Cinema 21
1440 Hotel Circle N.,
San Diego,
CA
92108
1440 Hotel Circle N.,
San Diego,
CA
92108
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The Cinema 21 and the three nearly identical theatres built by Statewide around that time were all designed by the San Diego firm of Tucker, Sadler & Bennett. The Anaheim theatre is listed at Cinema Treasures as the Century 21, but I can’t currently find a CT listing for the Inland Theatre in San Bernardino or for the theatre in Bakersfield.
The architectural firm still exists as Tucker Sadler Architects, and Harold G. Sadler is apparently still active in it. It would be interesting if he turned up at Cinema Treasures and told us something about these theatres.
I’m surprised this theatre wasn’t listed on Cinema Treasures a long time ago. It was one of four nearly identical theatres built by the Statewide theatre chain during the 1960s. There was one in Bakersfield (demolished), Anaheim (demolished), and San Bernardino (still standing as a audio/video store). Photos of the Anaheim and San Bernardino theatres can be seen here:
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I wished I had the opportunity to go inside of the San Diego Cinema 21. In 1993, my girlfriend and I went on vacation to San Diego. We were bored one night and went to the movies at the Valley Circle to see “Dave.” What a beautiful theatre! Very big and it was still in great condition. The next day we were getting ready to leave when I noticed the Cinema 21 down the road. I quickly drove to it and happened to have my camera with me. Like a geeky kid, I was excited to discover this 1960s widescreen theatre. I took a few quick shots of it and it’s curved marquee. I wanted to go inside, even if it meant buying a ticket for “Super Mario Bros.” My girlfriend didn’t want to—-she thought the theatre was too rundown. I didn’t care! But I relented and we ended up driving away without going inside.
I thought the design was unique and fixed up, the theatre probably looked wonderful. A few years later, I drove past it and it had a new coat of paint on it and numerous lights. A church had moved in and it looked very nice. I was surprised to hear it was razed only a few years later. My girlfriend is now my wife and I still egg her on for not being a good sport for letting me see “Super Mario Bros.” there. :)
It’s so sad to know that another ‘60s-era theatre is now gone. Many of those theatres were very nice and a far cry from what we have today.