Lido Theater Closes; New Operator Is Sought

The historic Lido theater, which faced an uncertain future during the bankruptcy of operator Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc., has been shut while the property owner lines up a new operator and refurbishes the 62-year-old Newport Beach art house.

The Fritz Duda Co., manager and owner of Via Lido Plaza, where the cinema is located, said it has been negotiating with several independent theater chains that show both mainstream and art-house films.

On Sunday, Edwards closed the 600-seat Art Deco-style theater, which features a mural of fluorescent-painted underwater scenes illuminated with black lights. Renovations begin this week.

The Lido will be closed at least a couple of weeks, said John Loper, a spokesman for Duda Co. A charity event scheduled this month still will take place at the theater, he said.

Built for $100,000, the movie house opened in 1939, the year movie makers produced such classics as “Gone With the Wind,” “Stagecoach” and “The Wizard of Oz.” Tickets were 25 cents for adults and a dime for children.

The first film shown at the theater was the not-so-memorable “Hollywood Cavalcade,” starring Don Ameche and Alice Faye.

The Lido, on Newport Peninsula, underwent a $250,000 renovation for its 50-year anniversary in 1989.

Loper wouldn’t say how much the new renovation will cost. It will include repairs to the marquee as well as to the projection equipment, lighting and sound system. The 200-seat balcony, which Edwards had closed, will reopen, Loper said.

“This is one of the last remaining single-screen theaters with a balcony in Orange County,” he said.

Newport Beach-based Edwards filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2000. A court approved closing the Lido, but Edwards kept the theater open until Sunday.