A successful entrepreneur, John Blazevich, established a trail-blazing food processing company and grew it into an international operation. He has engaged in a diverse range of charitable and humanitarian causes from aiding the victims of war in Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia to Tsunami victims in Thailand to significantly helping save the endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle from extinction. John Blazevich also bankrolled the new marquee that kick-started the restoration of the Warner Grand Theatre.
Opening in 1931 as one of three Warner Brothers theatres in southern California, Warner Grand was dubbed “The Castle of Dreams” and the first in the area to be sound-equipped. The San Pedro site was chosen by the Warner Brothers because part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet was stationed there until 1940 when it was moved to Pearl Harbor Hawaii in 1940. An esteemed architect and artist duo built the luxuriant art-deco jewel and it quickly became a social center in the San Pedro Harbor locality. The theatre has a Neo-byzantine design and features an eye-catching auditorium and mezzanine ceilings.
Over time these elaborate theatres lost their relevance. The theatre in Huntington Park was divided into two, while the Beverly Hills theatre was demolished and turned into a parking lot. The remaining Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro became a Spanish-language film house in the early 1970s. In 1996, the City of Los Angeles purchased the iconic building. Grand Vision Foundation, friends of the Warner Grand Theatre has since been instrumental in reviving the National Register of Historic Places-listed theatre and turning it into a flourishing community performing arts center.
Opening in 1931 as one of three Warner Brothers theatres in southern California, Warner Grand was dubbed “The Castle of Dreams” and the first in the area to be sound-equipped. The San Pedro site was chosen by the Warner Brothers because part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet was stationed there until 1940 when it was moved to Pearl Harbor Hawaii in 1940. An esteemed architect and artist duo built the luxuriant art-deco jewel and it quickly became a social center in the San Pedro Harbor locality. The theatre has a Neo-byzantine design and features an eye-catching auditorium and mezzanine ceilings.
Over time these elaborate theatres lost their relevance. The theatre in Huntington Park was divided into two, while the Beverly Hills theatre was demolished and turned into a parking lot. The remaining Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro became a Spanish-language film house in the early 1970s. In 1996, the City of Los Angeles purchased the iconic building. Grand Vision Foundation, friends of the Warner Grand Theatre has since been instrumental in reviving the National Register of Historic Places-listed theatre and turning it into a flourishing community performing arts center.
