San Clemente : Landmark Movie House Opens After Renovation
When the landmark Miramar Theater reopened last weekend with “White Nights,” south Orange County film buffs once again had a movie house of their own.
Ever since the Miramar closed its doors six months ago for renovation and the Mission Drive-In screen in San Juan Capistrano flickered off last fall, movie-goers in the southernmost end of the county have had to drive to theaters in other areas of the county.
Unlike the multiplex theaters at the malls, however, the Miramar, a Spanish-style, 600-seat theater built in 1937, will stay with the single-screen format.
“The public doesn’t like sitting in shoe boxes,” said Steve Chorak Jr., the Miramar’s owner and manager, whose family has owned the theater since 1943. “There’s a lot of nostalgia in going to the movies, and the small twins don’t capture that anymore.”
He said the theater has been completely refurbished, with new seats, a new concession area, and new paint inside and out.
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