Alex Theatre

Regarding the redevelopment issue and the Alex Theatre, this historic landmark located right here in downtown Glendale is a large part of my life. Ever since I was a child, my parents brought us here. During my dad's tenure on the Glendale City Council and as mayor, I remember his passion and his commitment to this amazing theater. Outside all of these memories, it is where my brothers and I chose to celebrate his life and his legacy. This theater will always be the place where we said “Thank you, Dad.” The Alex Theatre is a place of memories, old and new. It needs to stay here for a very long time.

Growing up in the San Fernando Valley area, I had the opportunity to see and hear the Glendale Symphony under the baton of the late, great Carmen Dragon. Later in life, I had an opportunity to work with Maestro Dragon, as well as his son, Darryl and his wife, Toni Tennille, for a number of years. As a result, Glendale has a special place in my life. Consequently, when the opportunity to continue this orchestral tradition and build a world-class pops orchestra in Glendale came my way, I considered it a career highlight, and a grand opportunity to keep Glendale on the map as an arts industry leader.

Event activity and attendance at the Alex Theatre jumped by about 14% this fiscal year, officials reported Tuesday - a sign that the historic venue is coming back to life after a two-year slump. Glendale's Redevelopment Agency subsidizes the theater with a $415,000 annual management fee, but that agreement is set to expire in 2015. In August, City Council members cautioned the theater that it would soon have to be self-sufficient. Since 2007, the Redevelopment Agency has spent $1 million on 16 projects at the theater, including sound upgrades, façade improvements and seat refurbishments, according to a city report.

An organization better start moving if its staff expects to raise $75,000 by the end of the month. But that's what Interim CEO Elissa Glickman of the Glendale Arts and the Alex is determined to do. Without redevelopment funds, the future of the ownership of the Alex Theatre is in question. Glendale Arts supporters want the Alex to be transferred to the city of Glendale. Glendale Arts' “I Heart Glendale Arts” fundraising campaign began with a soft launch in mid-March. That means it has a mere six weeks to meet its lofty goal.

Officials are putting off millions of dollars worth of improvements at the Alex Theatre because under a state mandate to dissolve local redevelopment agencies, Glendale may be forced to sell off the historic venue. In their most recent quarterly report, Glendale Arts, which operates the theater, said they're holding off on the major upgrades until they know whether earlier moves to try and transfer ownership of the venue from the now-defunct Redevelopment Agency to the city are deemed legal.

State fire codes may throw a wrench into plans to use the outdoor forecourt at the Alex Theatre to host events and generate more revenue. Theater officials want to remodel the courtyard with glass doors where wrought-iron gates now stand, potted cypress trees paralleling the Doric columns and new paving as part of a plan to use the space to host events in addition to programs within the theater. But project planners ran into a host of obstacles, including word from building and fire inspectors that the courtyard always must be available as an exit corridor.

The operators of the Alex Theatre are replacing their event-based fundraising of years past with an online effort in hopes of generating $75,000 to cover costs. Extra money earned by the campaign could also be used to help Glendale Arts, the nonprofit that runs the historic venue, buy the theater from the city - if state officials determine that it must be sold off as part of the wind-down of Glendale's Redevelopment Agency. “We can't go this route alone,” said Interim Chief Executive Elissa Glickman in an interview Monday.

The Student Showcase — an annual visual and performing arts fundraiser that featured Glendale students on the stage of the Alex Theatre — has been placed on a one-year hiatus as organizers retool the event and try to recharge sponsorships. The Glendale Educational Foundation, the nonprofit organization that spearheads the event, announced the move on Wednesday. Mia Lee, president of the foundation, said a combination of scheduling conflicts and a tepid economy prompted the cancelation.

Joyce Rudolph DOWNTOWN -- Historical facts about The Alex Theatre will be revealed along with a look behind the scenes during free group tours scheduled for Jan. 13 and March 10. Guests will be led through the courtyard and auditorium by a docent who will recount events and lore of the theater's early years, as well as the docent's experiences as a member of the team guiding the theater's rehabilitation. The second part of the tour is led by the technical director and includes a visit to the green room, backstage area, the stage and a demonstration of the stagecraft involved running a performance.

GLENDALE — They were honored with all-league awards, were recognized at team banquets and were praised in the community for their accomplishments throughout the year. Before the school year finished, local athletes had one more opportunity to be acknowledged for their feats at the third annual Athletes with Character and Ethics (ACE) Awards on Monday at the Alex Theatre. Athletes from Glendale Community College and Glendale, Hoover and Crescenta Valley high schools were distinguished for demonstrating outstanding athletic skill, sportsmanship, citizenship and leadership.

With pressure mounting on city resources in the wake of redevelopment's demise, several Glendale City Council members this week expressed second thoughts about several major downtown area projects that were approved more than a year ago. The Museum of Neon Art planned for the 200 block of South Brand Boulevard across from the Americana at Brand, and the Laemmle Lofts, a five-screen movie theater below 42 residential units at the corner of Wilson...

Armineh Aslanan spent Tuesday running from Montebello to Los Angeles and back to her hometown of Glendale as she tried to attend as many Armenian Genocide Commemoration events as she could. “I feel that it's something that every Armenian should do, they should at least attend one of the events,” Aslanan said. “To remember. To give respect.” Aslanan was one of nearly 1,400 people who packed the Alex Theatre Tuesday night at a city-sponsored event commemorating the 97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which began in 1915 when the Ottoman Empire massacred roughly 1.5 million Armenians.

A member of the Canadian parliament and a filmmaker whose latest feature focuses on a musician searching for a family heirloom lost during the Armenian Genocide are just two highlights of the upcoming Week of Remembrance. Each year, Glendale commemorates the Armenian Genocide of 1915 with a week of events in April. About 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire over the course of several years through massacres and death marches, which modern day Turkey has refused to acknowledge as genocide.

An organization better start moving if its staff expects to raise $75,000 by the end of the month. But that's what Interim CEO Elissa Glickman of the Glendale Arts and the Alex is determined to do. Without redevelopment funds, the future of the ownership of the Alex Theatre is in question. Glendale Arts supporters want the Alex to be transferred to the city of Glendale. Glendale Arts' “I Heart Glendale Arts” fundraising campaign began with a soft launch in mid-March. That means it has a mere six weeks to meet its lofty goal.

The 10th annual 168 Film Festival concluded two days of screenings of short films at Glendale's Alex Theatre with a Saturday night awards ceremony. The festival is focused entirely on films 11 minutes or shorter that tell contemporary stories based on themes from the Bible. In the competition, each filmmaking team is assigned a theme at random and given 10 days for pre-production and 168 hours to create and deliver the finished film. Among the panel of seven judges this year was Howard Kazanjian, former vice president at LucasFilm and a producer on “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Return of the Jedi.” With awards in 25 categories, the weekend's big winner was “Refuge,” which took top honors in acting, directing, cinematography and “Best Film.” The subtitled film is a drama with an Iraqi cast, as a husband discovers the violent past of a neighbor.

The operators of the Alex Theatre are replacing their event-based fundraising of years past with an online effort in hopes of generating $75,000 to cover costs. Extra money earned by the campaign could also be used to help Glendale Arts, the nonprofit that runs the historic venue, buy the theater from the city - if state officials determine that it must be sold off as part of the wind-down of Glendale's Redevelopment Agency. “We can't go this route alone,” said Interim Chief Executive Elissa Glickman in an interview Monday.

Officials are putting off millions of dollars worth of improvements at the Alex Theatre because under a state mandate to dissolve local redevelopment agencies, Glendale may be forced to sell off the historic venue. In their most recent quarterly report, Glendale Arts, which operates the theater, said they're holding off on the major upgrades until they know whether earlier moves to try and transfer ownership of the venue from the now-defunct Redevelopment Agency to the city are deemed legal.

The curtain rose on a new partnership Tuesday as the operators of the Alex Theatre announced they were teaming up with Glendale Community College in an effort to better market campus performances and generate additional revenue for the theater organization. Glendale Arts, the nonprofit that operates the Alex, has opened a ticket outlet on the college campus and will now market the school's performances on its website, which gets about 60,000 hits a month, said interim Chief Executive Elissa Glickman.

More than 1,400 runners raced through downtown Glendale during Sunday's fifth annual Downtown Dash, an event that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for treatment services at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. For longtime Glendale resident Christa Miller, who is 80, it was her forth time participating. Miller regularly exercises and said that having a routine to keep fit, “is very important to me.” “I play tennis, I surf and ski and I walk my dog every day,” she said.