Oh, Broadway is so about to happen--the Delijani family, longtime owners of the Palace, State, Los Angeles, and Tower theaters "expects to file documents with the Department of City Planning for a proposal that would bring the turn-of-the-20th-century theaters back to life by transforming them into concert venues and delivering restaurants and bars. The plan involves securing a series of permits that would, in essence, consolidate all four venues into a single 'theater complex,' even though they are on different blocks," reports the Downtown News. That's four new major nightlife venues on a street that's full of underused historic theaters (but that has been seeing a little revival in the form of a forthcoming Ace Hotel, a streetcar plan, and new restaurants like Umamicatessen). The plans would allow the theaters to share facilities and ease the liquor license issue, which the family says will help attract restaurants and bars. The Delijanis will also form the Broadway Theater Group to manage bookings.
The Los Angeles Theatre recently got a major renovation but it and the Palace are mostly only ever open for the LA Conservancy's Last Remaining Seats film series. The State is being used by a church, and the Tower "is primarily used for filming." The Delijanis will make "power, light and sound upgrades" and do a little restoration work. Meanwhile, programming at the Los Angeles and Palace should be stepped up within a year; the Tower will follow and then the State. The family has been concerned about parking supply in the area; it's not clear yet how that issue will be resolved, although the streetcar may help link up parking that's further afield (like Pershing Square).
· Family Looks to Upgrade Four Broadway Theaters [Downtown News]
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