We have lived in Coronado for 11 years now and the only two blights on an otherwise delightfully picturesque canvas are the Cora Mart and the Coronado Village Theater. You may or may not know of these two storefronts in the middle of the village on Orange Avenue between 8th and 9th streets if you’re not a local or are too busy looking at all the wonderful sights.
The Cora Mart has been closed for longer than we’ve lived here, although there was a brief stint as a teen center a few years back. Since then its front windows have been dingy and covered to hide the deteriorating interior. There is good news on this front – it has been verified that the neighboring Von’s grocery store has entered into a long term lease with the owners and plan on renovating their existing store and expanding into the Cora-Mart space. Of course that was to have already been completed…The only sign of any movement on that front was the sight of a man measuring the building and making notes on a set of blue prints last Spring.
The Village Theater closed a couple of years after we moved here and over the years there have been rumors of different people trying to negotiate a lease with the owners.
Finally, in this month’s issue of Coronado Currents, the details of the future of the theater have been outlined.
The only theater in Coronado first opened its doors in March 1947 and showed film classics and first-run movies for 53 years before closing its doors in 2000.
Coronado Currents reports renovation plans include restoration of the façade to its original grandeur and an interior remodel that will result in three movie screens and state-of-the-art acoustics all keeping with a 1940s era flavor.
This is great news to Coronado residents and visitors alike. To once again have a movie theater in the middle of the village will be a real treat. Note we’ll all have to wait a bit longer as the timeline for the renovation spans 18 months.
Well, we’ve waited this long, so I guess another year and half won’t matter. It will be fun and exciting to watch the progress and I’ll be taking photos along the way and posting them here so you can follow the progress too.
This is what it looks like now:
Hi! I use to walk over to the Village Theatre in the late 90s and grab a movie or 2..(double features back then..and didn’t cost an arm or leg!). I remember the staff being very nice and it was hard to see them go. I hope the renovation project finally happens and this gem gets the long overdue spruce up it needs and becomes once again a sparkling jewel in the Crown City! Dreams can happen! Then maybe..maybe next CoroMart. Oh..that store was a wonder because you could find alot of things you didn’t know you were looking for. And at xmas, they always carried lots of boxes in all sizes for presents. Their seasonal stuff was always fun. Bless You Mr. Clark whereever you are.
CoroMart was closed by the time we moved to Coronado, but I have heard such wonderful things about it. I wish I had been able to see it for myself. I often imagine how I would revitalize that storefront, and not just by adding a chain store or other such thing. It is a shame it has been vacant for so long and is now just falling into disrepair.
I truly hope that the movie theater does not share that same fate. The last I heard was that the owners have decided to renovate and re-open it. The last party interested could not afford the cost of the required retro-fitting. So, I guess time will tell…