In the lobby of the historic Royal Theatre in West Los Angeles, Bob Laemmle proudly points to a wall of glass-encased photos and letters from cinema luminaries of the last half-century.

"This is one of Ingmar Bergman," he says proudly, gesturing to a photo of the Swedish director, his arm around the shoulder of Bob's father, Max, taken during the 1972 premiere of "Cries and Whispers."

Next to it is a letter from the director and actor Andre Gregory, thanking Max for a party he hosted in support of the 1981 movie "My Dinner With Andre."

ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll

Also on the wall is a chilling letter, dated Dec. 5 1935, from Kurt Laemmle to his brother Max, in which he urges his brother and parents to flee the Nazis and move to America, where their famous cousin, Carl Laemmle, had founded Universal Studios. Max followed his brother's advice and the German-born brothers launched their theater chain in 1938.

Seventy-five years later, the family-owned chain has not only survived but thrived in an increasingly competitive climate, while retaining its reputation as one of the premier art house theaters in the country.

"If you look at the track record of family businesses that have made it, to have survived this many generations is quite a remarkable achievement," said Greg Laemmle, the chief executive and third generation of his family to run the Los Angeles-based chain. "Not only are we still here, but we are in fact growing and committed to this business and this form of entertainment."

PHOTOS: Billion-dollar movie club

Laemmle operates seven theaters with 34 screens in Beverly Hills, Claremont, Encino, North Hollywood, Pasadena, Santa Monica and West L.A. The chain has plans to open new venues in the next two years in Glendale, Newhall and Inglewood, where the company is in early discussions to renovate the historic Inglewood Fox Theatre as part of the city's revival efforts.

In Glendale, city officials recently approved a $12.8-million mixed-used project called the Laemmle Lofts that includes a five-screen theater, 42 apartments and 6,000 square feet of commercial space. The Laemmle in Santa Monica is also being remodeled and is expected to open by year's end.

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At 75, Laemmle family's theaters look to the future

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WINDBER Some of the Windber Area School Districts building needs are hard to miss.

There are small sections of leaking roof, a crumbling high school retaining wall and aging, inefficient windows, Superintendent Rick Huffman said.

But theres also a growing list of needs that arent nearly as easy to spot a reason the district engaged a Harrisburg firm to conduct a districtwide facilities evaluation this past fall.

All of a sudden, you sit down with a laptop and you notice things arent working nearly as fast as they were a few years ago,Huffman said. Things like the infrastructure for our wireless system and building security, those are things we have to think about for the years ahead.

McKissick Associates, a Harrisburg firm that specializes in school design and architecture, has been working since October on a list of needs at Windbers schools.

Theyll present findings to board members during their Jan. 8 meeting, a first step toward forming a game plan to address top issues, Huffman said.

The next step will be to have them work with our H.F. Lenz engineers to come up with options to address some of these concerns, he said.

Huffman said there are a few glaring needs he expects will be addressed early, such as a crumbling retaining wall and high school roof issues. But ultimately it will be up to the school board to develop a priority list, he said.

To me, safety is No. 1. Were living in changing times, and when you look at some of the events that have occurred at schools nationwide ... you learn from them, he said, noting Windbers schools were not built with security in mind decades ago.

Among other areas school officials will likely discuss:

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Windber superintendent cites growing list of needed building improvements

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HEAVY rain caused a retaining wall to collapse in Llangunnor and saw fencing and soil to pile onto the road leading to the primary school on Christmas Eve.

Penymorfa Lane remains closed to traffic as some garden sheds hang off the edge of the collapsed back over the road below.

Local councillor Robin Griffiths said: "There was quite a mess there and the road is still closed. I don't know what is happening.

"Children are back in school on Monday (January 6) so hopefully it can be cleared by then, otherwise how will they be dropped off?"

Llangunnor resident Arwel Fowler said: "On Christmas Eve at around 1.30am, probably as a consequence of the heavy and continual rain a retaining wall some 30ft in length and at least 10ft in height collapsed in Penymorfa Lane in Llangunnor.

"Thankfully no one was injured but the retaining wall collapsed onto the highway and Penymorfa Lane had to be closed to traffic. It was still closed on Boxing Day.

"This is the lane that leads to Llangunnor School and a number of properties were affected which left the garden sheds hanging over the edge."

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