Rebuilding starts on Port Theater

Renovations began on the Port Theater in Corona del Mar this week.

The theater, once planned to be demolished, received its first pieces in a makeover that will take the better part of a year, city officials said.

The remodel was approved last month after the owner decided to renovate the building to restore it to its original use as a movie house, Newport Beach Planning Director David Lepo said.

The building permit was issued June 17 to renovate, Lepo said.

The building’s signature blue sign over head will remain after the remodel, with the building’s owner planning to restore it while other new additions will be made to the theater, including sofa seating in the mezzanine area.

Craig Schultz from the Corona del Mar firm Laidlaw Schultz Architects is the architect on the venture, but did not immediately return phone calls today.

The building first came to Newport Beach in 1950 and once hosted the Newport Beach Film Festival.

— Daniel Tedford