They should have never split the large theater. Saw many classics there… Back to the Future… Die Hard in 70mm… stand out the most. Sad to see it go. Will visit this week and post interior photos soon.
I agree with you, Flix 70. Edwards Big Newport is a portal to movie magic. There’s something really special about that auditorium. There’s no better theater to see a movie on opening night… so many classics over the years… so many great audiences.
Here’s a link to the demolition of the South Coast Plaza Theaters. Try to get past the music by Live. The video is sad enough already.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtTXvwHeyn4
I think I spent every Friday night at this theater during the mid to late 1980s. Always packed on the weekends with lively moviegoers. Some memorable opening night screenings include: Aliens (70mm), Star Trek IV, Platoon, Three Amigos, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Untouchables, Die Hard (at least three weekends in a row), Scrooged, Batman, Silence of the Lambs, Colors, Willow, Red Heat, the list goes on and on so I’ll stop here. Regency Charter Center is a living monument to the mostly vanishing Edwards theaters of the 1980s.
Saw Star Wars there for the first time… after the show the old man drove off with the massive speaker box still attached to the window of the family Ford Granada… good times.
This was a nice theater for the first five years or so… then came the sand and the mildew… good memories of screenings like Hook, Batman Returns, Alien 3, The Last Boy Scout… there used to be a pool hall downstairs as well and a karaoke bar called Mr. K’s… fun spot circa 1993!
Attended the 7PM screening of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair last night… amazing audience… friendly staff… first rate presentation… thank you New Beverly… also… met the great George Takei across the street at Starbucks… bonus!
Remember seeing some good films here in the 80s and early 90s: Pete’s Dragon, Rocky III, Grease 2, Risky Business, Iron Eagle, Octopussy, A Christmas Story, Wild at Heart, Batman. The last movie I saw at this theater was Pulp Fiction. The place was SO run down at this point, very creepy. I don’t think they ever ran 70mm presentations of anything back in the day but the place was ok for its time and of course it was right next door to Chuckie Cheeses.
I was startled to see how badly this theater fell into disrepair. Town Center was a classy place to see a movie back in the 80s and early 90s. I saw some amazing 70mm presentations there as a kid including: Return of the Jedi, Star Trek II-IV, Platoon, The Mission, and Lethal Weapon 2. Cool place. Classy. Sad to learn of its premature demise.
Cinema Center at Harbor and Adams will live in my mind until the day I die. If you drive past the now vacant, fenced in lot next to the CVS drive thru pharmacy you just might catch sight of me dropping off popcorn and candy in loving memory, maybe dumping a 40 dog of Malt liquor into the dry, cracked earth. As a kid I remember seeing some real classics there with my mom including: Stripes, For Your Eyes Only, Easy Money, Vacation, Airplane 2, A Christmas Story, Gremlins, Halloween III Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, just to name a few. Around 1986 I began hanging out there with my junior high friends just about every Friday night, drinking and smoking and watching the latest flick. This was the place to go back in the day. Big nights included: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and 3, Pretty in Pink, Cobra, Back to School, Weird Science, Aliens, and a couple of the Friday the 13th installments. Then the Charter Center opened in Huntington and the crowds of my classmates thinned, I think the last movie I saw there was Basic Instinct. Every time I pop in a DVD from that era it takes me right back to that theater. Love it. Miss it.
This place went to seed by the mid 80s but I do have fond memories of great double features back then including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom w/ Ghostbusters and Weird Science w/ Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Good times. I’ll always remember one of the screens, I think in cinema 3, had a two foot gash in the bottom right corner that always bugged the hell out of me.
Drove past today. The place is in shambles. Sad. Hope they’re planning on restoring it. Any scoops?
They should have never split the large theater. Saw many classics there… Back to the Future… Die Hard in 70mm… stand out the most. Sad to see it go. Will visit this week and post interior photos soon.
I agree with you, Flix 70. Edwards Big Newport is a portal to movie magic. There’s something really special about that auditorium. There’s no better theater to see a movie on opening night… so many classics over the years… so many great audiences.
Another great late 80’s/early 90’s OC venue.
Great picture! I drive past this now vacant lot every day. Makes me sad. Nice to see the National in all its glory.
Here’s a link to the demolition of the South Coast Plaza Theaters. Try to get past the music by Live. The video is sad enough already.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtTXvwHeyn4
I think I spent every Friday night at this theater during the mid to late 1980s. Always packed on the weekends with lively moviegoers. Some memorable opening night screenings include: Aliens (70mm), Star Trek IV, Platoon, Three Amigos, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Untouchables, Die Hard (at least three weekends in a row), Scrooged, Batman, Silence of the Lambs, Colors, Willow, Red Heat, the list goes on and on so I’ll stop here. Regency Charter Center is a living monument to the mostly vanishing Edwards theaters of the 1980s.
Really nice theaters… first rate presentation… the only cinema Huntington Beach needs.
Saw Star Wars there for the first time… after the show the old man drove off with the massive speaker box still attached to the window of the family Ford Granada… good times.
This was a nice theater for the first five years or so… then came the sand and the mildew… good memories of screenings like Hook, Batman Returns, Alien 3, The Last Boy Scout… there used to be a pool hall downstairs as well and a karaoke bar called Mr. K’s… fun spot circa 1993!
Attended the 7PM screening of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair last night… amazing audience… friendly staff… first rate presentation… thank you New Beverly… also… met the great George Takei across the street at Starbucks… bonus!
Great theater… comfortable seats… stellar presentation… cool bar and restaurant on site…
Good luck!!! Long live the drive in.
More photos of the domes can be found here:
View link
Remember seeing some good films here in the 80s and early 90s: Pete’s Dragon, Rocky III, Grease 2, Risky Business, Iron Eagle, Octopussy, A Christmas Story, Wild at Heart, Batman. The last movie I saw at this theater was Pulp Fiction. The place was SO run down at this point, very creepy. I don’t think they ever ran 70mm presentations of anything back in the day but the place was ok for its time and of course it was right next door to Chuckie Cheeses.
I was startled to see how badly this theater fell into disrepair. Town Center was a classy place to see a movie back in the 80s and early 90s. I saw some amazing 70mm presentations there as a kid including: Return of the Jedi, Star Trek II-IV, Platoon, The Mission, and Lethal Weapon 2. Cool place. Classy. Sad to learn of its premature demise.
Cinema Center at Harbor and Adams will live in my mind until the day I die. If you drive past the now vacant, fenced in lot next to the CVS drive thru pharmacy you just might catch sight of me dropping off popcorn and candy in loving memory, maybe dumping a 40 dog of Malt liquor into the dry, cracked earth. As a kid I remember seeing some real classics there with my mom including: Stripes, For Your Eyes Only, Easy Money, Vacation, Airplane 2, A Christmas Story, Gremlins, Halloween III Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, just to name a few. Around 1986 I began hanging out there with my junior high friends just about every Friday night, drinking and smoking and watching the latest flick. This was the place to go back in the day. Big nights included: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and 3, Pretty in Pink, Cobra, Back to School, Weird Science, Aliens, and a couple of the Friday the 13th installments. Then the Charter Center opened in Huntington and the crowds of my classmates thinned, I think the last movie I saw there was Basic Instinct. Every time I pop in a DVD from that era it takes me right back to that theater. Love it. Miss it.
This place went to seed by the mid 80s but I do have fond memories of great double features back then including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom w/ Ghostbusters and Weird Science w/ Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Good times. I’ll always remember one of the screens, I think in cinema 3, had a two foot gash in the bottom right corner that always bugged the hell out of me.