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A Chapter 11 In The Not So Magic Kingdom

January 28th, 2010 by ccrouch
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Gardenwalk Cinemas LLC, the operators of Anaheim’s Cinema Fusion theatre, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A venture of Sanborn Theatres/The Movie Experience, the filing came after the theatre amassed some $3.6 million in debt, having failed to pay rent, insurance, and miscellaneous construction costs, since opening in the summer of 2008. Those close to the matter have stated that the bankruptcy was a defensive move, to avoid litigation from creditors and lien holders.

Gardenwalk Shopping Complex

While not including the Sanborn Theatres/Movie Experience chain, the move definitely signals troubled times for one of southern California’s oldest exhibitors. Cinema Fusion had been heralded as the company’s future, moving away from traditional  cinema and more in to this hybrid concept. With the theatre having flopped in such a dramatic fashion, not to mention the sub par position the chain currently maintains with it’s four pre existing locations, one must question the future of Sanborn/The Movie Experience.

Gardenwalk Courtyard

The Gardenwalk theatre and overall center also find themselves in a precarious position through this filing. While the center’s management have announced that the theatre will continue to operate, without interruption, and there is a search for new operators underway, the speed at which the cinema failed is a troubling sign. Equally troubling is the fact that the Gardenwalk complex recently defaulted on a $188 million debt and faces possible foreclosure proceedings. After being open for roughly a year and a half, the center’s current lack of patrons and tenants, coupled with the bankruptcy of it’s most prominent draw, don’t exactly equate to a bright future ahead for Anaheim’s Gardenwalk.

An interesting, though hardly surprising, development, when one reflects on the area’s history with cinemas (as we discussed in “The Not So magic Kingdom” this past summer).

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Holiday Cinema Past

December 26th, 2009 by ccrouch
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As we enjoy this year’s holiday blockbuster season, with titles like “Avatar” and “Sherlock Holmes”, here is a quick glimpse of some holiday cinema past.
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Christmas 1934
 
Were you to be a theatre goer seventy five years ago, you might be heading to Grauman’s Chinese to catch Shirley Temple in “Bright Eyes”. Those seeking more mature entertainment might head over to Warner Brothers Downtown for “A Gigantic 3 Unit Show!”, featuring Fay Wray in “Mills of the Gods”, 6 vaudeville acts, and “Men of the Night”. 
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Christmas 1959
 
Fifty years ago, you might be hitting Pacific’s drive-in theatres for one of “4 great holiday shows”, all in “flaming color”, no less.  

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Anaheim’s Almost White Christmas

December 25th, 2009 by ccrouch
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A “white Christmas” in Anaheim? Well, about as close as the area has come to having one.
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The California Theatre 1926
 
The photo above was taken on December 8, 1926, when Northern Orange County was hit by an ultra rare “snowstorm”. Amid this “winter wonderland” is the Fox Anaheim (then known as the California Theatre), which was located on West Central Street (present day Lincoln Avenue).
 
OC Cinema and Cinelog would like to wish each of you a Happy Holiday season.

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Flashback Photo: Newport’s Lido Theatre

December 19th, 2009 by ccrouch
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Today’s picture is of the concession stand at Newport Beach’s Lido Theatre, circa 1960.

 Lido Concession Stand 1960

Opened in October of 1939, the Lido has managed to stay in near continuous operation for seventy years (a near miracle in Orange County) and stands as one of the county’s only remaining “golden era” cinemas. Fortunately, the Lido has also held on to it’s original design and decor; avoiding the “plexing”, modernization, and reassignment which plagues it’s few existing peers. Walk in to the theatre today and you are likely to find a scene very similar to the one captured above.

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The Plaza Theatre’s Celebrity Opening

November 26th, 2009 by ccrouch
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This week, in 1970, Nation General opened the South Coast Plaza 2 (later to become known as the South Coast Plaza 3), to compliment the neighboring South Coast Plaza Cinema. Among the opening week’s events was a charity champagne reception and screening of the John Wayne western “Rio Lobo”. Being a resident of near bye Newport Beach, Mr. Wayne was present to take part in the festivities and those purchasing a special $25 ticket were afforded the opportunity to sit with the star in a VIP “golden circle” area (i.e. the bi level auditorium’s lower half). Proceeds from the evening were used to hold an “American Heritage seminar” for Orange County teachers.
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South Coast Plaza 2 Benefit Night
 
The theatre opened to the general public a day later with “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” and the Plaza would serve as one of the county’s finer movie going destinations up until the new millennium. Sadly, after sitting vacant and forgotten for nearly a decade, the theatre was razed in the spring of 2008, along with the equally notable South Coast Plaza Cinema. Today, the site is an empty lot, sitting between a parking structure and bank.

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Anaheim Hills: The Last Mann in Orange County

November 19th, 2009 by ccrouch
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Seventeen years ago, Edwards opened the Festival 8 Cinemas, hoping to tap in to the affluent planned community of Anaheim Hills. While the Festival 8 never quite lived up to attendance expectations, the theatre was later expanded to fourteen screens, to stay viable in the megaplex era and trump it’s nearest competitor, Cinemapolis (now known as Cinema City). Yet, the truly notable aspect of this theatre isn’t related to an expansion or modernization, but to it’s roots as Mann’s last Orange County project.
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Anaheim Hills Grand Opening
 
 
Back in the Fall of 1991, the Anaheim Hills site was slated to be Mann Theatre’s latest venture in to Orange County, marking the chain’s fourth county venue (Mann had operated ten theatres in the county, at various times). However, foreshadowing the company’s slip from prominence in the decade to come, the project was sold to Edwards, along with the three existing Mann theatres in Brea, Laguna Niguel, and Huntington Beach. Additionally, the sale coincided with an announcement that Mann had officially abandoned plans for a cinema in San Clemente; abruptly ending the company’s eighteen year presence in the lucrative Orange County market.
 
A year later, on November 19, 1992, the Festival 8 opened as an Edwards and the three other venues carried on under the Edwards brand up until the company filed for bankruptcy. Mann would step back in to the county picture, taking management of both the Laguna Niguel and Huntington Beach theatres once again, but these operations would prove short lived, as Mann was no longer the powerhouse of years past and was forced to relinquished the sites within a few years.
 
Today, the former Festival 8 goes by the updated Anaheim Hills 14 moniker and stands as somewhat of a “what if” in the history of Mann Theatres. The last Orange County project for the seemingly doomed chain and a little known marker in the company’s decline. 

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Costa Mesa’s First Cinema

November 5th, 2009 by ccrouch
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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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Mesa Theatre Concession 1950s
 
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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Fox Anaheim Halloween 47′

October 31st, 2009 by ccrouch
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In recognition of Halloween, today’s picture is of Anaheim’s 1947 Halloween parade; taken in front of  the Fox Anaheim Theatre.
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Halloween Parade 1947
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While Anaheim’s Fox Theatre “passed away” long ago, the city’s annual parade has managed to survive, in varying forms, up to the present day (their first parade was held in 1924, with Babe Ruth serving as the honorary grand marshal). 

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Fox Fullerton 1930

October 29th, 2009 by ccrouch
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Here is a unique photo of the Fox Fullerton from 1930 (determined via the feature “Min and Bill” being listed on the marquee). 

Fox Fullerton 1930

This, until recently, rarely seen photo comes courtesy of the First American Historical Colletion. First American, which boasts a historical collection in excess of 12,000 photos, has recently begun to digitize their collection and make copies available to the general public. To date, only the Fox is online, but here is hoping they have a few more theatre photos that will be up in the near future.

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Forgotten Cinema: Mission Viejo Mall 3

October 28th, 2009 by ccrouch
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October marks the thirtieth anniversary of both the Mission Viejo Mall and the long forgotten cinema that Edwards operated on the site for almost twenty years.
 
Opened in multiple phases, throughout late October of 1979, the Mission Viejo Mall was a $65 million project developed by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, to serve an increasingly affluent and expanding southern Orange County market. The nearly one million square foot center featured four department store anchors and 139 specialty store. Among these tenants was the three screen Edwards Mission Viejo Cinema.
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Mission Viejo Mall Opening
 
Typical of 70’s era mall theatres, the Mission Viejo Cinema was far from stellar. Accessed via a generic store front on the mall’s ground level, the theatre featured a small lobby, with three shoe box auditoriums located directly off of the somewhat dark, bland, space. Unlike most of Edwards’ cinemas of the time, but following the mall cinema model, the Mission Viejo Mall 3 was designed with more of a budget conscious approach; low end decor, economy fixtures, and mono sound being the standard. About the only unique feature of this cinema was a concession stand that had a sales point serving mall foot traffic. Despite the Mission Viejo Mall 3’s substandard amenities, the cinema proved highly successful throughout the early 80’s, catering to mall culture dynamics.
 
Edwards Mission Viejo 3 Opening Day
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By the 90’s, both the mall and it’s cinema began to suffer from increased local competition, changing consumer trends, and an ever dated setting. The mall, which had been built during a nation wide energy crisis, was poorly lit and generically designed, making for a less competitive facility as the area began to develop further shopping options. With ever decreasing traffic, the mall also began to see the quality of tenants slip, adding to the site’s decline. The cinema, which had once shared the area market with only Edwards’, early 70’s era, Viejo Twin, now had two modern theatres to contend with; each offering far more than the outdated mall cinema concept. Following the mid 90’s announcement, that Edwards would be opening yet another cinema at the planned Kaleidoscope shopping center, across the street, the Mall Cinema was living on borrowed time.
 
The Mission Viejo Mall 3 closed, with little fan fair, shortly after the Edwards Kaleidoscope 10 opened in the Summer of 1998. The cinema space was soon converted in to retail units, as part of a $200 million Mission Viejo Mall remodel. In a cruel twist of fate, the Kaleidoscope center never lived up to expectations and the new cinema has continuously struggled to find a stable movie going audience; meanwhile, the revamped mall managed to experience a bit of a renaissance in the new millennium.  

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