SoCal Landmarks

SoCal Landmarks

A Photography Project

West Coast Theater, Santa Ana, Orange County

West Coast Theater

The site of the West Coast Theater in Santa Ana has been used continuously for movie houses since 1910 when the Blue Front Livery was converted into the Empire Theater. The Empire became the Bell became the Princess when Charles E. Walker bought it in 1914. He moved the Princess to Fourth Street in 1923 and constructed his New Walker Theater on the site. The 100th theater designed by the Boller Brothers opened in January, 1924. The West Coast Theatres chain bought the venue in 1925 and kept Walker in charge. The theater continued to show films until it was closed in the 1980s. In 1991, a local church, the Christian Tabernacle, acquired the building. The theater is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Walkers Orange County Theater, also known as Fox West Coast Theater.

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Santa Ana, Orange County
Photographer: Andrew Schmidt