Northridge Center Cinemas

Reopened with 4 screens including two 70MM theatres on May 23rd, 1984 with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

I remember seeing Porky’s here way back in the early 80’s. I was about 11, and a small group of us were dropped off to see a movie for one of our friend’s birthdays. The guy who worked the concession stand let us sneak in to Porky’s, LOL. I remember when the movie ‘Meatballs’ was out, someone stole the ’M' off the marquee, so going down Tampa, it said ‘eatballs’. Saw more movies at the theater on Parthenia/Tampa or the Peppertree than here, so not much to remember about the theater other than Porky’s.

I worked there in 1981 for Mr. Carr who was the manager there. I really liked working there. At the time, I think Stripes, Zorro the Gay Blade, and Blow Out were playing at the time. He hired me when I was there one morning playing Asteroids. We got to talking and he asked me if I’d like a job. He gave me a can of freeze and a scraper and asked me to scrape the gum off the floor.

When Stripes was coming out, he asked everyone working there to go to an Army Surplus and get uniforms which he reimbursed us for, so we could wear them on opening night. That was a lot of fun.

That was my last summer before my parents moved and I ended up on the other side of the country. I didn’t get back until around 1997. The valley had changed so much after the 94 quake.

I knew this theater as a Pacific Theaters theater when I first came across it in the late 1990’s. Shortly before the theater was completely destroyed, the marque that I knew and had seen every time I went there was removed. And what appeared to be there was the “original” marque behind that one.

The theater was called, “Sun Cinema.” Here’s another time I wish I had a camera handy. It was a very nice looking marque too. I was there to see “Reign of Fire” one time, and after the movie was done running there, the manager let me have the bus-stop-size poster of that movie hanging inside the theater.

Any Photos?

The Mexican place was “Don Ricardo’s.” Nice frozen margaritas and good food at most times, but I went there once for breakfast (I worked at the American Handicrafts store next door while going to grad school), and was served a cup of coffee with a dead “cucaracha” floating on top. I don’t think I went back after that.

The theatres…I saw a number of films there, but have virtually no memory of the place rather than it being a standard small mall multiplex. The one thing I do remember was that the marquee was located on the front of the parking garage at the opposite end of the mall, which probably confused a lot of moviegoers.

This is probably one of more obscure and forgotten mall theaters but it was a regular hang out for me as a kid in the late 70’s/early 80’s. I think mainly because they had a DEFENDER (video game) machine in their tiny lobby and it was right across from the Malibu Grand Prix arcade which was a 2nd home for me around 1980-82. Though i remember seeing a lot of films here at the time as well, hopping from screen to screen, things like “Heavy Metal”, “Megaforce” and “Tron”. The one i think i saw the most here was WIZARDS (Bakshi) i guess i was just old enough to be dropped off by myself (around 10) at the mall and this film was a childhood obsession, must have seen it 50 times. I remember walking past that Mexican restaurant (Don something or other) and a jewelry shop right on the corner every day for years. Haven’t been back there since the 80’s and really don’t care to see how it’s changed, i’m sure it looks like every other modern homogenized place.