Kristen Stewart is restoring the Highland Park movie theater in Los Angeles.
The actress and director has purchased the long-shuttered Highland Theatre in Highland Park, with plans to restore the nearly century-old movie house and reintroduce it as a community-centered cultural space.
Stewart recently shared in a new interview that she has long been “fascinated by broken-down old theaters."
"I always want to see what mysteries they hold,” she told Architectural Digest on Wednesday. The Highland Theatre, which closed in February 2024 just weeks shy of its 100th anniversary, immediately stood out.
Designed by architect Lewis Arthur Smith, the venue first opened in 1925 and was part of a wave of neighbourhood cinemas that once defined Los Angeles moviegoing.
Stewart admitted she hadn’t been consciously searching for a theater, but once the Highland came onto her radar, the decision felt urgent and instinctive.“I didn’t realize I was looking for a theater until this place came to my attention,” recalled Stewart. “Then it was like a gunshot went off and the race was on. I ran toward it with everything I had.”
The Chronology of Water director added that she sees the restoration project as “an opportunity to make a space to gather and scheme and dream together,” she told AD.
“We want to make it a family affair, something for the community. It's not just for pretentious Hollywood cinephiles,” she said. “I see it as an antidote to all the corporate b*******, a place that takes movie culture away from just buying and selling. I think there’s a huge desire and craving for what this kind of space can offer.”
Stewart’s directorial feature The Chronology of Water is currently in theaters, with more projects already in development, including The Wrong Girls, which is directed by her wife, Dylan Meyer. Stewart stars in the film and co-wrote the script with Meyer.