Hollywood Then and Now - November 2020

There is many a CVS pharmacy now standing where a movie palace used to be.  Virtually every town in America had one.   My hometown of Mount Vernon, New York, had two of them...the Loews and the RKO Proctor.

Sadly, the aforementioned CVS or some reasonable facsimile replaced them.  New York City did a particularly bad job keeping these buildings erect.   Except for maybe Radio City Music Hall, none of the glorious NYC movie palaces either downtown or uptown are still around.

The film capital of the world, Hollywood, did manage to keep some of their legendary movie houses open.   Some still exist to this day.   I am happy to say that one such showplace, the Westwood Village Fox, is still around and thriving just two miles from my home.   

Of course, nothing is playing there right now in Pandemic-laden 2020.   But it is still usually the home of whatever blockbuster came out last weekend.  And, like the photo above from sometime in the 50s, it is the home of the occasional red carpet premiere.

But, as this photo from the 30s shows, it's been around even longer.

Today, the Westwood Village Fox looks very similar to its earlier incarnations.

From its "old school" lobby with stairs that take you up to....yes, a balcony, I am told the owners have done a magnificent job making sure "now" still looks like "then."

You can see how the auditorium simply oozes nostalgia.

But the best news of all...the Westwood Village Fox is still OPEN.  At least, when we have all been vaccinated.

Dinner last night:  Leftover Chinese food.