Las Vegas’ Historic Huntridge Theater Shows 1st Sign of Comeback
In 1947, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello appeared live on its present to upgrade their picture “Buck Privates Come Home.” In the ’70s, Elvis Presley rented it to cover movies. In the ’90s, it was a bustling unrecorded euphony venue hosting the likes of Hole, Green River Day, and the Beastie Boys.
Now, after beingness shut and derelict for nearly 20 years, the Huntridge Theater inward downtown Las Vegas is near to undergo a outgrowth few historical landmarks inward this townspeople undergo — restoration.
On April 7, the first outward contract of that physical process testament accept come out when Las Vegas city officials illume its marquise for the for the first time time since 2004.
The Huntridge, located at capital of West Virginia Boulevard and Maryland Parkway, was purchased for $4M in Mar 2021 past Las Vegas developer j Dapper, whose real-estate holdings include the Huntridge Shopping Center across Free State Parkway.
According to Dapper, renovations testament bulge out in April 2024 and make nearly deuce years. They’re estimated to be around $10M, positive an additional $5M-8M to shore upwards contiguous retail space, which Dapper said will live converted to additional carrying into action spaces seats 100 and 200 to a greater extent patrons.
A tenant is already signed up, according to Dapper. SoHo Playhouse, which stages off-Broadway productions inward New York City, testament operate the renovated theater. It’s already stated its intention to host live music, theater, cabaret, and dance productions there.
Huntridge History
Named after international stage business magnate Leigh S. J. Hunt, on whose set down it was built, the Huntridge was designed past S. Charles II Lee, designer of the George Fox Theater in Beverly Hills and the Hollywood Melrose Hotel. Operated by the Commonwealth Theater Company, it opened on Oct. 10, 1944, and hosted first-run movies as intimately as many of their premieres, drawing off stars including Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and Marlene Dietrich.
In 1951, operations were taken o'er past a pool part owned past actresses Loretta Brigham Young and Irene Dunne. Another company, NV Theater Corp., took o'er that same year and reportedly made the Huntridge the number 1 desegregated theatre inwards Las Vegas.
After serving as a picture house for quintet decades, the Huntridge was converted to a concert locale inward 1992 past young tenant Richard Lenz, a former audio engineer, who knocked down pat(p) a dividing fence where the pressure group in one case stood. Among the other acts it hosted were No Doubt, Nine Inch Nails, and Las Vegas locals, the Killers.
Lenz got the Huntridge listed on the National Register of Historic Places inwards 1993. Two years later, its roof collapsed during a sound delay prior to a Circle Jerks concert. Though the theater was rebuilt and reopened inwards Aug 1996, it never quite regained its momentum, dragged push down by competition for both audiences and artists with newer gambling casino venues, including the House of Blues and the Joint.
In 2002, the Huntridge was acquired past Eli Mizrachi, owner of an next piece of furniture store. Mizrachi closed the Huntridge on July 31, 2004, inward readying for renovations that never occurred. By 2008, he was discussing plans to win over the theater into business office and retail space. The urban center sued Mizrachi inward 2014, alleging his aggroup had breached deed over provisions past weakness to compensate for maintenance work and past keeping the theatre closed in(p) for years. The grammatical case was settled inward 2016 for an unrevealed sum.
The Las Vegas City Council approved a design inwards 2019 to sell the Huntridge to Dapper, who had been trying to acquire the attribute for many years, but who was thwarted by the city’s sound case.
Public tours of the theatre can be booked online.
Join the thousands of happy players at NTC33 - the most popular and trusted online casino platform in Malaysia! Play now and win big!