Valley Circle Theater
5040 Mission Center Road,
San Diego,
CA
92108
5040 Mission Center Road,
San Diego,
CA
92108
8 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Mann Theatres, National General Theatres
Firms: Harold W. Levitt & Associates
Previous Names: Fox Valley Circle Theater
Nearby Theaters
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Ultrastar Mission Valley 7
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AMC Mission Valley 20
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Movie
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AMC Fashion Valley 4 Theatres
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Center 3 Cinemas
News About This Theater
- May 23, 2012 — Celebrating the Original STAR WARS on its 35th Anniversary
- May 25, 2007 — Happy 30th, Star Wars!
A single screen theater in the Mission Valley section of San Diego. One of three in it’s heyday (the other two were the Center and Cinema 21). Anchored the Mission Valley West Center before its demolition. Opened by National General Theatres on December 23, 1966 with Peter Sellers in “After the Fox”. The theatre had 922 seats, all on a single level. It was closed and demolished in early-1998.
Contributed by
Gabriel Neeb
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Recent comments (view all 29 comments)
I worked here from12/06/85 … WHITE NIGHTS (8 weeks, 70mm-Dolby Stereo)
01/31/86 … MURPHY’S ROMANCE (5 weeks) 03/07/86 … NINE ½ WEEKS (Dolby Stereo) 03/14/86 … CROSSROADS (4 weeks, Dolby Stereo) 04/11/86 … THE COLOR PURPLE (RE, Dolby Stereo) 04/18/86 … TROUBLE IN MIND (4 weeks, Dolby Stereo) 05/16/86 … SALVADOR (3 weeks) 06/06/86 … ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS (2 weeks, Dolby Stereo) 06/20/86 … THE KARATE KID II (9 weeks, Dolby Stereo) 08/22/86 … STAND BY ME (8 weeks)
SORRY nEEB, yOU SAID THAT oLIVER WAS NOT IN 70MM. dO YOU MEAN AT THIS THEATRE OR ANYWHERE.Columbia made 70mm blowups and they played them in a lot of big city theatres like L.A., N.Y. SF, Chicago and others.
I have been to this site in awhile. Having been a usher from 1969-1973… regarding OLIVER!..I saw the 35mm film with the projectionist. He was disappointed that they did not get a 70mm print. Back then San Diego was not a big city and to see OLIVER! in 70mm one had to drive up to LA… The projectionist also turned off the surrounds because they had a “whistle”. I had to sell hot dogs at intermission while holding the souvenir program and the page opened to Fagin holding a sausage …embarassing! I also remember “FORTUNE AND MENS EYES..The manager was very upset showing that film…:–). The weeks of BOB AND CAROL AND TED AND ALICE and also MASH…the theater was always packed with long lines outside. It did not matter how many times I watched it, the laughter was infectious.
Can I get confirmation from someone who may have been working at this theatre when it showed the Sneak Preview Cut of Logan’s Run on May 7th 1976?
Why didn’t this theater show ET and Titanic during their runs? Those movies torched Star Wars as the top blockbusters of the 20th century!!!
Amazing theatre and presentation, sitting in the middle of a parking lot. I saw Star Wars opening day, first show here and the line was all around the entire (not small) building. Every other time after that when I was in there, it was mostly empty. 900 seats is a lot to keep filled.
Oh what a time – and place! This became a babysitting facility for my younger brother and I (ages 9 and 11) that late summer of ‘77. We had to stay with our just-divorced dad for one of those summer months and we just hated having to be there with his new wife and baby (I’m sure she hated it, too). At any rate, this theater was right down the hill, and we’d sit through 1½ showings of 'Star Wars’ each session (we’d start mid-way about the Cantina scene). Oh, and it was not ‘Episode 4’ nor ‘A New Hope’ yet. I think we managed a total of 12 or 14 viewings that summer! One way or the other, it cost our dad, plus the concession stuff! Note: it also could have been the following summer of ‘78, as I believe 'Star Wars’ ran there for over a year.
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.
Two theatres of the same design were built in Dayton, Ohio.
Stowaway, I was there for Star Wars too. I should’ve kept all those posters.