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Today marks the eightieth anniversary of the Orange Theatre opening, in downtown Orange. Started in 1924, the Orange Theatre had a rather turbulent construction process, passing through a series of owners and court battles, that left the building closed and incomplete for nearly five years. Then, in 1929, a former “dirt farmer”, Michael Eltiste, stepped in and managed […]

An alarming update on Seal Beach’s Bay Theatre being for sale. According to the 5/11 Orange County Register, the theatre is definitely on the market, for $3.3 million. Unfortunately, the article also suggests that the property might not be sold for use as a cinema. Sadly, with the site being open to non theatre use, one has to […]

After nearly a decade of sitting vacant and partially gutted, San Juan Capistrano’s Franciscan Plaza theatre has finally found a suitable operator. Last week, Regency Theatres formally signed on to reopen the theatre by Thanksgiving of 2009. .   A former Edwards, the Franciscan Plaza was operated, as a five screen cinema, from late 1989, until 2000, when […]

I took this photo last year, during one of my final visits to the South Coast Plaza Theatre. By the time of this picture, the original South Coast Plaza Theatre was down to little more than an empty shell and the Plaza III was in the process of being gutted; the auditorium had just been stripped of it’s […]

This week marks the anniversary of the Brea Plaza opening. An undersized and unassuming theatre, the Plaza never made much of a mark on Orange County, but the venue has somehow managed to survive for thirty two years.   Opened on April 1, 1977, the Plaza was the first theatre built by Mann in Orange County […]

  This past weekend marked anniversaries for both the beginning and closing chapters to one of the more storied periods in Orange County movie going. On March 13, 1968,  Fox West Coast/National General opened the South Coast Plaza Theatre, marking the theoretical start to Costa Mesa’s “golden era” of movie going. Forty years later, the same week saw the demolition […]

  A year has now passed since Huntington Beach’s Pierside Pavilion 6 closed and, to the best of my knowledge, the site has received minimal interest from potential operators. Having taken part in a speculative walk-through, this past October, I can attest to the theatre’s “turn key” condition; remarkable for an ocean side property, that is nearing twenty years in age. However, […]

Today marks the anniversary of Anaheim’s Century 21 theatre closing. This long forgotten cinema was profiled in an earlier post, but I thought a “then & now” look might be in order. Below is an early architectural rendering of the theatre and a recent picture of the site.       Somewhat of a unique indoor […]

Just as this February marks the fortieth anniversary of Edwards Big Newport, the month is also notable for a less celebratory anniversary, the closing of Orange’s Cinedome Theatres.   Opened in the Spring of 1969, as a twin-plex, Syufy’s (later to be known as Century Theatres) Cinedome was a highly popular county movie going hub for the better […]

  With surprisingly little fanfare, Edwards Big Newport turned forty this month. Opened on 2/11/69, as Edwards Newport Cinema, the theatre has withstood the multiplex era, megaplex era, millennium industry collapse, Edwards’ bankruptcy, and some four decades of economic fluctuation. While the complex has gone through three separate expansions and a host of upgrades/remodels, the original, “Big Newport” auditorium, has survived […]