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Rumor holds true, as the Edwards Island 7 is set to shut down in early January and begin a year long remodel. Details, including whether Edwards/REG will continue as operators, remain a bit sketchy. However, the Irvine Company continues to allude to a high end upgrade for the twenty-one year old Newport Beach cinema. Whatever the end result might be, there is little doubt the theatre will be significantly larger, as the adjacent food court tenants are being pushed out, in favor of the “new and improved” Fashion Island cinema. Reopening of the theatre is scheduled for the 2011 holiday season.

In an attempt to draw in moviegoers, Anaheim’s Gardenwalk Theatre has installed twenty-six D-Box motion seats. The first county cinema to utilize the technology, Ultra Star invested $130,000 in the upgrade, which will be unveiled to the general public this Friday for the film “TRON: Legacy.”  If all goes well, Ultra Star has stated that more of the seats may be deployed in the near future. Naturally, this amenity comes with an added service charge; $8 extra, bringing a 3D admission ticket to $20.75 for the motion seats.

For those unfamiliar with D-Box; the service involves specially constructed seating which moves in tandem with action seen on screen. In addition to requiring seating fixtures with three actuators and projection communication lines, the technology also entails a custom designed “motion track” code be in place on the feature being shown.  

As cutting edge and high tech as this system may be, one can’t help but recall past cinematic novelties, such as the earth shaking sound of Sensurround or electrified ”Percepto” buzzer seats employed for “The Tingler”. In an apparent case of history repeating itself, the industry once again turns to gimmicks during lean times. Is it only a matter of time before we see some incarnation of Smell-O-Vision?

What do  Fullerton’s Fox and Grauman’s Chinese have in common? Beyond the obvious link of being 20′s era theatres, each was designed by the gentleman pictured below.

 

A prominent architectural designer, Raymond M. Kennedy played  a major role in shaping the commercial landscape of southern california during the 1920′s. While employed by noted builder Meyer and Holler, Mr. Kennedy took part in a host of high profile projects, ranging from lavish churches to ornate office buildings. While his most famous work was, obviously, Grauman’s Chinese, Fullerton’s Fox Theatre (then known as Chapman’s Alician Court) served as Mr. Kennedy’s first venture in to theatre design and the testing ground for many of the ideas he would later incorporate in to Grauman’s.

 

After leaving Meyer and Holler, following the company’s depression era collapse, Mr. Kennedy divided his time between teaching at the University of Southern California and being a stage designer for several major film studios; briefly departing for Washington D.C. to take part in the design of the Pentagon. Raymond Kennedy wrapped up his illustrious career designing municipal buildings, for two leading California based architectural firms, retiring in 1960, at the age of 69.

On this evening, seventy five years ago, Santa Ana’s West Coast Theatre held their gala reopening, following a month long remodeling.

 

Thankfully, the West Coast still stands today, in remarkably good shape. While currently home to a church, there have long been rumors that the congregation is looking to move on to a larger facility, opening the door for a return to entertainment use. One of the late Joseph Musil’s final projects involved a concept for the revitalization of the West Coast Theatre and surrounding block.  

Twenty five years ago, Edwards opened a trio of theatres on the Southern California market, just in time for the holiday season of 1985. All three venues offered the latest in multiplex amenities and met with instant success, but each experienced differing fates, following Edwards’ millennium implosion.

 

Exemplifying the mid/late 80′s multiplex movement, the Charter Centre 5, Foothill Center 6, and Village Center 6 were a significant step up from the sub par shoe boxes that had dominated the multi screen cinema scene of the previous decade. Offering larger auditoriums and higher quality presentation standards, these venues sought to raise the bar on the multiplex experience, while still taking advantage of the format’s efficient business model. Designed, in what would come to be Edwards’ 80′s through early 90′s signature style, the three venues fell within the company’s two stock layouts of the era; featuring two story glass front lobbies, that were either traditional in-line (Foothill 6 and Village 6) or angled (Charter Centre) floor plans, with auditoriums accessed off of a single hallway. Between these improved facilities, high traffic locations, and a string of 80′s blockbusters, all three sites became top draws for their respective areas, setting the tone for Edwards’ multiplex heyday.

 

As with most county multiplexes of the time, these three cinemas had a somewhat short run as top tier attractions. By the turn of the decade, theatre standards had been raised further and a host of new, more expansive venues had taken over (often Edwards’ own builds). Additionally, Edwards exercised a problematic pattern of neglecting earlier builds, in favor of their “latest and greatest” creations; frequently allowing “older” theatres to languish in disrepair, further alienating the site’s customer base. By the time the megaplex era hit and Edwards began a quick spiral in to bankruptcy, all three sites had fallen in to near irrelevance.

 

Fortunately, at least for two of the sites, Regency Theatres stepped in and took over both the Foothill Center and Charter Centre, after Edwards (fresh off of their Regal Entertainment Group takeover) shuddered the sites. The Foothill ultimately garnered a full makeover, expansion, and stadium seating upgrade, as the theatre experienced a rebirth under Regency’s management. The Charter Centre, while never regaining past glories, found a new life, as one of Orange County’s top grossing discount houses. Meanwhile, Stanton’s Village Center never managed to procure a new operator and sat vacant for a number of years, finally surrendering to being gutted and converted in to an auto parts store.

 

While the full history of the Foothill and Charter Centre has yet to be written, the journey these three theatres have taken over the past twenty five years exemplify the drastic fluctuation and constantly changing fortunes of the modern cinema world.

For those theatre-centric individuals looking for something to do today, Regency Theatres is hosting a holiday movie carnival in Westwood from 9 AM to 1 PM. In addition to standard carnival faire, the event includes tours of both the historic Bruin and Village theatres.

Today’s picture exemplifies the unidentified and forgotten bits of cinema history that are floating around out there. While sold to me as a “paperweight”, this chunk of metal is actually a piece of the structural steel that went in to building Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. A left over punching from the manufacturing process, the piece was affixed to a McClintic-Marshall Corp. medallion and issued as a construction commemorative, at the time of the theatre’s completion (a common practice of the period). McClintic-Marshall was a major steel fabricator/erector for bridges and commercial buildings during the early twentieth century; Grauman’s Chinese being one of their many projects.

One can only wonder about the journey that saw this item go from high profile keepsake to discounted castoff. Fortunately, it’s true significance has once again been rediscovered.

Today’s picture is a bit of a cinema documentation rarity, capturing one of the Fountain Valley Drive-In’s restrooms (circa late 1960′s). Hardly surprising, restrooms were/are seldom documented for posterity. This particular photo comes from a 1969 “Motion Picture and Theatre Presentation Manual” discussion on proper sanitation facilities.