Apple Shares Details on Planned Tower Theatre Flagship Store in Los Angeles

[macintoshmac]

I feel the ones with negativity about this are clearly missing the point where Apple intends to make its new stores a community space. It has done so in Italy, it is now doing so in their own country. This is great on Apple, invite people to spend time, give them the place to sit and do what they want. Some day, some of them will end up buying Apple products. Good for both visitors and Apple. Apple is giving the people back, the money they give Apple. And, in doing so, inviting that same money back from them in recurring business. I like this cycle.

 

[smirking]

This is just a way for Apple to get a store in a prime location for cheap.

Dude, ain't nothing cheap about restoring old buildings. There's a reason why developers like to swing the wrecking ball and start over if local planning commissions let them do that.
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I feel the ones with negativity about this are clearly missing the point where Apple intends to make its new stores a community space.

The MacRumors crowd isn't known for sunshine and optimism.

 

[dryadsoraka]

I appreciate their efforts but it shows that money is their ultimate goal. This was the perfect opportunity to restore and create a state of the art, immaculate theatre.

 

[barkomatic]

I hope this never gets approved

So you'd rather the building be demolished or sit vacant while it crumbles and get vandalized? Apple is not only restoring the best parts but making minimal adaptations to convert it into a store--entirely convertible back to a theater if the will is there from the community at that point.

 

[StevieD100]

Unfortunately though, the economics of the movie and theater industries are such that it’s difficult to make a profit off of some of these enormous single screen theaters, and there are still quite a few of these fabulous theaters still surviving on Broadway.

Yes siree. When was the last film release by Hollywood that actually made any money (according to Hollywood accounting rules)?
Even the Harry Potter Series made a 'hollywood' loss. Yet the studios are still in business and the execs still fly around by private jet... Someone is making money... but who?

 

[rjlawrencejr]

Yes siree. When was the last film release by Hollywood that actually made any money (according to Hollywood accounting rules)?
Even the Harry Potter Series made a 'hollywood' loss. Yet the studios are still in business and the execs still fly around by private jet... Someone is making money... but who?

I believe he was talking about the exhibitors can't make any money with only one screen showing one film. Multiple screens are the only way to recoup the costs. But yes, the studios do have very "interesting" accounting practices.

 

[Gasu E.]

[doublepost=1533236823][/doublepost]Heartbreaking. Apple could have done something terrific. Rehab the space for lectures, etc. Instead, another pretty retail box...
[doublepost=1533236934][/doublepost]
OR, perhaps Apple could put in a drop of the billions (oops, I mean Trillion dollars it is now worth) to make something that benefits the local community. Could host programs with video feed of TED talks. OR maybe apple lectures of some sort, etc...

They are doing just that. Click on the link and read the entire LA Times article.
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They shouldn't be used for a new purpose, they should be used as what they were originally intended to be. Art and culture is a lot more important than a simple retail store for buying phones and laptops. This is just a way for Apple to get a store in a prime location for cheap.

It's not going to be cheap, and it's not a simple retail store. And Apple's project is expected to help revitalize an area that went into a steep decline. Maybe read the entire source article before moralizing? Just a suggestion!

 

[Arran]

I appreciate their efforts but it shows that money is their ultimate goal.

Same goal as whoever built the movie theatre in the first place.

 

[pbasmadj]

How come I don't see any bandits in black hoodies running with fistfuls of iPhones in this picture? They did say this was in LA right?

I always laugh at outsiders perceptions of LA. Because you can generalize one of the largest cities in the world, right? Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Bel Air, Malibu, and the hood, all one in the same.

 

[Nicky G]

But I love when there are special one-off events on some of the old screens. Watching Blade Runner a few years back at the Million Dollar Theater -- where part of it was filmed -- was a great experience.

I just want to say I am glad to see another macrumors forum member of a certain vintage who apparently likes dancing and Blade Runner, and is talking sense in general in this thread. Whoop whoop!

 

[scottrngr]

[doublepost=1533236823][/doublepost]Heartbreaking. Apple could have done something terrific. Rehab the space for lectures, etc. Instead, another pretty retail box...
[doublepost=1533236934][/doublepost]
OR, perhaps Apple could put in a drop of the billions (oops, I mean Trillion dollars it is now worth) to make something that benefits the local community. Could host programs with video feed of TED talks. OR maybe apple lectures of some sort, etc...

Or they could premiere at the Apple TV shows that no one cares about there.

 

[The Barron]

Too garish for my taste. It's a phone company. Start acting like it.

Apple is NOT a phone company!

 

[BorderingOn]

Too garish for my taste. It's a phone company. Start acting like it.

Hmm.

 

[Winni]

I vividly remember the early days when Apple was shoved to a dark corner in the back of many electronics retailers, places like Best Buy, CompUSA, Circuit City, Ultimate Electronics. Then there were the independent Apple dealers in town, some good, many bad. Sears once carried an Apple II clone, the Franklin. Many Apple fans chafed at the poor treatment of Apple products by retailers. Many of us hoped Apple might finally have taken enough guff from these places and open their own stores.

When Steve Jobs announced the first Apple stores were coming marketing and retail experts literally fell out of their chairs laughing. Fast forward to today and they’re not laughing anymore. For years now Apple stores have generated more revenue per square foot than any other retailer. And their stores are the envy of marketing gurus the world over.

So add that to the list of reasons AAPL will probably close above $1trillion market cap today.

You left an important milestone out -- at least one that we had here in Germany: Apple Centers.

Back in the late 1980s, early 1990s, Apple used a franchise concept not that different from, hm, McDonald's. Or big car companies. In order to open an Apple Center, you only needed to rent an actual villa -- an average house would NOT be suitable -- an had a dozen or so certified Apple professionals on your payroll. And of course you were only allowed to sell stuff related to Apple computers.

 

[dancefreak]

I was in LA last week and stayed just around the corner from this in Historic DTLA. I have to say I cant imagine an Apple Store here. The area is in a state of decay with many homeless roaming the street. Quite sad actually. But maybe the city authorities want to improve the area by having Apple move in.

You actually have it backwards. Downtown Los Angeles is in the midst of a massive revival. Apple is only moving in because of all the wealthy residents as well as new retail and restaurants who took the real risk and paved the way first over the last two decades to build a vibrant community. If you think it’s bad now, you couldn’t imagine things 20 years ago when there wasn’t yet redevelopment in any part of downtown.
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I just want to say I am glad to see another macrumors forum member of a certain vintage who apparently likes dancing and Blade Runner, and is talking sense in general in this thread. Whoop whoop!

As an added bonus I’m originally from Baltimore. Holla! Lol

 

[ipponrg]

Dude, ain't nothing cheap about restoring old buildings. There's a reason why developers like to swing the wrecking ball and start over if local planning commissions let them do that.
[doublepost=1533295997][/doublepost]

The MacRumors crowd isn't known for sunshine and optimism.

https://9gag.com/search?query=iphone

It's not just MacRumors

 

[smirking]

It's not just MacRumors

True. So true and sadly so.

 

[farmboy]

They shouldn't be used for a new purpose, they should be used as what they were originally intended to be. Art and culture is a lot more important than a simple retail store for buying phones and laptops.

Arts and culture couldn’t keep the place viable for the last 40 years. Much like they can’t keep the hundred other stage / theater venues viable in LA—oe even desirable. Culture changes, so will venues. Nobody wants a return to vaudeville either.

 

[SemperMac]

So nice and beautiful - BUT, honestly, we still don't have ONE SINGLE APPLE STORE in Copenhagen with it's approx 1,2 million inhabitants and millions of tourist visiting each year ---- come on, Apple!!!

 

[Keirasplace]

You actually have it backwards. Downtown Los Angeles is in the midst of a massive revival. Apple is only moving in because of all the wealthy residents as well as new retail and restaurants who took the real risk and paved the way first over the last two decades to build a vibrant community. If you think it’s bad now, you couldn’t imagine things 20 years ago when there wasn’t yet redevelopment in any part of downtown.
[doublepost=1533395605][/doublepost]
As an added bonus I’m originally from Baltimore. Holla! Lol

It wasn't even that "bad" 20 years ago, I was a frequent traveller in LA around 1994-1995.
Downtown was deconstructed, with huge amounts of gaps, pretty dead after hours, but most crime occured south of USC. There were still a lot of quirky things downtown back then. Funny enough, at that time, the perception of LA downtown being not so good existed even in many locals from the west side of LA (probably because they watched the news), which doesn't seem to exist these days.

 

[ipponrg]

It wasn't even that "bad" 20 years ago, I was a frequent traveller in LA around 1994-1995.
Downtown was deconstructed, with huge amounts of gaps, pretty dead after hours, but most crime occured south of USC. There were still a lot of quirky things downtown back then. Funny enough, at that time, the perception of LA downtown being not so good existed even in many locals from the west side of LA (probably because they watched the news), which doesn't seem to exist these days.

It feels more gentrified now if anything that it was in the 90s. There are more businesses around DTLA such that it has sparked a need for many new restaurants and stores to open. What also helped is the amount of transplants coming in is greater than people moving out, especially to this area. I wouldn't say this is where the wealthy establish themselves, but this is now definitely the area where a lot of transplants with some cash live first when they move to LA. The USC area is less "bad" nowadays, but some parts of it are still sketchy when you step outside the campus.

As usual with gentrification, it's shoving people eastward. Much of the grimey nature of what you maybe experienced in the 90s could be found at the edges of the Art district. There you will find homeless tents

 

[Solomani]

How come I don't see any bandits in black hoodies running with fistfuls of iPhones in this picture? They did say this was in LA right?

It's in Gentrified LA. Get your facts right.

 

[Jakexb]

This is a huge disfavor for the historic theatre. I can't think of a less suitable location for a retail store than this space. So sad that a local, independent theatre company was not able to get this property.

I get that, but this area in downtown LA is an entire boulevard of unused, dilapidated theaters from the cinema palace and vaudville heyday. Some of them are now finally getting revitalized as actual theaters. But there's just no way they're all going to come back as actual performance venues. The demand just isn't there.

I'd much rather see Apple do this with care and finesse than have it become like a CVS or something.
[doublepost=1533534237][/doublepost]

It wasn't even that "bad" 20 years ago, I was a frequent traveller in LA around 1994-1995.
Downtown was deconstructed, with huge amounts of gaps, pretty dead after hours, but most crime occured south of USC. There were still a lot of quirky things downtown back then. Funny enough, at that time, the perception of LA downtown being not so good existed even in many locals from the west side of LA (probably because they watched the news), which doesn't seem to exist these days.

It really depended. Back then, as you went farther east downtown -- there was this point where the post-apocalyptic factor just went to 11. Bombed out buildings, streets filled with mentally ill / addicted / homeless people staggering around. Maybe it wasn't a hub of gang activity or anything, but it did feel like "oh this is what the world will look like if society collapses"

 

[Nicky G]

As an added bonus I’m originally from Baltimore. Holla! Lol

Well now I feel like we might actually know one another, which is funny but a tad odd