Normally we wouldn’t get so excited about a pretty common store opening a new location, but seriously, just look at this Apple Store. The tech giant’s Downtown L.A. flagship (which opens June 24) has thoroughly revived the Tower Theatre, L.A.’s first theater wired for film with sound.
Other than the occasional one-off performance, the 1927 theater had been mostly vacant in recent years—and its exterior wasn’t looking so hot. But Apple’s move into it, which has been in the works for a few years now, has completely rehabbed the space: In a behind-the-scenes post, the retailer details how it restored seemingly every inch of the theater, including the marquee and clock tower on the outside, as well as all of the decorative flourishes and a sunny-sky ceiling mural inside. From the stained-glass window to the Corinthian columns, the shop’s worth a visit even if you don’t need to pick up another pair of AirPods.
On the edge of the retail floor, you’ll find a space dubbed the Forum that’ll host Today at Apple creativity and technically sessions. Genius Bar appointments, meanwhile, will take place in the balcony seating area.
There are certainly other retailers that’ve taken over old theaters in DTLA: Next door, Urban Outfitters moved into the former Rialto Theatre, and just around the corner COS occupies the old Olympic Theatre. But from the inside you’d barely recognize that those spots had once been performance spaces—a criticism you certainly can’t lob at this one.