Apple to refurbish historic Tower Theatre in downtown LA turn it into a flashy store
Apple is planning to overhaul the interior of the Tower Theatre building in Los Angeles, California, which is modeled after the Paris Opera House, and turn it into a flashy retail location.
Thursday, Apple shared details on the upcoming location with the Los Angeles Times.
From the article:
Apple has the original blueprints for the Tower and will use them along with photographs and other records to restore original theater highlights such as murals, decorations and a leaded-glass window over the entrance. The building will also be seismically upgraded.
The newspaper speculated that the store may be intended to “make a statement to the entertainment industry” as Apple continues to invest in original video content as it gears up to rival Netflix, Amazon and other streaming entertainment providers.
The interior of the aging former movie palace in the Broadway Theater District is going to be turned into an Apple Store that the Cupertino technology giant says will be “one of the world’s most prominent” featuring its next-generation design and an interactive community space with programs, classes and other events for audiences of many ages.
The old chandelier hangs in the lobby of the Tower Theatre
There will be various “Today at Apple“ seminars on shooting videos, art, design and music, some of which will draw hundreds of people, in addition to talks by experts in the fields of movies, television and music, classes tailored to children, a massive video wall, the “Boardroom” area downstairs from the theater where entrepreneurs can get guidance on how to improve their businesses using Apple products, and much more.
At 802 S. Broadway, the Tower Theatre is a historic movie theater that opened in 1927 in the Broadway Theater District of Downtown Los Angeles. Though largely intact, it was abandoned for many years while the auditorium has been used by the Living Faith Evangelical Church.
The building has been declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. It was one of the first air-conditioned buildings in Los Angeles and originally sported windows on the underground level.
Apple was inspired by those firsts the Tower garnered nearly a century ago. According to BJ Siegel, Senior Director of Retail Design at Apple, “All of that cool technology inspires us because we are a technology company and we are bringing new technology to the place.”
The Tower Theatre will be “in the upper echelon of what Apple does,” Siegel continued. “It very much differs from the other Apple stores you see in L.A.” Aside from
The interior of the Tower Theatre will be repurposed (Image: Robert Goulrey / LA Times)
The iPhone maker plans to lease the Tower Theatre., but it declined to say how much the renovation of the building, or the lease for that matter, will cost. The firm currently runs three retail stores in Los Angeles: Beverly Center, Century City and The Grove.
In November 2015, DTLA Rising claimed Apple were interested in leasing the Tower Theatre for a retail store. In May 2016, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported that the company was “in the process of securing a lease.
When a retailer like Apple comes to Broadway, other big name brands will follow in its footsteps, and thatćs going to to jack up lease prices and change the entire neighborhood. A former Carnegie Library built in 1903 in Washington, D.C. is also being converted to an Apple retail store.
Are you looking forward to this new store?
Let us know in the comments down below.
Top image: an Apple rendering showing how the Tower’s interior will look after its renovation
Source link: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2018/08/02/apple-store-tower-theatre-los-angeles/
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