Triangle Square
1870 Harbor, Costa Mesa, CA.

Specifications

    Operators: Edwards/REG/Starlight Cinemas
    Status: Open
    Opened: 6/92
    Closed: NA
    Current Use: Film/First Run  
    Screens: 8
    Seating: Slope (1,800 seats)

Profile

Edwards’ Triangle Square 8 opened in the Spring of 1992, as the chain’s 34th venue. Built as an anchor of a $65 million shopping complex, the venue’s history mirrored that of the center’s rise and fall.

The theatre’s beginning came with a late 80’s, city backed, neighborhood revitalization project that involved a controversial eviction of small area merchants, through eminent domain. A block of Harbor Blvd. was cleared and a large multi level shopping plaza, with subterranean parking, was constructed on the triangular shaped parcel. The center featured a Pavilions grocery store, Virgin Megastore, and Niketown as major anchors, with a host of trendy outlets occupying the remaining units. Initially an area “hot spot” Triangle Square enjoyed a few years of success, before entering a period of sharp decline. Following the closure of both Niketown and the grocery store, the center’s decline accelerated, eventually reaching a 60% vacancy rate by 2007.

The theatre was built on the top level, occupying most of the center’s upper western side. While designed in a similar fashion to most of Edwards’ early 90’s builds, the Triangle Square 8 featured a large cafe along the southern side of the venue. Offering gourmet treats, pizza, and an expanded gaming arcade, the cafe area was intended to keep in line with the center’s youth oriented trendiness. Unfortunately, the auditoriums, all located down a long, violet lit, side hallway, were rather substandard and small. Mirroring the Triangle Square shopping center, the theatre saw it’s peak years come and go within a few years of opening. As a result this subpar business, the formerly notable cafe was converted in to a party rental room and the arcade was scaled back to a more standard size. By the new millennium, the theatre was one of the only major tenants left in the complex and, despite the lack of local cinema competition, the Triangle Square 8 had lost much of it’s drawing power.

In the Fall of 2007, the center’s new owner announced plans to raze the property in favor of a condominium development. In an interesting twist, the city of Costa Mesa verbally backed the plan, stating that the area needed to move away from major corporate tenants and towards a more local friendly, neighborhood concept; a reversal of what the city had instigated some two decades earlier. As with the formerly trendy Triangle Square, the theatre awaits it’s impending demise.

Update: In the spring of 2010, Edwards (REG) chose not to renew their lease on the Triangle Square. Starlight Cinemas, a small southern california based chain, took over operation of the theatre in June 2010. 

Images

Click on image for larger view