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Hello!
Just heard the good ol' Westwood Theatre on Sylvania Ave. is closing its doors this Saturday with a sale of fixtures to follow on Wednesday, which I find quite sad. I hope someone at the paper writes a well-deserved story on the place, which was a Toledo icon for decades. It is truly the end of an era that many might take for granted, but the theatre was an important piece of Toledo film and cultural history that shouldn't be overlooked.
The Westwood and the Eastwood (on E. Broadway, which I believe is still standing) were built as sister neighborhood houses, both to accommodate silent film. In fact, the Westwood, though it never had a stage, still has an orchestra pit and off to the sides of the proscenium a pipe chamber for when it had a pipe organ in the day. Both theatres had the same stadium seating floor plan, long before it became popular in movie houses worldwide, the same exact chandeliers and matching marquees, though the Westwood had a remodeling job in the 60's when it became the Westwood Art Theatre.
Besides being a porn house for most of its life (operated by the now defunct Art Theatre Guild chain, which is why it managed to survive), it often ran foreign films long before they were fashionable. I remember when Ingmar Bergman's "Persona" (1966) played there, starring Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann, among many other Bergman films. Although such a film would be laughed at today, back then it was daring beyond belief. And of course, "Deep Throat" and "The Devil In Miss Jones" played there, which caused quite a stir in Toledo. I remember the theatre was sued by a customer who found "Deep Throat" to be offensive and obscene, and a famous First Amendment attorney by the name of Herald Price Fahringer was brought in to defend the case. It also played "The Stewardesses" in 1969, which became the most successful 3-D porn film in history. The theatre was no stranger to controversy and long lines that stretched around the block. As the business changed due to home video, the lobby was converted into a video/DVD store, which helped it to survive in the changing times.
The Westwood was also known for its midnight shows, one of the most popular being "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," which ran for years, and the William Friedkin-directed "The Boys In The Band." It brought films to Toledo that were edgy and controversial for the time and gave Toledoans a chance to see the same fare that were playing in the major cities.
Although intended to be built as a stage house during the vaudeville era, the stage was never completed, though the dressing rooms and orchestra pit were. It's truly a shame a developer couldn't go in and turn the place into a playhouse. All it would need is to knock out the back wall and build the stage it was meant to have. It would be perfect for community theatre. It has potential and should be saved.
I'm not sure if the entire building is being knocked down or what the plans are, as I live in Los Angeles and only hear of these things from family in Toledo.
I remember the Westwood well. From time to time, it would drop its adults only policy and play an occasional mainstream film. I remember seeing the lengthy "War and Peace" there sometime in the 60's. I also remember it offering free coffee to its patrons.
I hope you can use some of this if indeed you write a piece and feel free to quote me.
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