The Star Theatre

Oceanside's Star Theatre, built in 1956, is celebrating the competition of restoration of its magnificent marquee, the largest and oldest operating neon sign in all of San Diego County. A sign dedication ceremony will take place this coming weekend.

In February 2012 I shared some photographs of the Star aside this caption:
"Located on Pacific Coast Highway in Oceanside, CA, the Star opened in 1956 and has maintained more or less in one variation or another -- church, movie house, Pussycat theatre, live venue -- since. It's a cute corner theatre which originally held just under 1,000 patrons. In the late 1990s the theatre was vacant, I remember passing by it countless times on my Vespa journeys from San Diego to Orange County and back, the bright yellow marquee [dark and] blank, until one day it wasn't anymore (if memory serves, I believe a Van Halen tribute band was passing through town and was going to rock the Star). The stars and the marquee are wonderfully colorful and stand out amongst the other buildings in downtown Oceanside." (Please click here to see those original photographs.)

In anticipation of the restoration of the Star's marquee, and in excitement for the new life that has been brought to the theatre via the Star Theatre Company, here's a look back at a 2012 photograph of the Star that I took with my Brownie Hawkeye camera. I am looking forward to visiting it again soon to see those stars shining brightly.

© Monika Seitz Vega, 2012