The Balboa Theater is a historic former movie theater on the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, California . Opened as the Ritz Theater in 1928, it screened mainstream film for 47 years. In 1975, Pussycat Theaters acquired the venue and converted it to an adult movie theater to the ire of residents and city officials. The Pussycat operation became the subject of several police raids and an eventual criminal court trial for its exhibition of pornographic films . In 1979, Landmark Theatres became the Balboa's operator, operating it as an arthouse theater. The Balboa Theater screened its final movie in 1991 and remains closed despite attempts to reopen it.
22-570: On March 17, 1928, the Ritz Theater opened for the first time. It operated under its original name until 1939 when it was renamed Balboa Theater. On December 23, 1969, Newport Beach police seized a reel of the controversial Swedish erotic film I Am Curious (Yellow) from the Balboa Theater just before its second showtime. A municipal judge, representatives from the county district attorney 's office, and police officers were present at
44-399: A household in the city was $ 120,080, and the median income for a family was $ 150,323. Males had a median income of $ 99,000 versus $ 52,355 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 96,704. About 5.0% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line , including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over. Corona del Mar High School is located in
66-421: A judge and the district attorney's office requested a warrant to seize additional copies of already-seized films for the pending obscenity trial; theater officials alleged that the request was meant to censor the theater rather than collect evidence. On July 29, the judge ruled that police were not limited in how many copies of a film they could seize and set August 26 as the date for the trial. On August 28, 1975,
88-400: A mix of newly developed homes as well as original mid-1950 homes many with incredible views of Balboa Island and Newport harbor. As of the census of 2000, for Corona del Mar (which consists entirely of the 92625 ZIP Code) there were 13,407 people, 6,885 households, and 3,957 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,174 per square mile (1,997.8/km ). The racial makeup of
110-691: A new interior as the original was gutted amidst the closure. In 2015, the city contemplated selling the property after a proposed $ 5.8 million renovation plan was deemed too expensive. In April 2016, the Newport city council voted unanimously to sell the property to LAB Holding, the developer of the LAB Anti-Mall in Costa Mesa and the Anaheim Packing House food court. LAB Holding proprietor Shaheen Sadeghi announced plans to redevelop
132-542: A steep hillside. Corona del Mar has a representative to the Newport Beach City Council. Residents use a mailing address of Corona del Mar with the 92625 ZIP code. The Tongva village or landmark site of Moyongna was located at or near Corona del Mar. Some researchers have placed the location at the Newporter Inn, while others have disputed this location. The region of Corona Del Mar
154-556: A trial to determine whether the Pussycat Balboa Theater violated local norms by exhibiting Deep Throat and The Devil in Miss Jones began, charging the theater chain owners and manager with 22 counts of showing obscene films. On September 26, a judge acquitted chain vice president Jimmie Johnson but upheld charges against the owner and theater manager. On October 9, a 12-person jury unanimously voted to acquit
176-453: The Balboa Theater building as a music venue . In 2018, the plans were postponed. Beginning in 1978, the Balboa Theater hosted seven-day-a-week midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show , continuing the tradition until the venue's closure in 1991. The Balboa hence became a hotspot for the film's cult following , typically drawing hundreds of fans and forming a line down the street to get in. Rocky Horror fans attending showtimes at
198-464: The Balboa Theater permanently closed following the expiration of Landmark's lease. Attempts to reopen the Balboa began not long after its 1991 closure. In 1998, the city of Newport Beach acquired the property for about US$ 450,000 and rented it to Balboa Performing Arts Theater Foundation, a nonprofit tasked with the building's renovation, for $ 1 per year. The renovation would require the installation of
220-804: The Balboa often attended dressed in costume, would recite dialogue from the film, and threw food at the screen during "appropriate moments". Upon the Balboa's closure, Landmark Theatres relocated the midnight showings of the film to its venue in Corona del Mar . I Am Curious (Yellow) Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 924255565 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:48:04 GMT Corona del Mar, California Corona del Mar ( Spanish for "Crown of
242-621: The Flower Streets consists mostly of closely spaced, free-standing, detached single-family houses of varying architecture, concentrated along Pacific Coast Highway (also known as "PCH" or State Route 1 ). Newer developments in Harbor View Hills consist of California ranch-style houses, many with expansive ocean views. Irvine Terrace is another neighborhood in Corona Del Mar located slightly north of Avocado, including
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#1732780084354264-563: The Orange County District Attorney's office announced it was prepared to prosecute the theater for exhibiting obscene material. The theater continued to operate the next day. Although the Pussycat Theater remained in operation at the Balboa, police continued to crack down on its film showings – by June 25, 1975, authorities had conducted five raids in four weeks. In July 1975, the issue was presented to
286-588: The Pussycat defendants on all charges. Despite the trial acquittal, city police continued to seize films from the Balboa Pussycat: officials confiscated reels of When a Woman Calls and Sex Ray Machine during a raid in November 1975, allegedly because they contained homosexual content. On December 18, 1975, an arsonist attempted to burn down the Balboa Theater. The fire was extinguished quickly and
308-635: The Sea") is a seaside neighborhood in the city of Newport Beach, California . It generally consists of all the land on the seaward face of the San Joaquin Hills south of Avocado Avenue to the city limits, as well as the development of Irvine Terrace, just north of Avocado. Corona del Mar is known for its beaches, tide pools, cliffside views and village shops. Beaches in the area include Corona del Mar State Beach as well as Crystal Cove State Park south of Corona del Mar, accessible by paths winding down
330-505: The backdrop for part of the 2017 " Would You Ever " music video featuring Skrillex and Poo Bear . The O.C. used places, such as Corona del Mar High School , in Corona del Mar as a reference point for the show. Gilligan's Island was filmed at Pirate's Cove in Corona Del Mar. Famous residents of Corona Del Mar have included Wayne Gretzky, Donna Reed, Rod Laver, Chuck Jones, Diane Keaton and James Brolin. Parking in Corona Del Mar
352-490: The building only received minor damage. In November 1976, the parent company of Pussycat Theaters decided to retain ownership of the Balboa but cease the screening of adult films. The organization selected Great Western Theaters to operate the venue and show mainstream cinema. In 1979, Landmark Theatres acquired the lease on the Balboa. The operator featured showtimes for cult classic films until 1985 when it switched arthouse and foreign film programming. On December 1, 1991,
374-561: The city was 88.9% White , 0.3% African American , 0.2% Native American , 5.1% Asian , 0.3% Pacific Islander , 0.7% from other races , and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.9% of the population. There were 6,885 households, out of which 17.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.3% were non-families. Of all households, 34.6% were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who
396-497: The first screening of the film, leading to the stoppage of subsequent showtimes. In April 1975, the Balboa became part of the Pussycat Theaters chain of adult movie theaters . A month later, police acted on a warrant from a county judge and seized two pornographic film reels, French Blue and Dynamite , from the theater. City police chief B. James Glavas said that he acted on protests from Newport Beach residents and
418-480: The neighborhood of Eastbluff. Corona Del Mar includes two state beaches: Big Corona Beach and Crystal Cove State Park is the larger of the two Corona Del Mar state beaches, stretching half a mile long. The botanical gardens at Sherman Library and Gardens have a wide range of flowers, vegetation, and a greenhouse. Other points of interest include: The Oscar-winning film, All Quiet on the Western Front ,
440-448: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.63. In the city the population was spread out, with 15.6% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males. The median income for
462-783: Was filmed in Corona Del Mar. It is the setting for the Fox series Arrested Development (mentioned by name in Season 2, Episode 14, "The Immaculate Election") as well as residence of Martine and Dustin Rhodes in the Dean Koontz novel False Memory . The Lost Dogs mentioned Corona del Mar on their 2006 album, The Lost Cabin and the Mystery Trees , in the song "Only One Bum in Corona del Mar". Main Beach in Corona del Mar served as
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#1732780084354484-489: Was initially purchased for $ 150,000 by James Irvine in 1875. Almost 30 years later in 1904, the 700 acres of land was sold to Corona Del Mar's founder, George E. Hart. The community of Corona Del Mar grew to establish its own post office on July 16, 1926, with Mrs. Edna L. Stuckey assuming duties as the first postmistress . A development consisting of unsold land in Corona del Mar was established in 1915 and named Balboa Palisades . The older area of Corona del Mar known as
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