Good Times on the Waterfront

Where in Orange County can you enjoy a vintage moviegoing experience, check out an array of foreign newspapers and dine aboard a Venetian gondola?

The Lido Marina Village area of Newport Beach offers all that and more. It boasts a variety of shops, galleries and restaurants connected by Via Oporto, a pedestrian-friendly, red-brick street.

A handful of restaurants--all with outdoor seating on the boardwalk facing the harbor--beckon.

But, somehow, popcorn and a movie seem like the perfect way to begin a weekend afternoon at Lido Marina Village (3400 Via Oporto, [949] 675-8662).

Park It

Heading south on Newport Boulevard, cross over West Coast Highway and move immediately into the left-turn lane onto Via Lido. When you see the Edwards Lido movie theater, in all its Art Deco glory, you’ll know you’re in the right neighborhood.

Extended parking is at a premium in the area, so as soon as you’re on Via Lido, get into the left-turn lane in front of the theater and head into the red-brick parking garage (60 cents for the first half hour, $1.20 for each additional half hour).

The theater was built during that brightest year of Hollywood’s golden age: 1939, the year that gave filmgoers “Gone With the Wind,” “Stagecoach,” “The Wizard of Oz” and more than a dozen other film classics.

The less-than-classic “Hollywood Cavalcade,” starring Alice Faye and Don Ameche, was the first film shown at the Lido, which charged Depression-era admission prices of 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children.

Prices have risen, but the theatergoing experience hasn’t changed (evenings, $7 for adults, $4 for children; matinees, $4 for children and adults, 5459 Via Lido, [949] 673-8350. Hours: Monday-Friday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, noon-10 p.m.).

Buy your ticket at the old-fashioned, stand-alone ticket booth beneath the neon marquee. Then step inside the small lobby, buy popcorn and soda at the compact concession stand and head into the main auditorium.

Or, better yet, take advantage of another bygone moviegoing artifact: the balcony.

Sitting downstairs, however, gives you a better view of the Lido’s vintage wall murals--underwater scenes painted in what was a new development in 1939: fluorescent paint. The sharks swimming in swirling water look a bit cheesy, but the effect is great once the house lights dim and the black lights on the ceiling give them a 3-D glow.

Footlights illuminate the heavy, burgundy theater curtain, which rises dramatically at show time--another bygone theatrical flair that only adds to the moviegoing experience. Pleasantly absent are the ubiquitous pre-show slides advertising local businesses and trivia questions.

The theater presents first-run movies, as well as occasional classic films.

Whatever’s screening, the Lido has the feel of a neighborhood movie house, with a small staff of friendly employees, who say, “Enjoy the movie” when you’re going in and, on the way out, are likely to inquire, “How was it?”

Dine With the Fishes

Cross back over Via Lido and walk the short block down to Via Oporto, the entrance to the Lido Marina Village.

Stop by Lido Consignment Gallery, a 4,000-square-foot store offering a variety of furniture, antiques, home accessories and art work (3439 Via Oporto, [949] 723-6480. Hours: Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.)

Then check out the Lido Book Shoppe (4324 Via Oporto, [949] 675-9595. Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-11 p.m.). It’s got an outdoor newsstand offering about 500 magazines and 50 newspapers--from the London Times to the Jerusalem Post and the Paris Le Monde. Inside you’ll find a cozy warren of narrow aisles and tall bookshelves bearing new fiction and nonfiction, including a large array of nautical books.

If you’ve worked up an appetite, stop at one of the handful of bay-front eateries on the boardwalk.

Try George’s Camelot Restaurant, which offers steaks, seafood, pasta, sandwiches and breakfast (3420 Via Oporto, [949] 673-3233. Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-11 p.m.). George’s Camelot Restaurant is in the front; in the back is George’s Steak House, which serves steak, seafood and “George’s famous schnitzel” (hours: daily, 5 p.m.-11 p.m.). Or try Le Bistro Restaurant, which serves pizzas, sandwiches, fish and shellfish, and Greek cuisine (3446 Via Oporto, [949] 675-9116. Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-11 p.m.). There’s also Ma’Ma Mia Italian Restaurant, which offers homemade pasta (3408 Via Oporto, [949] 673-7679. Hours: Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.).

A Touch of Venice

Feeling romantic? Or do you just want to view Newport Harbor from the water? If so, rent one of the gondolas docked in front of the Village’s boardwalk.

Owner Jim Mahoney provides two options:

The Gondola Co. of Newport offers one-hour cruises with authentically garbed gondoliers (3400 Via Oporto, [949] 675-1212. Hours: any time and day with a reservation).

The gondolas carry up to six people ($75 for the first two people and $15 for each additional person). Fleet cruises are available for parties of 20 or more at $15 per person. All cruise prices include a basket of bread, cheese, salami, ice and glasses. Select wines also are available for purchase.

Mahoney’s sister company, Gondola Romance, offers canopy-covered motorized gondolas (3400 Via Oporto, [949] 675-4730. Hours: any time and day with a reservation).

A one-hour Romantic Cruise is $90 for two. For those who don’t mind company, it’s $130 for four and $160 for six. An afternoon Lunch Cruise (noon-4 p.m.) is $75 for two and $115 for four. A one-hour Appetizer Cruise (shrimp, fried mozzarella, artichoke hearts, calamari) is $125 for two, $190 for four and $250 for six.

A two-hour Dinner Cruise (salad, garlic bread, entree and dessert) is $195 for two, $270 for four and $340 for six.

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: Take the Costa Mesa Freeway (55) to Newport Boulevard, cross Coast Highway and immediately get into the left-turn lane onto Via Lido. Then get into the next left-turn lane on Via Lido and head into the red-brick Lido Marina Village parking structure. Lido Marina Village is east of Newport Boulevard on the West Lido Channel.

SIGHTS: Former NBA star Dennis Rodman, a Newport resident, is a regular at the Village. But the tattooed bad boy doesn’t create much of a stir. “No, he’s really quiet,” insists Lido Book Shoppe manager Brendan Bickley.

ASIDES: If you hear a bell from one of the returning gondolas, you’ll also hear this announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, she left as his girlfriend; she comes back as his fiancee.”