Address | 3459 Via Lido Newport Beach, California U.S. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 33°37′06″N117°55′46″W / 33.618202048705726°N 117.92939034832641°W |
Owner | Fritz Duda Company |
Screens | 1 |
Construction | |
Opened | October 27, 1939 |
Architect | Clifford A. Balch |
The Lido Theater (also spelled Lido Theatre) is a historic single-screen movie theater in Newport Beach, California. The Lido Theater opened in October 1939 and was designed by Clifford A. Balch in the Streamline Moderne architectural style. Edwards Theatres, Regency Theatres, and Laemmle Theatres previously operated the facility.
In March 1939, a new movie theater to be built near the entrance of Lido Isle was proposed with plans drafted by the Griffith Company. The projected cost of the project was US$105,000, including $15,000 to purchase the lot, $45,000 for the building, $15,000 for theater equipment, and $30,000 to create a parking lot and landscape the surrounding area. [1] On April 26, the theater's construction was permitted; an increase in planned capacity from 750 to 800 was also announced. [2]
The Lido Theater opened to the public on October 27, 1939. A popular urban legend about the theater claims it screened Jezebel as its first feature per the suggestion of Bette Davis, the film's star and a resident of nearby Corona del Mar; however, a newspaper report at the time stated that it opened with a vaudeville show titled The Colonel from Kentucky. [3] [4]
In 1989, the 50th anniversary of the Lido Theater was marked by a $250,000 renovation. The theater's ocean murals were restored with luminous paint and the exterior was repainted. [5]
On September 9, 2001, Edwards Theatres ceased its operation of the Lido Theater amidst the company's bankruptcy proceedings. The owner, the Fritz Duda Company, closed the building while searching for a new operator. [6] Regency Theatres, a movie theater chain in Southern California, signed a lease to operate the theater later that year. [7]
In June 2014, Regency Theatres' lease on the Lido Theater expired. A company called Lido Live signed a lease to operate the theater, planning to use it for both movies and live entertainment. [7]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2020, the sidewalk in front of the theater and the area under its marquee were used for outdoor dining for local restaurant Fable & Spirit. The marquee sign bore the name of the restaurant and its head chef. [8]
Architect Clifford A. Balch designed the theater in the Streamline Moderne style. The building's original facade, facing north on Via Lido, included a corner entrance with 45 foot (14 m)-tall tower and a circular marquee made of copper. [2]
The theater's original exterior color scheme has been disputed. Newspaper reports at the time of the building's opening did not mention the color and photos of it were in black and white. During the 1989 renovation, a consultant hired to test for the original color of the building determined it was light pink. In 2014, the theater's operator stated that she believed the building was originally yellow and said that some records claimed it was purple. That year, the Fritz Duda Company decided to paint the exterior taupe, causing controversy among locals and a preservation advocacy group. [5]
Fashion Island is an outdoor regional shopping mall in Newport Beach, California. Opened in 1967 by The Irvine Company as the anchor to their master-planned Newport Center district, Fashion Island is anchored by Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom.
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Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design, it was used in railroad locomotives, telephones, toasters, buses, appliances, and other devices to give the impression of sleekness and modernity.
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The Oriental Theatre was a movie theater located at 828 SE Grand Street in the East Portland commercial district of Portland, Oregon that was built in 1927. The Oriental was a 2,038-seat movie palace designed by Lee Arden Thomas and Albert Mercier. The building's exterior was in the Italian Renaissance style. The interior had an "almost surreal appearance" created by interior designer Adrien Voisin. It was built by George Warren Weatherly. Demolished in 1970, the theater was adjacent to the Weatherly Building, which remains standing.
The Earl Carroll Theatre was a historic stage facility located at 6230 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built by showman Earl Carroll and designed in the Streamline Moderne style by architect Gordon Kaufmann in 1938. The theatre has been known by a number of names since, including Moulin Rouge from 1953 to 1964 and the Aquarius Theater in the 1960s and 1970s. From 1997 to 2017, it was officially known as Nickelodeon on Sunset, housing the West Coast production of live-action original series produced for the Nickelodeon cable channel.
The Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts is a historic Streamline Moderne mixed-use theater in Fresno, California. Built in 1939, it opened to the public on December 15, 1939, under the management of Fox West Coast Theater Corporation. The building was designed by S. Charles Lee, with its tower inspired by the "Star Pylon" at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The theater underwent a renovation and reopened as a performing arts center in 1990, after being closed as a repertory cinema in 1989 due to financial troubles.
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The De Anza Theatre is an office building and former theatre with approximately 800 seats located at 4225 Market Street in Riverside, California in the United States. The De Anza was designed circa 1937 by Fox West Coast theater architect S. Charles Lee and constructed circa 1938 by local Riverside builder T.C. Prichard. Southern California-based Lee had "one of the most celebrated and prolific careers" in the history of theatre design; the De Anza is the only Lee building in Riverside. Architectural photographer Julius Shulman shot the Streamline Moderne-style building at the time of opening; Shulman "did not merely document significant architecture, but interpreted it, becoming one of the most important and influential architectural photographers in history."
The Fairfax Theatre is a mixed-use Art Deco style building constructed in 1930. The building is located in Los Angeles' Fairfax District on the northwest corner of Fairfax Ave, and Beverly Blvd. In 2021, the Fairfax Theatre was added to the list of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments, and declared eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The building is recognized both for its importance to the Jewish heritage of the Fairfax district as well as for its Art Deco architecture.