Port Theatre Will Need Help From City, Owner Says

The owner of the now-closed Port Theatre said he’d like to keep showing movies at the 47-year-old art house, but he wants to talk to city officials to see if they can help subsidize the effort.

“It’s my first goal to see what can be done to keep operating the property as a theater,” Scott Burnham said Tuesday. He’s also exploring other options for the site.

“After 50 years, it’s logical to assume things have changed,” he said.

At their meeting Monday, City Council members asked staff members to get in touch with Burnham to see what his intentions are and what the city can do to keep the Port’s screen lighted.

“We’re trying to do whatever we can do to make sure that theater remains and is a viable part of our community. It has been for many, many years,” said City Councilman Dennis O’Neil, whose Corona del Mar district houses the theater.

The Port opened in 1951 at 2905 E. Coast Highway; it switched from mainstream to foreign and art films in 1976. Landmark Theatre Corp. has operated the Port since 1989 but is not renewing its lease because of poor profits.

“If someone wanted to make a significant commitment to operate the theater for the community, we would entertain the idea of donating” the chairs, projectors and concession equipment, said Landmark spokesman Cary Jones.

Members of Save the Port Committee told the council Monday that they’ve amassed 1,600 signatures on a petition supporting the theater’s continued operation.

Burnham said he had not yet talked to city officials, but said the Port’s future “will ultimately depend on what assistance they may be able to provide.”

He said he’s talking with an undisclosed theater operator about running the cinema, and he hopes to make a decision within a month. If the Port reopens, he said, it would most likely be as an art house.