Today’s Vacant Lot Is Yesterday’s History – Explore Google or Jump A Wall To Touch It

Early this morning I set out to take a simple photograph of a vacant lot to accompany my post about 20600 Ventura Blvd being sold.  Easy enough, in theory.  From Ventura Blvd it is actually difficult to take a picture of the property because it is on an elevated plateau.  In fact, it is on two elevated plateus, one about 20 feet above street level, and another 50+ feet above street level.  So, in an attempt to get a better view I invited myself onto the property of an adjacent condominum complex, jumped a wall (okay, a half-wall), and took the last two pictures of the above gallery.  Interestingly enough, from this vantage point you can see that the property is indeed larger than it seems to be from Ventura Blvd.

In the process of beginning to make this post I wanted to confirm that the address of this property was in fact 20600 Ventura Blvd, so I punched that address into a Google search and was surprised at what I found.  Before the facility formerly on this property was an assembly hall for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, it was a valuable and storied piece of San Fernando Valley history and culture – The Valley Music Theater.

An undated online petition from, in my estimate, 2005 or 2006 reads:

I am reaching out to all of you. I am in the midst of trying to keep and bring back a landmark to the valley. I am talking about the Jehovah Witness Temple on Ventura Blvd. Well before they bought it, it used to be a theater and concert venue in the valley during the 60’s. It had performers such as Ray Charles, the Doors, Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, Ike & Tina Turner, Peter, Paul & Mary, BB King, Lou Rawls, Three Dog Night, Jim Croce & the Spiral Staircase, among others. Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Carson, Don Rickles & Woody Allen also performed in the futuristic domed structure.

Well it was sold to developers years back when the Jehovahs outgrew it and now they want to turn it into another set of Apt/ town homes. Now I am all about growth in the valley but this is one piece of land that would be a waste to turn into more housing. I’m in the process of trying to file a petition to make it a woodland hills landmark and halt any demolition they plan to do it. I have spoken to the President of the Woodland Hills Home Owners Assoc. and I have reached out to the local assemblyman as well. I am most likely going to need petitions from other San Fernando Valley residents, so I am going to start that here and now. With me being the first signature. Please go ahead and include your name down the list. If you know other people not on myspace that want to be included in this, please get them involved as well. There is serious and do need people who believe in this or would like to have a concert venue brought back to the valley so us “valley kids” don’t always have to go to the city. Its time the bands/theater/comedy comes to us. Please keep reposting this!!!

I found this enlightening and captivating.  So, this building had a former life. And a noteworthy one, at that! Searching for Valley Music Theater reveals this blurb from AmericansSuburb.com (an amazing, yet dormant site):

The theater at 20600 Ventura Boulevard was supposed to be the first local performing arts hall with serious ambitions. Designed as theater in the round, it was built by pouring a concrete dome over a dirt mound, then excavating away the soil. Bob Hope and other local celebrities backed the venture, which opened July 6, 1964, with a gala premiere of The Sound of Music. When legit theater didn’t catch on, rock music was tried. On February 22, 1967, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and the Doors put on a memorable show. Boxing matches were tried, but in 1980 the theater became a Jehovah’s Witness assembly hall. In 2004 the church sold to a developer who hopes to build condos and retail on the site.

I also came across an article from this summer in the Daily News about the developer who razed the theater in 2007 but defaulted on the loan before executing their grand vision for the property.  They write:

“They (JPI) put a very large loan on (the site), graded it and ran out of money,” said a Valley real estate executive familiar with the project who did not want to be identified.

JPI also wanted to modify its original plan to cut costs but ran into opposition from neighborhood groups.

However, any residential project would have to include a retail component and a shuttle that runs from early morning to early evening, Murley said.

“They wanted to do a very cheap facade that just didn’t fit in,” said Gordon Murley, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization. “They started grading, then covered it with plastic and that’s it.”

The current entitlements will transfer to any new owners, he said.

It should be noted, that the quote above exhibits the first mention of Gordon Murley on this blog.  A man who, I have been duly informed, is perhaps the most powerful man behind-the-scenes (and not-so-behind-the-scenes) in Woodland Hills politics.  It has also been explained to me that he generally seeks to limit development in Woodland Hills, specifically and especially along Ventura Blvd.

I guess my marginal bit of commentary with regards to the demolition of the facility is that the whole thing was conducted as a business deal, when in fact there possibly should be been more involvement from the community in recognizing that, while the structure itself was no doubt completely obsolete and had long since been retired from its original use a community theater, there was indeed some historical and community significance to both the theater and the use of the land on which it stands.

Sadly, any notion of using the land for the benefit of our community gave way to the economic motivations of real estate developers, who in hindsight had eyes bigger than their stomachs.  What I also half wonder is if there aren’t some ‘powers that be’ who are both happy that there is neither a theater or community enriching facility at the site, nor any other development (with realistic prospects and/or known timetable) slated for the site in the near future.

If you have anything to add or any insight that you can provide to me, please leave a comment on this post or e-mail me at contact@hillsofwoodland.com.

I leave you with a gallery of photos of the theater as it stood in these undated photos most likely from the year or two before it was demolished.  Photo source: abandonedbutnotforgotten.com

Popularity: 6%

• Article Link: June 25, 2009 Daily News Article