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Today’s pictures capture the VIP ribbon cutting (for theatres it’s film) of two spring openings from the past.   May 1997 opening of the AMC Fullerton expansion to twenty screens. .   May 2003 opening of the Krikorian Buena Park Metroplex 18. .   The Fullerton VIP night was a standard AMC corporate affair; involving dry speeches […]

Today, the Fox Fullerton will begin removing the 50’s era marquee and box office that most have come to identify the theatre with. While many will surely morn the loss, of what has come to be a downtown Fullerton landmark, the work is part of an ongoing effort to restore the theatre to a more accurate representation of the […]

I stopped by Grauman’s Chinese Theatre today. My primary objective was to finally get around to taking the official tour (like many Southern California residents, I often neglect to take advantage of such offerings). However, a secondary motivation was rooted in the controversial rumors that are currently hanging over the theatre’s pending change in ownership. .   For […]

Anaheim’s long struggling Brookhurst Theatre has closed yet again. The venue’s latest (perhaps final) incarnation lasted less than two years.  Stopping by the location this evening, I found the theatre returned to a state of disarray; much of 2009’s significant remodeling scavenged by the venue’s most recent operator, Tri Stone. While the Brookhurst has somehow […]

Today’s picture is of Huntington Beach’s Surf Cinema (circa early 70’s). Opened as Scott’s Theatre, in 1925, the venue was later renamed the Roxie and settled in to it’s most recognizable incarnation, the Surf, on June 5, 1941. Owned by a revolving door of notable Orange County cinema operators, including Santa Ana’s Walker family, the […]

The area of Orange, running beside Interstate 5, has long been known for a string of popular cinemas. From the Orange Drive-In, to the Cinedome Theatres, and to the present day AMC Block 30, this short stretch of real estate has been home to movie going hotspots for seventy years. Yet, amid these period titans, there […]

On this week, back in 1997, Orange County bid farewell to it’s final formal drive-in, with the closure of Westminister’s Hi-Way 39. .   Epitomizing drive-in culture, with near year round fair weather and an auto based social dynamic, the county was once home to twelve highly popular outdoor cinemas. Sadly, mirroring the genre’s decline elsewhere, all of Orange County’s ozoners eventually […]

Today’s photo comes from the long out of print “Grauman’s Chinese Theatre Hollywood” feature journal the late Terry Helgesen produced with The Console back in 1969. I’m currently working on transferring the full journal in to a PDF file for your enjoyment, but I felt this particular photo, depicting the Chinese Theatre’s original seating fixtures, was worth hi […]

Huntington Beach’s Pierside Pavilion 6 is officially off the market. After sitting vacant, since 2008, the theatre was converted into 33,049 square feet of office and restaurant space this past December.     Opened in May of 1991, the Pierside was operated by Mann (twice), Edwards, and The Movie Experience at varying times; none managing to […]

There are some theatres which fail to leave a notable mark on history due to a lack of long term financial success and/or poor location. Others quickly fade from the collective memory as a result of the sub par offerings they once provided. Then, there stands the unavoidable veil of time, which grows ever more thick with […]