SmogShoppe can host product launches, panels, screenings, client receptions, weddings and private parties, for up to 150 guests seated or 250 for a cocktail reception. The venue covers 6,500 square feet, indoors and outdoors, at 2651 South La Cienega Boulevard, in the Culver City Arts District on the west side of Los Angeles. It is run by Marvimon, which also operates Millwick in the Downtown Arts District and rents both venues for film and photo shoots.
Seminars and company events
The corporate offer covers launches, offsites, panels, screenings and client events. The Grand Hall has a cinema screen and projector and a DJ-ready sound system, which covers a presentation with slides, a film screening or a music set after the talks. The open flow between the hall and the courtyard suits a format that alternates sessions and networking breaks outdoors.
Marvimon's events team helps draw the floor plan, tracks venue requirements and reviews the vendor team. You can bring your own production company or ask for recommendations, subject to the venue's approval and onboarding.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are a main use. A ceremony can take place in the courtyard under open sky, followed by dinner and dancing in the Grand Hall. The Crows' Nest serves as a getting-ready room with its own bathroom and a full-length mirror. The venue also hosts Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, fundraisers, art shows and private parties.
Rooms and capacities
The whole venue is booked for one event. Capacity is 150 seated or 250 cocktail style. In-house tables and chairs cover 98 guests; above that, extra furniture is rented.
The Garden Courtyard covers 2,000 square feet in the open air, framed by vertical desert gardens, for ceremonies, cocktails and breaks.
The Grand Hall is the former mechanics' service floor, now a banquet hall with reclaimed timber, a cinema screen, a DJ-ready sound system and a bookshelf of vintage objects.
The Crows' Nest is a wood-paneled green room above the venue, with a private bathroom, for speakers, talent or the wedding party.
The Magic Closet is a small pink alcove for a product display, a photo moment or a small activation.
Catering
SmogShoppe does not publish an in-house caterer. Clients bring their own vendor team, including the caterer, or ask Marvimon for recommendations; all vendors go through the venue's approval process.
History and setting
SmogShoppe opened in a building that served as a smog-check center in the 1980s. Marvimon kept more than 80 percent of the existing structure, installed solar panels and planted drought-tolerant vertical gardens around the industrial frame. The venue runs on 100 percent solar power, and 90 percent of its building materials are green-certified or locally produced. For companies that report on the footprint of their events, these figures are a useful point.
Getting there
The address is 2651 South La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, in the Culver City Arts District, between Culver City and the Westside. Tours are by appointment, and a virtual tour and site plan are online for a first look before a visit.
