Regal Oceanside 16
401 Mission Avenue,
Oceanside,
CA
92054
401 Mission Avenue,
Oceanside,
CA
92054
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I first became acquainted with Oceanside in the late 1980s/early 1990s. At that time there were four movie houses in downtown Oceanside: the Palomar (showing X-rated fare), the Star, the Towne, and the Crest (showing Spanish language films). The Palomar was demolished as a part of urban renewal, at which time the Towne picked up the X-rated business. When the Towne closed, the Star became the X-rated house. When the Regal Oceanside opened, the Star tried to compete with it by switching over to legitimate fare, but it couldn’t keep up. The Crest became Grace Church, which it still is today. The Towne is now the Sunshine Brooks, featuring stage plays. The Star also is a stage-play venue. With the projected closing of the Regal Oceanside, nothing will remain. Pity. End of an era.
I understand that this theater is slated to be demolished, to be replaced by an apartment building. The end of an era. This means that there will no longer be a movie house in downtown Oceanside.
Grand opening ad:
Regal Oceanside 16 opening Fri, Dec 10, 1999 – 76 · North County Times (Oceanside, California) · Newspapers.com
Visited again a few days ago. Despite multiple complaints from patrons, they still have the assigned seating policy. A total waste in a theater whose auditoriums are never full. And they send someone around to check to see that everyone is in their assigned seats. Hey, where are we, study hall in high school? In my previous comment I mentioned that the drinking fountains were out of order, and that only one gave out just a trickle of water. On this visit none of them worked at all! In the auditorium where my film was showing, the work lights were left on well into the start of the program — I had to go out and ask someone to turn them off. I would have done it myself but the switch is one of those key-activated switches and nothing I had in my pocket would fit. The only good news is that the water damage and moldy smell seem to have been taken care of.
A recent visit did disappoint me. They’ve instituted a policy of assigned seating, which I absolutely HATE! Part of the charm of going to the movies has always been that you can sit wherever you want, and if someone plops down in front of you, you are free to move. If you have to pick your assigned seat from a chart, there’s no telling in whose company you’ll end up. Also, when I visited, one of the theaters seemed to have water damage, as it smelled moldy and some of the aisles were roped off. Soap dispensers in the restroom were empty of soap — are they ever checked? The water fountains had broken handles and only a trickle of water came out of the one that was actually still working. Regal Oceanside is not the ghetto theater some reviewers claim — it is basically clean and in good working order — but it does seem to be going downhill and needs attention before it gets worse.
Seating capacities at this theater: (via Fandango’s reserved seating service)
Theater 16 – 171 seats
Theaters 15, 10 & 6 – 195 seats
Theater 14 – 127 seats
Theater 13 – 95 seats
Theaters 12, 4 & 3 – 94 seats
Theater 11 – 126 seats
Theater 9 – 211 seats
Theater 8 – 389 seats
Theater 7 – 390 seats
Theaters 5, 2 & 1 – 156 seats
I always enjoy going here. The clientele (Marines from Camp Pendleton) are a big draw, I’ll admit.
Linkrot repair: Benson & Bohl have reconfigured their web site. Photos of the Regal Cinemas in Oceanside are now here.
The web site of the designers of this theater, Benson & Bohl Architects, has a photo of it on this page.