LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fire damaged an art deco theater under renovation in the Leimert Park area of Los Angeles before dawn Tuesday, the Fire Department said.
The Vision Theatre was reported ablaze at 4:35 a.m. and more than 100 firefighters took 25 minutes to extinguish it, the department said.
The theater has been undergoing a years-long, multi-phase renovation.
The venue opened as a cinema in 1931 under the name Leimert Park Theatre.
It was purchased in 1990 by actress Marla Gibbs, who gave it the Vision name, according to the city Department of Cultural Affairs.
The city eventually took over the theater and turned it into a performing arts center.
The theater has been envisioned as part of a revived walkable area connected to a new light rail commuter line.
