Opened in 1970, the Brookhurst Loge offered an experience which was quite similar to the present day onslaught of specialty cinemas. Enforcing an “adults only” admission policy and showing movies in a setting which was billed as “comfortable and intimate”, the theatre was targeted at a more mature and affluent audience. This luxury screening room approach met with some degree of success, but, by the mid 80’s, the concept was abandoned and the Loge became little more than a holdover screen for the neighboring Brookhurst Theatre. The Brookhurst Loge was closed in 1996 and soon taken over by the fore mentioned cosmetology school.

Now shuttered again and likely awaiting further retail use, one can’t help but wonder if the current crop of boutique cinemas will meet a similar fate.

Depicted above is an architectural rendering of the front lobby (courtesy of SMS Architects) and a photo I took of the same area a couple of years ago.

A bit of trivia on the Temple Theatre: the venue’s first manager, A.M. “Doc” Roberts, formerly ran the county’s “first” cinema, the Santa Ana Electric Theatre.

While the interior decor has been changed out several times over the past four decades, there remain a few hints of the theatre’s roots, hidden from public view. The Village’s projection/office stairwell is still lined with United Artists logo carpeting; a remnant from the venue’s original operator.

While surely eventful for the local crowd, Reynolds and Ford were almost making a second career out of grand opening appearances at the time. During the early 70’s, the twosome had become the go to celebrities for grand openings, of all kinds, and were virtual contract players for most Jerry Lewis Mini Cinema openings of the day.

The Yorba Linda Cinema had a relatively short run after its big night. As with most of the Jerry Lewis Mini Cinemas (a subject covered in an earlier post), the theatre soon fell on hard times and never quite managed to establish a steady business level. By mid decade the site was closed and converted to retail. Today, there is no sign of the former cinema left, with even the “for all eternity” concrete hand prints having vanished from existence.

Current and former employees have passed on tales of unusual noises and strange goings on in the booth for a number of years. One projectionist is even alleged to have captured a voice from beyond on a tape recorder that was left running in the haunted chamber.

Departing somewhat disappointed, after my visit to the theatre a couple of months ago, I only encountered the spirits of cast off 35mm equipment; most notably, this old Goldberg reel rewinder.