Lido Theater’s new color has some residents seeing red
When Meriam Braselle noticed that swatches of dark paint had been applied to the exterior of the Lido Theater, she was surprised by what seemed to her to be a disregard of history.
The grayish blotches stood out against the existing faint pink — a shade she said had been determined 25 years ago to be the color of the building during its 1939 opening.
Braselle’s company had been hired to refurbish the Newport Beach movie theater for its 50th anniversary in 1989, when the Edwards family ran the theater. The family hired a consultant to test for the original shade, she said.
Regency Theatres took over the Lido next, leaving the flamingo pink pigment intact. In July this year, Regency’s lease ended and it ceded to a new operator called Lido Live.
Lido Live tried to cover up the iconic ocean murals inside, but a group of local residents protested. Instead of covering up the swirling orange fish, Lido Live promised to maintain them.
But residents were hardly able to catch their breath before the exterior walls became an issue.
“We’re losing this little piece of history here,” Braselle said. “I think that it should be honored as the original color.”
During the 50th-anniversary renovation, much care was taken to restore the aging building with respect to its original form, she said. The ocean murals were touched up with fluorescent paint — a striking new medium in 1939 that was praised in a news article when the theater debuted. No mention was made in that article of the building’s color, and the photo was in black and white.
Tristan Ritter, who runs Lido Live, believes the theater’s original color was yellow. Some records, she said, describe it as purple.
By Wednesday, the walls had been painted taupe.
“We love it,” Ritter said. “Anything is better than the pink.”
Braselle said she wasn’t consulted on what she calls the “garish” new color scheme.
Lido Live had suggested some colors, but the decision fell to the Fritz Duda Co., which owns the property, said Ritter, who transitioned from her job with the landlord to run Lido Live.
Don Howard, executive vice president of Fritz Duda Co., declined to comment.
Along with Braselle, Gail McClain was aghast. The Newport Harbor High School alumna had helped organize Friends of the Lido Theater when the fluorescent murals were threatened.
Now she has further cause to pursue historical landmark status for the location, which turns 75 this year.
“It really is the last of a dying breed,” McClain said. “You just don’t see movie theaters like that anymore. It really does have historical importance to Newport.”
The new colors aren’t in keeping with the building’s original intent, she said. The place where many went to see movies growing up, spitting popcorn over the balcony or getting their first kiss, deserves more historical appreciation, she believes.
But for Ritter, it is full steam ahead as the theater is readied for its first live performance: Smokey Robinson on Sept. 20.