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Forty five years ago, this evening, a sell out audience welcomed Santa Ana’s “ultra modern and luxurious” United Artists Theatre on to the Orange County cinema scene. The VIP grand opening festivities included a pre release screening of the John Wayne picture “In Harms Way” and a star studded reception, which featured the likes of Maureen O’Hara in attendance. Amid [...]

Theatre structures have regularly posed a dilemma for property owners. While serving as potentially lucrative tenants and offering up considerable consumer drawing power, there is often a problematic issue once a theatre has run it’s coarse as a viable business. After movie goers have moved on, the property owner is left with a “white elephant”; [...]

This coming week marks the anniversaries of two county drive-ins; the 55th, for Westminster’s Hi-Way 39 Drive-In, and the 50th for Santa Ana’s Harbor Drive-In. Both were opened by Pacific Theatres, on June 29th, but separated by five years (Hi-Way 39 in 1955 and the Harbor in 1960).  As with their county peers, each is now long gone and redeveloped; the [...]

This month marked the forty fifth anniversary of a south county theatre which barely managed to leave a discernible mark on local cinema history during it’s brief fifteen year run.   The Niguel Theatre opened on June 9, 1965, as an anchor for the Monarch Bay Plaza commercial development, in the, then new, planned community of Laguna Niguel. Standing between the borders of [...]

This past week saw time catch up with a new generation of cinemas, as two forebearers of the megaplex era reached their proverbial end credits. First, AMC announced that they won’t be renewing their lease on the Grand 24, in Dallas, Texas. Then, Los Angeles’ Beverly Center 13 closed it’s doors to make way for [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

On this week, ten years ago, six national theatre chains announced their plans to form a joint venture that would “begin a new era for the industry”. The chains involved included Lowes Cineplex Entertainment, Regal Cinemas, Cinemark Theatres, General Cinema Theatres, Edwards Theatres, and Century Theatres. The “new” concept would be selling movie tickets online, via Fandango.com. [...]