Back on November 4, 1948, Costa Mesa welcomed it’s first cinema with the opening of the Mesa Theatre. Having faced strict post World War II construction restrictions, the Mesa’s opening had been long delayed and only came after some prolonged lobbying by city officials; which reached all the way to the White House. The luxurious single screen venue was designed by A. Dwight Gibbs, architect of Los Angeles’ legendary Carthay Circle Theatre, and served as Costa Mesa’s premiere movie going destination until James Edwards set sights on re launching his namesake chain in the city.
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By the close of the 1970’s, the Mesa had fallen from it’s former prestige, facing stiff competition from both Edwards’ Costa Mesa Cinema and a host of theatres that had sprung up around the South Coast Plaza area (forming the “Westwood of Orange County“). In 1981, Edwards took over the Mesa and the theatre quickly slipped in to decline, as the chain placed little effort in to keeping the facility viable. Eventually taking on second run booking, the Mesa closed out it’s years as a rundown shadow of it’s former grandeur.
In late 1997, the Mesa closed and was quickly razed for a retail development. The hard fought for, former, “entertainment jewel of Costa Mesa”, disappeared with little notice; today, the sight of a large bookstore, across the street from the floundering Triangle Square Center.
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