Apple’s isn’t ready to premiere its first retail store in Downtown Los Angeles just yet, but the stage is set. Broadway’s Tower Theatre is undergoing the largest transformation in its 92-year history. Apple’s restoration of the building will save an important part of Los Angeles culture and draw new energy to downtown’s core.
Last August, Apple officially unveiled its plans for the Tower Theatre after nearly three years of rumors.
With stores in L.A.’s suburbs but none downtown, the Tower presented an excellent opportunity for Apple to grow in a way that exemplifies its modern retail values.
Late in October 2018, I documented the dilapidated state of the Tower Theatre just as Apple’s renovations were beginning. The terra-cotta structure was still immaculately detailed, but tired and worn from decades of neglect and nearly a century of opening nights.
Apple has rehabilitated dozens of historic buildings, mostly outside of the United States. The latest project, Apple Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C., shows that a proper restoration takes time but is well worth the wait. That’s sure to be the case in Los Angeles as well, where exterior work on the Tower Theatre appears slow but steady.
Over the past year, the arched stained glass window above the theater’s entrance has been boarded over, presumably for cleaning and releading. The 1960s-era marquee is partially demolished, with scaffolding rising on top of the remaining portion. Apple’s renderings show that the theater’s original 1927 marquee will be recreated.
Source: Apple Tower Theatre: Checking in on the restoration – 9to5Mac