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This past week marked the fortieth anniversary of the Buena Park Drive-In. Opened by Pacific Theatres, on April 24, 1970, the Buena Park was located adjacent to the smaller and older Lincoln Drive-In (formerly known as the Cina-Car Drive-In), but the two drive-ins were operated separately until the mid 80’s. Around 1985, the Lincoln was […]

OC History Roundup (an excellent Orange County history blog), posted some pictures of the Crystal Cathedral’s Orange Drive-In artifact collection. Among the items on display are a pair of Koropp window speakers and a piece of the snack bar rooftop.    .   For those wondering why the Crystal Cathedral would hold on to drive-in memorabilia; the church’s […]

Today’s picture is a bit of a mystery theatre. This architectural rendering comes from the 1920 Los Angeles  Times, announcing a “picture playhouse” to be erected in Anaheim. The only other information provided was the builder, Head & Ingram, and the architect, E.J. Borgmeyer.    .   . Edward J. Borgmeyer was a prominent architect in the Los […]

Drama, inaction, and politics continue to plague San Clemente’s Miramar Theatre. This past week, the city notified the long dormant venue’s current owner that he was in violation of city codes, due to a host of ongoing maintenance shortcommings. Naturally, this resulted in a round of finger pointing between the city and current owner, Marc Spizzurri; […]

When a cinema closes, there is rarely an official effort made to preserve anything that doesn’t have a resale value. In recent decades, departing operators have even made a habit of damaging facilities and fixtures, to hinder any future use by competition. However, the former Edwards Huntington Cinema stands as a rare example of an operator […]

A few interesting news bits on Regency Theatres (operators of several notable Orange County venues, such as the Laguna South Coast, Lido, and South Coast Village): This weekend Regency takes over operation of Westwood’s historic Village and Bruin theatres in L.A. County. The two sites, which date back to the 1930’s, had been facing an […]