This week marks the 95th anniversary of Santa Ana’s West End Theatre. In addition to being Orange County’s second oldest remaining theatre structure (the Yost being the oldest), the West End was the first county venue built expressly for use as a cinema. Prior to the West End’s construction, Orange County cinema venues were comprised of live theaters, which double as movie houses (such as the Yost), and converted retail establishments.
Over it’s long and diverse history, the West End Theatre passed through a “who’s who” of early Orange County cinema operators, was renamed four times, and remodeled three times. Originally one of the county’s top draws for first run Hollywood fair, the theatre transitioned in to art house booking for a time, before finishing out it’s final years as a highly controversial adult cinema. Caught in the middle of Santa Ana’s high profile 1970’s pornography crackdown and urban renewal efforts, the West End (then known as the Guild) was closed in 1978.
While standing beside an area that was ravaged by civic redevelopment over the ensuing decades, the West End managed to survive the wrecking ball. Today, the theatre is outwardly restored to it’s look of 1915, serving as home to a couple of small retail stores and maintaining some interest for potential use as a cinema once again.
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