Weekend Entertainment: Old Town Music Hall By Writer and Contributor NJ Jaeger
Experience something old and rare, something new and memorable at El Segundo’s meticulously restored landmark theatre venue: Old Town Music Hall. Its curated movies and live music turn any visit into a fun, unforgettable night perfect for a romantic weekend date or old-fashioned family night out.
Every season the Theatre schedule includes classic and silent films, along with ragtime, jazz, popular music, and pipe organ concerts by world-renown artists. The Music Hall operates a weekend-only schedule which includes a 2:30 PM matinee and 7PM evening show.
You’ll be bowled over as you sink into the Theatre’s beautifully restored plush seats and let the emotional majesty of a 2700-pipe wind-powered Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ wash over you. Return again and again to enjoy a live concert played on the 9-foot concert Bosendorfer grand piano handmade in Vienna, watch a beloved movie from the past, tap your foot to a ragtime performance, or enjoy an evening of unique jazz rhythms.
The Music Hall reflects its time in history by its size and charm. Built in 1921 as a silent film music house it lost its luster once movie theatres introduced sound. It’s “Wall of History” is a fascinating framed collection of photos and memorabilia tracing the origins of the theatre. In the 1960’s the founders of Old Town Music Hall Bill Field and Bill Coffman rescued the Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ from the soon-to-be demolished Fox Theatre in Long Beach. Wurlitzer produced these unusual organs with additional instruments and percussion sounds specifically for theatres to replace an orchestra. Just five years later the movies brought in sound and production stopped.
A historic landmark for the city, Music Hall interior reflects fine acoustics with an era-specific ceiling treatment, and as improbable as it seems, its two graceful grand chandeliers were purchased from a junkyard for just $25.00 a piece, forgotten relics of a bygone palace design aesthetic. The special Theatre lighting adds to the experience and the seating angle design offers a clear view of the stage for every attendee.
Old Town Music Hall’s website is easy to navigate and offers a 3D Tour experience to bring the viewer through the front doors, upstage to downstage, and finally onstage to the keyboard of the Mighty Wurlitzer itself. Every program begins with a short overture from the Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ. Some matinee showings include a sing-along and a cartoon.
Old Town Music Hall is located at 140 Richmond Street in El Segundo. Phone, 1-310-322-2592. Tickets and seating selections are available for purchase on the website. When available, tickets may be obtained at the box office 30 minutes before the event.
A 501 (c) (3) nonprofit, Old Town Music Hall invites patrons and friends to donate and support them in the preservation of the Golden Age of Film.
NJ is a storyteller who has written in many voices for clients in health, education, entertainment, food, sport and politics. Her firm managed publicity for documentary films, book authors and the U.S. Championships. NJ received the Lynn Weaver Award from the Entertainment Professional Publicists Society for her lifelong commitment to philanthropy and community volunteerism.