With One of the most hardest places hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City, has announced a plan to reopen their theaters in a 25% limited capacity. According to an article by Variety, the plan will go into effect on March 5th. While this is indeed good news for the movie industry, in terms of something going in the right direction for a return for normalcy, it is still far from what is needed for smaller theaters looking to reopen. 

Right here on the Central Coast, theaters remain closed and shut. Some Regal theaters are present along the Central Coast, but AMC, the nation's largest theater chain, is not. This leaves all other theaters in the area left to the small and independent business owners, who do not have the financial stability of the large chains. Some theaters have been trying to find creative solutions, such as Park Cinema Theaters in Paso Robles. Even the Parks Plaza Theatre, a site for many Central Coast Film Society events and only theater in the entire Santa Ynez Valley, has quietly put a "For Sale" sign out on the curb in front of the words "We Will Be Back" in their marquee. 

Another theater has garnished the support of local elected leaders in Atascadero. Reports show support for the Galaxy Theater's came as the property owner announced they may have to put the property in foreclosure. “Over the past year, too many local businesses have been forced to permanently shut their doors — resulting in unprecedented job loss on the Central Coast,” Said state Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham. “With new programs available to small businesses, I join my colleagues by imploring the bank to halt foreclosures and give businesses who have been able to survive this long a chance at a California small business grant.”

​However, with New York City looking at reopening, even in a very limited capacity, all eyes now are focused on the Los Angeles theaters to see if they reopen. Odds are theaters will begin gaining momentum to reopen when that happens with the proper Cinema Safe protocols. Regal has a video featuring Dr. David F. Goldsmith who speaks to how theaters will reopen safely. Most, if not all theaters, will be following the same protocols when reopening finally does happen. 

Part of the iconic, beautiful, scenic and downright legendary Pacific Coast Highway, the Bixby Bridge has been traveled across by motorists for nearly 90 years. Since 1932, travelers have marveled at its engineering and beauty nestled among the ragged Big Sur coastline on the way between San Simeon and Monterey. The steep mountains and cliffs dipping into the ocean makes for a truly unique location in the entire country. Perhaps secondly only to the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bixby Bridge is one of the most photographed bridges in the entire state, if not the country. 

Tourists from across the globe love traveling up the PCH while sightseeing between Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, recent storms have made it a little more difficult to get to. On January 28, 2021, a one-hundred and fifty foot section of Highway 1 washed out at Rat Creek, almost exactly halfway along the stretch of coast. The Bixby Bridge is located a little further north of the washout, and so people wanting to see it will need to travel to Monterey and continue south towards Big Sur. 

​Of course, this isn't new to Highway One on the Big Sur Coastline. More than 60 times in its history, the road has been washed away or covered in mud and debris. Most recently in 2017, a landslide was so massive it took over a year to reopen and it actually added 14 acres of new California Coast into the ocean. So while there is no estimate reopening of the historic highway this time, we can all go back and fondly remember what it is like in some of our favorite movies and commercials.

Some of the more famous call outs to the Bixby Bridge is in the television show, Then Came Bronson and in films like Play Misty for Me, Escape to Witch Mountain and The Sandpiper.