Park and Baldwin Hills community; to produce and present diverse world-class theater, music, and dance concert productions, along with offering a variety of cultural forums; and to serve as a center for community meetings.
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