Thirty five years ago, General Cinema’s Saddleback 1-2-3 opened as South Orange County’s “hottest” entertainment destination, in a highly popular shopping plaza, that was the 70’s equivalent of the Irvine Spectrum. Yet, by the turn of the millennium, the theatre was a shunned entertainment relic, in a mostly vacant center, which was heading for demolition and redevelopment.
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Saddleback Valley Plaza broke ground in 1968, on a twenty five acre plot, located beside the corner of Rockfield and El Toro. A “town and country” style development, the plaza was the first commercial corridor in South Orange County, serving an area that was experiencing an explosion of growth at the time. Over the ensuing five years, the plaza expanded to include a varied collection of retail stores, eateries, and service establishments. Then, in the summer of 1974, the plaza capped off it’s status, as the area’s premiere destination, with the opening of the Saddleback Cinemas; a grand opening that saw the ballyhoo of a carnival, complete with a hot air balloon, camel rides, and marching bands.
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While hardly notable, in comparison to the multitude of quality cinemas that dotted the county at the time, the Saddleback Cinemas were a fore bearer of the “lifestyle center” theatres that would eventually come to dominate the industry, a few decades later. Benefiting from the plaza’s drawing power, the cinemas became an instant hit, despite possessing rather substandard amenities. With mono sound, shoebox auditoriums, and sterile decor, the theatre provided far less than it’s nearest competitor, Edwards’ Viejo Twin, but the cinema continually outperformed the competition, as the area’s top draw. Within a few years, the Saddleback 1-2-3’s success garnered a pricey buyout by Edwards, who went on to add an additional three auditoriums in 1980 (the neighboring Saddleback 4-5-6) and a second theatre across the street, in 1984 (the El Toro 5).
Unfortunately, as the 80’s and 90’s saw an influx of larger modern theatres, coupled with a host of grander shopping plazas, the Saddleback Cinemas began to slip in to irrelevance. No longer drawing the large crowds of years past, Saddleback Cinemas struggled to survive on “hold over” films, which had already made the rounds at Edwards’ more lucrative venues. By the late 90’s the former “hot spot”, Saddleback Valley Plaza, had become a decrepit ghost town, on a highly coveted piece of property.
The Saddleback Cinemas quietly closed in 1999 and the entire plaza was razed a few years later, to make way for the $32 million “Arbor on El Toro” shopping center. While revived as a popular shopping and dining destination, the “craftsman” style Arbor center lacked what had been Saddleback’s key tenant, a cinema. However, there was little notice taken of the loss. Today, the former “hottest entertainment destination in South Orange County” has virtually vanished from record, with even photos of the Saddleback 1-2-3 practically non existant.
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