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Bijou building reopens with coffee, architect
by Robb Fulcher
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A man and his beverage make their way through the doors of the new coffeehouse at the historic Bijou Theaters building. Photo by Robb Fulcher |
The formal opening this week of a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outlet signals the gradual resuscitation of the 77-year-old Bijou Theaters building, Hermosa’s one-time art house that has been restored and retrofitted for earthquake safety.
The neoclassical building on Hermosa Avenue is now home to two businesses, the two-story coffeehouse on its northeast corner and Burch Architects, which occupies spacious digs where the theater’s auditorium used to stand.
The Coldstone Creamery ice cream chain has secured a storefront space on the southeast corner of the building, and may open by early next year, said officials of the Los Angeles-based CIM group, which is developing the three-story building.
CIM is continuing to negotiate with other businesses in hopes of securing more tenants, vice president John Given said.
CIM bought the 24,000 square-foot Bijou building in September 1997 after the theater had closed its doors. Earthquake retrofitting requirements forced the removal of the remaining tenants in January 1998. CIM undertook an extensive earthquake overhaul, bracing masonry walls with steel and tying them to the structure’s floor and ceiling. ER