Fairfax Theatre is Designated a Historic-Cultural Monument

Some good news on Fairfax Avenue for a change. The Fairfax Theatre has been saved. The Los Angeles City Council voted to add the Art Deco Theatre to the list of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments. The vote was unanimous at a City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 7, 2021.

In July, the State Historical Resources Commission unanimously voted to add this important historic building to the National Register of Historic Places. The Fairfax Theatre building located on the corner of Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard, is recognized both for its importance in developing the Fairfax District as an ethnic Jewish neighborhood, as well as for its art deco architecture.

This nomination is supported by important historians of Jewish Culture, members of UCLA’s Mapping Jewish Los Angeles Project, the president of Hadassah of Southern California, and the Holocaust Museum of Los Angeles.

Art Deco Los Angeles states that recognizing this historic cultural center of the Jewish community is especially important at this time of increasing anti-Semitism. The preservation of this building would serve as a monument to the many generations of Jewish families who found refuge in the Beverly-Fairfax neighborhood.

It is through the efforts of Save Beverly Fairfax and the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles over the last two years that this recognition and protection has been passed. The support of Councilmember Paul Koretz and his staff was also invaluable in achieving the designation according to a press release.

Built in 1930 on the corner of Fairfax Ave. and Beverly Blvd., the Art Deco building was vital in the formation of the Fairfax District. It served the developing neighborhood as a venue for entertainment, and as the center for fundraising of local Jewish synagogues and organizations. The building’s thirteen storefronts became a resource and magnet for the Jewish community, with the first Jewish delicatessen, the first kosher meat market, and the first Jewish bakery on Fairfax. The neighborhood’s first professional offices with doctors and dentists were on the second floor of the building.

Today the “mishpocheh” and lovers of Art Deco architecture from around the world are celebrating the heritage of Los Angeles. Save Beverly Fairfax and the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles will continue to seek a better use for the Fairfax Theatre building, so it can once again serve the neighborhood and the community.