Port Theatre
2905 East Coast Highway,
Corona Del Mar,
CA
92625
2905 East Coast Highway,
Corona Del Mar,
CA
92625
8 people
favorited this theater
The Port Theatre opened in 1950 and has a unique nautical exterior fitting to its location close to the Pacific Ocean. It had been an independent for most of its life, playing first-run movies. From 1989 until its closing in 1998, it was operated by Landmark Theatres as an art house.
The Port Theatre had a local and loyal customer base but unfortunately it sits at the side of busy Pacific Coast Highway and has no off-street parking to make it convenient for out-of-area patrons. To bring the theater back, a heavy investment would be required including the addition of an air conditioning system and repair of the roof. Its large balcony seats 350.
The Port Theatre is located a few miles from the historic Lido Theatre and Balboa Theatre in Newport Beach.
Contributed by
Ron Pierce
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Recent comments (view all 34 comments)
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cb4yng
I finally found mention of the opening of the Port in the Santa Ana Register from Monday, September 5, 1949: “New Theater Opens In Corona Del Mar†The small article went on to say that it had opened the day before and described the theater, such as its Cycloramic screen, seating, owners, etc. The Santa Ana Register usually covered theater grand openings in a big way and of the 16 theaters advertising in the Register the Port was not one of them, at least until 1950. The same week the weekly Newport paper announced the opening in more glowing reports, mentioning the delay caused by the parking problem. 60 years later the parking problem on Pacific Coast Highway hasn’t improved and when I went there I usually had to park in one of the surrounding neighborhoods.
Photo of the Port Theatre Box Office
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Port Theatre marquee
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A couple more photos of the Port Theatre.
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The news is not good. Here’s what the “renovation” looks like so far:
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It just looks like so many theatres built near the Ocean.East or West coast.
A photo from November 2010:
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According to a a newsletter recently sent by the councilwoman who represents the Corona Del Mar area, the seismic retrofitting and other improvements are progressing and that she expects the theater to reopen by the end of 2011: View link
Great that councilwoman Gardner made the effort to keep everyone informed and the Port in the news; not so great that she throws in the “count me out” and “I’d just as soon watch it on my tv” comments, in reference to food service being added.
The new facade looks like soundproofing material,well at least they are fixing it up.