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GLENDALE, Calif. () — For 100 years, the Alex Theatre has been a focal point of downtown Glendale.
Alicia Fremling and Rob Northrop walked down Brand Boulevard on Wednesday and stopped to admire the building.
“For some reason the sign, the marquee caught my eye,” Fremling said. “It’s really cool looking. It’s obviously vintage. The ornateness of it was eye-catching, and I just wanted to stop and admire it and take it in for a moment.”
During Hollywood’s Golden Age, crowds packed the auditorium to watch feature films.
“When I got to Glendale, almost everyone I met told me that they used to come see the movies here when they were kids,” said Alex Theatre Artistic Director Miles Williams.
Last week, the theater welcomed back audiences for an exciting new chapter – its first-run studio feature film in 31 years.
“The first several decades were first-run movies, and it was well known for that and beloved for that,” Williams said.
Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” was shown at the movie house Thursday on the big screen in 70mm.
“I think that’s it’s going to usher in a new era that’s a reclamation of our identity,” Williams said.
“We have Greek columns out front. We have Greek columns next to the screen on stage. It’s basically watching a Greek film in a Greek architecture kind of … architectural gem.”
Williams has invested in a state-of-the-art cinema projection system and new sound and acoustics.
“I think that the best way to honor the theater, a theater like this, with this kind of history, is to keep it vibrant and keep it relevant and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he said.
Moviegoers are ready to experience movies at the Alex.
“What’s cool about movies in the first place is we get to time travel with them – into the past, into the future. Coming and viewing a movie in a setting like this, in a sense, is like 3D time travel,” said one moviegoer.
“The Odyssey” will play at the Alex Theatre through August 6. Williams hopes it is the first of many films to play at the theater.
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