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As part of their monthly series of free tours at historic venues, the L.A. Historic Theatre Foundation tomorrow heads to Inglewood to check out The Academy and Fox Inglewood, both built by architect S. Charles Lee in 1939 and 1949, respectively.
The open-to-the-public event begins at The Academy, which is currently being used as a church, at 10 a.m. "They've really taken good care of the building," said Hillsman Wright, the Foundation's Executive Director. "It's really a joy when you see people who care. They even keep the neon lit."
After exploring The Academy, the group will head over to the closed-to-the-public-expect-for-tomorrow Fox Inglewood, which is of concern to Hillsman and preservation advocates. It's currently up for sale at an auction and the city of Inglewood is looking to go for it. If they do and win, Hillsman would like to see it become the nexus of Inglewood's burgeoning Market Street. "What we want is a theatre that's busy seven days a week," he said. "That's what's going to reanimate Market Street."
The city rehabbed Market Street in the 1990s, making it more pedestrian friendly and giving the area a nice base for things to start picking up. Hillsman cites a similar building up north, the Crest Sacramento, as an example of how to reuse an old theatre space. "It's been a huge success. They completely changed the neighborhood," Hillsman explained of the various programming efforts that keeps the theatre busy.
If the Crenshaw light rail train is built, one potential station would sit a block away from the Fox, adding more to a list of reasons to make this project happen.
To join tomorrow, meet at The Academy Cathedral (See a map of tomorrow's locations here) in Inglewood. Parking can be found behind the cathedral. The group will travel together to the Fox around noon.
For those who want to hear about more free tours, become a fan of theirs on Facebook.
