Thursday, September 06, 2007

Tony DeLeo, Costa Mesa, Disneyland & Balboa

Here's the photo I was going to post yesterday, to compliment the Costa Mesa news item. It's a view Newport Blvd in Downtown Costa Mesa in the 1950s.

One of my regular online haunts is a site with the unlikely title, Gorillas Don't Blog. Recently, it's webmaster, "Major Pepperidge," posted two especially impressive entries. First, he posted an amazing, large, oblique, color aerial photo of Disneyland in 1955. Also, he posted photos and a brochure from one of Disneyland's most obscure "attractions": The Crane Bathroom of Tomorrow. I've heard people joke about this for years, but I could never get a clear idea of what it looked like. Frankly, I'm a little disappointed that it doesn't look more like something from The Jetsons.

A memorial service for Tony DeLeo, owner of Tony's Architectural Salvage in Orange, will be held Sunday. Click through to the Register article for details.

Plans are now set for the Balboa Theatre (1927) to be remodeled and reopened. I hope "remodeled" means brought back to its original look, but who knows. In my day, this place was best known as the place where high school "theater geeks" attended late night (interactive) showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. That cult flick played the midnight bill at the Balboa Theatre from the late 1970s until just before the theater closed in 1992.

Contrary to earlier reports, the Anaheim Public Library, 500 W. Broadway, will not resume regular hours until Monday. (This does not include the History Room, which remains closed.)

3 comments:

Chris Merritt said...

Oh man - I spent so many Saturday nights at Rocky Horror in Balboa! What a shame it is closed - I hope they don't "cutesy" it up too much when they reopen it...

Anonymous said...

I used to see great movies there when it was a revival theatre in the early '80s. I recall a lot of audience commentary during "Rebel Without a Cause."

Unknown said...

I WILL ALWAYS LOVE MY UNCLE TONY(TEE) AND MISS YOU,I'LL SEE YOU SOON