Orange County Cinema

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Brea Plaza

August 30th, 2007 · 4 Comments

Brea Plaza
453 Associated Road, Brea, CA. 92821

Specifications

    Operators: Mann/Edwards/Captain Blood/Tristone
    Status: Open
    Opened: 4/1/1977
    Closed: NA
    Current Use:  Film (subrun)
    Screens: 4/5
    Seating: Slope

Profile

The Brea Plaza was operated as a first run venue by Mann Theatres until the mid-90s, when it was taken over by Edwards and booked as an art house. Following Edwards’ bankruptcy and subsequent purchase by Regal Entertainment, the Brea 4 was briefly closed, before being picked up by Captain Blood’s Family Theatres in 2002. Blood’s ran the theatre as a discount house for several years, until it was forced to close, yet again, in the spring of 2006.

Located directly across from the 57 freeway’s Imperial Highway off-ramp, the property is a relatively busy shopping plaza, next door to the Brea Mall. However, the theatre is tucked away in a back corner of the plaza, almost hidden behind the other structures. Were it not for a five foot, ground level marquee, located beside a Denny’s restaurant, there would be little evidence a theatre existed on the property.

The theatre is a non-descript, free standing, beige box and only identifiable via faded Mann era signage. Inside, the decor and layout are typical of an early/mid-80s multiplex; shoebox auditoriums off of a small, generic lobby, with vaulted ceiling. The theatre was obviously built on a modest budget and little effort was ever placed on maintaining/upgrading the building, resulting in a sub par venue that is in a general state of disrepair.

Underbuilt, poorly maintained, located in the worst possible area of a prime property, in close proximity to numerous competitors, and changing ownership annually; hardly the ingredients for a successful theatre, but, somehow, the Brea Plaza managed to stay in business for over twenty-five years.

In the Summer of 2010,  the Brea Plaza was remodeled and opened once again, as a discount priced theatre, by Tristone Cinemas.

Images

Brea Plaza Grand Opening

Brea Plaza 5     Brea Plaza 5 Strip Mall Entry     Brea Plaza 5 Rear

Brea Plaza 5 Main Entrance     Brea Plaza 5 Lobby     Brea Plaza 5 Box Office

Brea Plaza 5 Street Marquee

2010 Remodel

       

       

Click on images for larger view

Tags: Brea

4 responses so far ↓

  • 1 The Notorious Captain of Orange County Cinema // Aug 29, 2008 at 12:50 pm

    […] Stepping in to pick up the leases of recently abandoned cinemas, his burgeoning chain acquired the Brea Plaza 5, Woodbridge 5, and Mainplace 6 theatres. In short order, the want-to-be became Orange […]

  • 2 Still Standing: The Brea Plaza // Mar 30, 2009 at 12:16 pm

    […] 30th, 2009 by ccrouch This week marks the anniversary of the Brea Plaza opening. An undersized and unassuming theatre, the Plaza never made much of a mark on Orange […]

  • 3 Anaheim Hills: The Last Mann in Orange County // Nov 19, 2009 at 2:58 am

    […] decade to come, the project was sold to Edwards, along with the three existing Mann theatres in Brea, Laguna Niguel, and Huntington Beach. Additionally, the sale coincided with an announcement that […]

  • 4 Back From The Dead: The Brea Plaza 5 // Aug 6, 2010 at 7:51 pm

    […] 2010 by ccrouch After five years of vacancy and sporadic use as a horror theme attraction, the Brea Plaza 5 has reopened as a cinema. .   I stopped bye the Brea 5 this past week and was pleased to see […]