Aero Theatre


The Aero Theatre is a single-screen movie theater in Santa Monica, California, built in 1939 and opened in 1940.

History

Named in tribute to the aerospace industry, the Aero Theatre was built by aviation pioneer Donald W. Douglas of the Douglas Aircraft Company, serving as a 24-hour movie house for his employees that worked at a nearby plant. The French Normandy-style theater, designed by P.M. Woolpert, cost $45,000 to build, and originally seated 678 people.
By the late 1980s, the Aero was one of Los Angeles' last repertory theaters, regularly programming double features. However, by the end of the 1990s, the theater, then owned by Chris Allen, had fallen on hard times and decreased attendance. Robert Redford, who spent time at the Aero growing up, had attempted to buy the theater for Sundance Cinemas in 2001, but the deal never came to fruition and the theater closed in April 2003.
In January 2005, the theater reopened, after renovations were made by the nonprofit organization American Cinematheque. The $1 million renovation of the Aero included the installation of a new screen, larger and more comfortable seats and a new concession stand. The Cinematheque had previously overseen a $12.8 million renovation of Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre in 1998, and the organization schedules programming for both theaters.

In popular culture

The Aero Theatre has made appearances in a variety of feature films throughout the years, including 10 to Midnight, Get Shorty, Sleepwalkers, and Donnie Darko.

Horrorthon

Since 2006, the Aero Theatre has been home to the annual "Dusk-to-Dawn Horrorthon", a popular event held every October, featuring an all-night marathon of six to seven horror films, as well as free food, candy and giveaways for patrons. Grant Moninger, the festival's organizer, describes the Horrorthon as "...going into some kind of absurd church of horror films." The event has spawned a number of original characters, including Corn Gorn, the unofficial mascot of the festival, as well as his family, friends and nemeses. Some patrons have gone so far as to vote for Corn Gorn in national elections.
Films screened