Comments from rthompson_14

Showing 3 comments

rthompson_14
rthompson_14 commented about Valley Circle Theater on Oct 8, 2022 at 12:03 am

Movie Buff - ET showed at the Loma Theater and Titanic showed at the Cinema 21. All three theaters were single-screen 900-1000-seat venues and were all part of the Mann Theaters chain - I worked at all 3 of them (hired at Cinema 21, transferred to The Loma when we got a new manager at C-21 that I couldn’t work for, then transferred to Valley Circle when The Loma closed). I miss the big screen movie palaces.

rthompson_14
rthompson_14 commented about Cinema 21 Mission Valley flood of 1979 on Oct 7, 2022 at 11:56 pm

This is where I first worked in movie theaters (hired Jan 1984). I was working at the Valley Circle when this happened again in the mid-1990s. A friend was the manager there and I went over after my shift was over. We watched the little dais platform float around and kept hearing a weird noise like a fish breathing. It was air escaping from the seat cushions as the water filled them. The water reached the base of the third row from the back. Both theaters got new screens after this flood (Valley Circle only had water up to the 4th row of seats but since C-21 got a new screen, VC did too). I really miss those big movie houses. I also worked at The Loma in between the C-21 and the VC. Still work part-time in theaters (but it’s a multiplex)

rthompson_14
rthompson_14 commented about Loma Theatre on Apr 6, 2022 at 7:08 pm

I worked there from Jan 1986 until it closed on Dec 17, 1987. Was so sad to see it closed - not just because I worked there. It was a beautiful theater. I am so happy that Bookstar didn’t demolish it. Even happier that they restored all of the neon signage. The only neon lights that worked the entire time I worked there were the letters “LOMA”. I thought it was ironic that the last movie we showed was Fatal Attraction. Transferred to the Loma from the Cinema 21 (horrible manager - had to get away). When the Loma closed, I transferred to the Valley Circle. Top Gun ran there for 20 weeks, we had a LOT of the recruits and trainees from MCRD and NTC come in for that one.