The former Pussycat Theater at 7734 Santa Monica Boulevard has sat dark and vacant for four years. The sign is still up. The dancing Pussycat logo still spins on the oval marquee. Nobody has walked through the doors since October 29, 2022.
But something may be stirring.
David Mansor, a real estate broker and attorney with HIT Realty Group — whose firm’s name is stenciled across the building’s facade — says a tenant has been leasing the property for two to three years with plans to open a theater and restaurant experience. Those plans are in permitting with the City of West Hollywood. They have stalled.
“This site is amazing,” Mansor said. “It literally is one of a kind. You’re not going to find it anywhere else in West Hollywood or even Beverly Hills to have such a large theater that’s pre-existing in such a dense area with a parking lot available right next door.”
The building is still technically under lease. But Mansor said anyone interested in the property — for lease or sale — can contact him directly. A new tenant, he said, could potentially take over the existing permit set and save roughly six months of work.
“Whoever would buy it or rent it or whatever — I’d be happy to work with them,” he said. “They could probably take over the existing tenant’s permits.”
84 Years of History
The building opened March 15, 1940 as the Monica Theatre, a neighborhood movie house that later ran foreign films as the Monica International. By the mid-1960s it had shifted to soft-core pornography. It went hardcore in 1969 under the name Left Bank Theatre.
In 1970 it became the Pussycat — one of the flagship venues of Vincent Miranda’s California adult theater chain, which once had 30 locations statewide. Lines stretched around the block for “Deep Throat” and “Devil in Miss Jones.” Hand and footprints from adult film legends Linda Lovelace and John Holmes are still pressed into the cement out front.
The chain collapsed. By 2003, the West Hollywood location was the last Pussycat standing. It shifted to gay content and became the Tomkat in the 1990s. Operators Omar Fiori Cassing and Max Cassing rebranded it as Studs in 2006, restored the Pussycat name, and repainted the dancing logo on the marquee. In 2011 it was converted into a four-screen theater.
The Cassings did not renew their lease in 2022. They cited rent increases — twice since COVID — and rising crime. Their final show ran a little before midnight on October 29, 2022.
The City Had Its Chance
The building’s potential as a legitimate performing arts venue has been discussed for years. In 2013, the City of West Hollywood considered purchasing it along with the Coast Playhouse at 8325 Santa Monica Boulevard. The City bought the Coast Playhouse. It passed on the Pussycat.
Former Mayor and City Councilmember John Duran made the case publicly. Writing in WEHOonline in 2023, he called on the City to act. “Grab it now,” Duran wrote. “We don’t need another high rise development on that spot when we can take this historic structure, refurbish it and add another community asset to our inventory.”
The City did not.
The building has no formal historic designation. It does not appear on the City of West Hollywood’s register of cultural resources, nor on the National Register of Historic Places. That means it carries no legal protection from demolition. A developer could buy it and tear it down. The question of whether anyone pursues that designation — or whether the building survives long enough to matter remains open.
Four Years Empty
After the Cassings left, the building was listed for lease at $25,000 a month. It went off market in the spring of 2023. A homeless encampment took hold inside. Mansor said he was brought in to address that situation and secured the property. The “Post No Bills / HIT Realty Group / No Trespassing” stenciling visible on the facade today is his work.
A tenant subsequently leased the space and drew up plans for a theater and restaurant concept. Those plans are in permitting. The project has not moved.
“When you have a dilapidated, distressed property in your neighborhood, it affects everything,” Mansor said.
What the Eastside Is Missing
The building sits east of Fairfax Avenue — the eastside of West Hollywood — a stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard that has no live music venue. The Troubadour is on the west side. The Roxy and the Whisky are on the Sunset Strip. East of Fairfax, there is nothing comparable.
Mansor sees that as the opportunity. He described a vision of an intimate music venue — album releases, major performances, the kind of experience the neighborhood cannot currently offer.
“I see larger shows and more intimate album releases,” he said. “I see major stars performing at the venue.”
He called it the worst building on the best block. He said that cuts both ways.
“It really is a one of a kind building,” he said. “And in the right hands, it will be a really positive asset for not just the community, but whoever’s operating it.”
Anyone interested in the property can reach Mansor at David@HITRealtyGroup.com or (914) 281-2182.
Cat cartoons?
Filing paperwork ASAP to reopen The Institute of Oral Love
O.M.G. There once was an “Institue of Oral Love” on Santa Monica Blvd.?!? Wonder if the Syphillis Foundation was across the street. However, the Institue of Oral Love has potential Netflix series written all over it.
This place will need a HAZMAT going over for sure.
West Hollywood shouldn’t have turned their back on purchasing this theatre and only focused all their efforts on the theatre across the street from City Hall Two venues along the street. This would have served the Russian Community well and brought an East Side activation investment West Hollywood rarely invests in