The Star Theatre

Oceanside's Star Theatre, built in 1956, is celebrating the competition of restoration of its magnificent marquee, the largest and oldest operating neon sign in all of San Diego County. A sign dedication ceremony will take place this coming weekend.

In February 2012 I shared some photographs of the Star aside this caption:
"Located on Pacific Coast Highway in Oceanside, CA, the Star opened in 1956 and has maintained more or less in one variation or another -- church, movie house, Pussycat theatre, live venue -- since. It's a cute corner theatre which originally held just under 1,000 patrons. In the late 1990s the theatre was vacant, I remember passing by it countless times on my Vespa journeys from San Diego to Orange County and back, the bright yellow marquee [dark and] blank, until one day it wasn't anymore (if memory serves, I believe a Van Halen tribute band was passing through town and was going to rock the Star). The stars and the marquee are wonderfully colorful and stand out amongst the other buildings in downtown Oceanside." (Please click here to see those original photographs.)

In anticipation of the restoration of the Star's marquee, and in excitement for the new life that has been brought to the theatre via the Star Theatre Company, here's a look back at a 2012 photograph of the Star that I took with my Brownie Hawkeye camera. I am looking forward to visiting it again soon to see those stars shining brightly.

© Monika Seitz Vega, 2012

my hometown.

All photographs © Monika Seitz Vega, May 2014.

Tomb Sweet Tomb

Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. Opened to the public August 9, 1969.
Photographed here with a 1950s Anscoflex camera on April 6, 2014.

The Haunted Mansion has been my favorite Disneyland attraction since I was a child.

USS Iowa -- San Pedro, CA

Last November a group of us took a trip to the recently docked battleship USS Iowa in San Pedro, CA. Built in 1940, the Iowa was active during World War II, the Korean War, and the post-war eras. The battleship was decommissioned in 1990 and moved to its permanent home in southern California in the summer of 2012.

If you're interested in visiting the USS Iowa, now a museum, take a look at the website for hours and information.

(Don't forget, you can "click" each photo to make it larger)

   

All photographs © Monika Seitz Vega, 2012.

Three people waiting on Broadway

All images taken in Los Angeles, CA. February 2, 2013. 

© Monika Seitz Vega, 2013.

Formal shop diptych

© Monika Seitz Vega, 2011/2012 (click on the image to see it on black)

The same Broadway formal shop, but a year apart and with two different cameras and films.


(January 2015 update: This dress shop is now a Gap Outlet.)

Theatres of 2011 - Part 5

Let's head south to San Diego for theatres 9 & 10 of 2011. I've got to be honest, visiting the North Park and Loma theatres for the following photographs was not my first time doing so. I grew up in San Diego, and lived there until 2003. I was fortunate to be able to revisit them in 2011, and for the sake of this project, they will be included here.

The North Park, located at University Ave. and 30th street in the North Park neighborhood, opened as a movie house in 1929. The movies ceased in 1974, and the theatre was used as a church (does anyone sense a theme here?) until 1989. After its closure in 1989, the North Park sat empty until the early 2000s, when plans were made for the theatre to be renovated for live performance. Reopening in 2005, the Stephen and Mary Birch North Park Theatre has contributed to the ongoing revitalization of North Park. I (unfortunately) do not have any photographs of the theatre prior to its renovation. 

North Park Theatre, 2011 © Monika Seitz Vega

The North Park's box office is now on the east side of the building, rather than under the marquee as originally designed. The building is packed with retail space, and seating for an eatery now fills the foyer area.

North Park Theatre, 2011 © Monika Seitz Vega

I love when theatres have something, anything, on the rear of the building. The North Park doesn't disappoint. This is the original signage, I'm curious to know if it lights up at night.

The Loma Theatre, which opened in 1945 at 3150 Rosecrans Boulevard, was designed by renowned theatre architect S. Charles Lee. The theatre ceased operation in 1988 (remember the theatre-killing 1980s, folks?) and has been wonderfully taken care of both inside and out by longtime resident Bookstar. The Loma's breathtaking sign is still intact and is illuminated at night. I visited the Loma right around sunset in July of 2011, with my 1950s Argoflex camera.

Loma Theatre, 2011 © Monika Seitz Vega

As a bonus, here's a shot of the Ken Cinema, in San Diego's Kensington neighborhood, taken the morning I visited the North Park and Loma. My favorite cinema of all time, hands down, and maintained by Landmark Theatres since 1975.Until next time!!

Ken Cinema, 2011 © Monika Seitz Vega

Mystery Film: A Love Story

I am always up for the mystery film challenge. I love to come across old and expired film and shoot it through one of my cameras. I've had fantastic results (with one lackluster exception), and I'm happy to save film that someone may think is junk and throw away. 

The anticipation of seeing how a mystery roll will develop is quite exciting. 

Over a year ago, I loaded one of my Kodak Brownie cameras with a roll of mystery film I had gotten from a friend. Its origins were unknown -- no box, no expiration date, just a sealed roll of Agfa 50 120 film from who knows where, dying to be shot. I carried the camera around with me for a while, then it got shuffled through the rotation and ended up on the shelf for several months.

Last month I shot the last three frames on the roll and got developed and printed. Here are the some of the results:

2011 © Monika Seitz Vega

2011 © Monika Seitz Vega

2011 © Monika Seitz Vega

2011 © Monika Seitz Vega

Looking into my stash of mystery film, I noticed another identical roll to this one... I can't wait to see what the other Agfa roll turns out like!