Overview

The Albuquerque, NM-based architect Antoine Predock design the Mandell Weiss Forum to be a proscenium-arch-type theatre that could seat 492 spectators. Predock also included an upstairs platform that could be used for gatherings and an outdoor ampitheatre for more informal productions or presentations. (See La Jolla Theatres.org, "Theatre Specifications: Mandell Weiss Forum," accessed 03/27/2024.)

Building History

The San Diego businessman, Mandell Weiss (1891-1993), who co-founded the FedMart chain of members-only, discount stores in Southern CA, had a deep love for the theatre and acting. An immigrant from Galatz, Romania, Weiss immigrated to the US in 1923, first living in New York's active and populous Jewish-American community, before relocating to San Diego. He became very successful in retailing and, in later years, turned his interests, in part, to philanthropy. He made a $1.25 million gift to build a theatre in 1981 in the Mandell Weiss Center for the Performing Arts at UC San Diego, and a subsequent $1.3 million gift to build the Mandell Weiss Forum, designed by Antoine Predock (1936-2024), in 1991. (See Los Angeles Times.com, "Mandell Weiss; Retailer and Arts Patron," published 01/01/1994, accessed 03/27/2024.) In 1994, the La Jolla Playhouse utilized the Mandell Weiss Forum as well as the UC San Diego's Theatre and Dance Department.

Alteration

Las Patronas, a women's cultural philanthropy in La Jolla, CA, funded a new lighting system to be installed in the Mandell Weiss Forum during 2012. (See La Jolla Theatres.org, "Theatre Specifications: Mandell Weiss Forum," accessed 03/27/2024.)

PCAD id: 25060