07-05-2025
It's Showtime at Cosm, the Latest Immersive Entertainment in Inglewood
During the Great Depression, the federal government funded a massive, 240-foot-long terrazzo mural called 'History of Transportation' in Inglewood's Grevillea Art Park. Until recently, that monumental artwork was probably the closest thing to immersive entertainment this town of just over 100,000 residents enjoyed. Today, the revitalized city is home to some of the most innovative and lavish new pleasure palaces in Southern California.
Following the loss of the Lakers, Kings and Hollywood Park racetrack, and after a downward economic spiral decades in the making, the 'City of Champions' bounced back in a big way after landing huge development deals just over 10 years ago. 'When I took office in 2011, we weren't going to make payroll. We were going to be bankrupt,' Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts, Jr. tells Los Angeles. 'What happened? I happened.'
Inglewood mayor James T. Butts, courtesy City of Inglewood
Butts, who has a background in both business and law enforcement, helped revitalize the city by turning around high crime and unemployment (35% of the jobs generated by the new developments are local hires), and balancing the budget. 'The city has evolved,' Butts says. 'And our brand is entertainment.' After a decade of construction that brought the stunning SoFi stadium and Intuit Dome to life, and restored the historic Forum (which hosts legends including Gladys Knight and Chaka Kahn this month), a new class of unique performance venues have arrived in the city.
'Let me put this very humbly,' Butts says. 'Everything that's new and everything that is cutting edge is coming to Inglewood.' The world's second-largest movie exhibitor, Mexico-based Cinépolis, built L.A.'s first dine-in IMAX with leather recliners inside their new luxury cinema on the site of the old racetrack. Showtimes haven't been announced yet, but screens like this were made for movies like the latest installment of Mission: Impossible, opening May 23.
CineVita in InglewoodLina Lecaro
A baroque Belgian tent houses CineVita, a theatrical concert experience launched at the end of last year. Their tribute to the films of Quentin Tarantino has been extended to the end of this month. Future shows will honor directors John Hughes, Baz Luhrmann and Martin Scorsese.
Taylor Shechet, a musician and technical artist who spent four years working on the Sphere in Las Vegas, recently moved to Inglewood and was wowed by Cosm. The new 1,500-seat venue has a 180-degree, 87-foot diameter, 8K+ LED dome screen that recently debuted The Psychedelic Mixtape, a new show by DJ Chris Holmes. 'It's an immersive, multi-sensory experience,' Shechet says. 'It's basically a mini-Sphere. You sit there with your friends and anywhere you look, there are trippy visuals and all this cool stuff is happening.'
The Experience at CosmPhoto courtesy Cosm
Shechet says his parents were concerned about Inglewood's reputation when he bought his house. 'Historically, it's been a less well-to-do area,' he says. 'It's just now at a stage of gentrification where there's an opportunity to do cool things.' Equally enamored by Inglewood's small-scale charms, he loves the new Asteroid Vinyl Café, a record shop on La Brea Avenue. 'It's also immersive,' he says. 'You listen to records and look through them with your fingers while you drink the coffee. It's all the senses combined.
