Greer's OC

June is a busy time for events and event planning, from graduations and other family celebrations, to charities kicking off fall fundraising, and even companies planning year-end presentations and holiday parties. This year, you can plan an event to remember at Orange County’s iconic Lido Theater in Newport Beach.

Offering a new, state-of-the-art projection and sound system, along with its elegant lobby chandeliers, vintage poster cases, an original working box office, and the magnificent waterfall red velvet curtain on stage, the Lido Theater is one of Orange County’s most unique special event venues. The auditorium, including a balcony not seen in modern theaters, provides seating for up to 550 guests.

Meticulously restored, the Lido Theater still features some of the original Catalina tilework, revered at the time for its colorful hand painted beauty, and rarely seen in Southern California today. The single-screen auditorium walls have stunning murals depicting underwater ocean scenes that appear to glow from black lights illuminating the walls when the house lights dim.

Harkening back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, the Lido Theater will commemorate its 80^th anniversary next year. The Newport Beach landmark opened in 1938 with the Bette Davis movie, “Jezebel”. Miss Davis, who at the time was a resident of Corona del Mar, is said to have traveled by the site daily while the theater was being built, and requested a sitting parlor in the ladies room, that still remains today.

The Lido Theater is in Via Lido Plaza at 3459 Via Lido, off Newport Boulevard, in Newport Beach. For more information about booking a private event at the theater, call 949.723.7100.

Photo courtesy of Bob Hodson