Pacific Theatres' Cinerama Dome is a movie theater located at 6360

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Designed to exhibit

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ...

Cinerama Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporati ...

films, it opened November 7, 1963. The original developer was William R. Forman, founder of Pacific Theatres. The Cinerama dome continued as a leading first-run theater, most recently as part of the ArcLight Hollywood complex, until it closed temporarily in March 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in California Ten of the first twenty confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States occurred in California, the first of which was confirmed on January 26, 2020. All of the early confirmed cases were persons who had recently travelled to China, as testing wa ...

. The Arclight chain closed permanently in April 2021, with the theater never having reopened. In June 2022, it was announced that there are plans to reopen under the new name, Cinerama Hollywood.

History

In February 1963,

Inc. unveiled a radically new design for theaters that would show its movies. They would be based on the

geodesic dome A geodesic dome is a hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell) based on a geodesic polyhedron. The triangular elements of the dome are structurally rigid and distribute the structural stress throughout the structure, making geodesic do ...

developed by R. Buckminster Fuller, would cost half as much as conventional theaters of comparable size, and could be built in half the time. Cinerama's goal was to see at least 600 built worldwide within two years. The following April, Pacific Theatres Inc. announced plans to build the first theater based upon the design, and had begun razing existing buildings at the

construction site Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and co ...

. Located on Sunset near

Vine Street Vine Street is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California that runs north–south between Franklin Avenue and Melrose Avenue. The intersection with Hollywood Boulevard was once a symbol of Hollywood itself. The famed intersection fell into d ...

, it would be the first new major motion picture theater in Hollywood in 33 years, and would be completed in time for the scheduled November 2 press premiere of ''

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer with a story and screenplay by William Rose and Tania Rose. The film, starring Spencer Tracy with an all-star cast of comedians, is a ...

''. The design was proposed by French architect Pierre Cabrol, lead designer in the noted architectural firm of

Welton Becket and Associates Welton David Becket (August 8, 1902 – January 16, 1969) was an American modern architect who designed many buildings in Los Angeles, California. Biography Becket was born in Seattle, Washington and graduated from the University of Washingt ...

. Pierre Cabrol worked with R. Buckminster Fuller during his studies at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

. Pacific Theatres founder, William R. Forman, announced the construction of the Cinerama Dome in July 1963 at a star studded ground breaking ceremony where

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

Buddy Hackett Buddy Hackett (born Leonard Hacker; August 31, 1924 – June 30, 2003) was an American actor, comedian and singer. His best remembered roles include Marcellus Washburn in ''The Music Man'' (1962), Benjy Benjamin in ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Wo ...

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

Dick Shawn Dick Shawn (born Richard Schulefand, December 1, 1923 – April 17, 1987) was an American actor and comedian. He played a wide variety of supporting roles and was a prolific character actor. During the 1960s, he played small roles in madcap comed ...

Edie Adams Edie Adams (born Edith Elizabeth Enke; April 16, 1927 – October 15, 2008) was an American comedian, actress, singer and businesswoman. She earned the Tony Award and was nominated for an Emmy Award. Adams was well known for her impersonations ...

, and

Dorothy Provine Dorothy Michelle Provine (January 20, 1935 – April 25, 2010) was an American singer, dancer and actress. Born in 1935 in Deadwood, South Dakota, she grew up in Seattle, Washington, and was hired in 1958 by Warner Bros., after which she firs ...

donned hard hats, and with picks and shovels, began construction. Forman had committed to United Artists that the theatre would be ready for the November 7, 1963 world premiere of the first movie filmed in the new 70mm, single strip Cinerama process,

Stanley Kramer Stanley Earl Kramer (September 29, 1913February 19, 2001) was an American film director and producer, responsible for making many of Hollywood's most famous "message picture, message films" (he would call his movies ''heavy dramas'') and a libera ...

’s ''It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World''. Working around the clock, the entire construction spanned only 16 weeks. The Cinerama Dome is the only concrete geodesic dome in the world. The theatre is made up of 316 individual hexagonal and pentagonal shapes in 16 different sizes. Each of these pieces is approximately across and weighs around . The theatre also has design elements such as a loge section with stadium seating, architecturally significant floating stairways, and at the time of its opening, the largest contoured motion picture screen in the world, measuring high and wide. The ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' premiere (filmed in

Ultra Panavision 70 Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65 were, from 1957 to 1966, the marketing brands that identified motion pictures photographed with Panavision's anamorphic movie camera lenses on 65 mm film. Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65 were shot at 24 ...

) marked the dawn of "single lens" Cinerama. Previously, Cinerama was known for its groundbreaking three-projector process. From 1963 until 2002, the Cinerama Dome never showed movies with the three-projector process. (The nearby Warner Cinerama at 6433

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

used the three-projector process until December 1964.) A unique "rectified" print was made with increased anamorphic compression towards the sides, which compensated for distortions that would otherwise be induced by Cinerama's deeply curved screen.

21st Century

In 2002 after a two-year closure, the Cinerama Dome was reopened as a part of Pacific Theatres' ArcLight Hollywood complex. The dome remains essentially unchanged though there have been improvements, notably in the acoustics. But for the first time ever, the Cinerama Dome began showing movies in the three-projector format. It is one of only three such theaters in the world. The Cinerama Dome made its digital projection debut in May 2005 with '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith''. In 2009,

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post- New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability ...

's ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appear ...

'' was the first

3D film 3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. They have existed in some form since 1915, but had been largely relegated to a niche in the motion pic ...

to be shown in the Cinerama Dome, using technology from XpanD 3D. In December 2015, the Cinerama Dome upgraded to a laser projection system, using two Christie 6P projectors and

Dolby 3D Dolby 3D (formerly known as Dolby 3D Digital Cinema) is a marketing name for a system from Dolby Laboratories, Inc. to show three-dimensional motion pictures in a digital cinema. Technology Dolby 3D uses a Dolby Digital Cinema projector that ...

. The venue is still capable of both 35mm and 70mm film projection. In April 2021, the parent company of Pacific Theatres announced that it would not be reopening any of its locations including the Cinerama Dome due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2022, it was reported that Decurion Corp. has plans to reopen the theater under the name Cinerama Hollywood along with the adjoining 14-screen multiplex. There are also plans to include two bars and a restaurant at the location. Three months later, it was reported that the theater would not be reopening until at least the latter part of 2023.

Preservation

With its

wide screen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

, advanced acoustics and 70mm film capability, the Cinerama Dome remained a favorite for film premieres and "event" showings. But by the late 1990s the motion picture exhibition business began to favor multiplex cinemas, and Pacific Theatres proposed a plan to remodel the Dome as a part of a shopping mall/cinema complex. Historical preservationists were outraged, not wishing to see another great theater turned into a multiplex or destroyed. At the same time, a small contingent of Cinerama enthusiasts had begun resurrecting the three-projector process. They and the preservationists prevailed upon Pacific to rethink its plans for the property. The preservation of the Cinerama Dome came at a time when most other surviving Cinerama theaters were being demolished. An example of this was the case of the

Indian Hills Theater The Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, was a movie theater built in 1962 showcasing films in the Cinerama wide-screen format. Its location was at 8601 West Dodge Rd. The theater's screen was the largest of its type in the Unite ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...

, a round Cinerama theater boasting a 110-foot screen that was razed in 2001 to make room for a

parking lot A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

. The Cinerama Dome was declared a

Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria. History The Historic-Cult ...

in 1998.

In popular culture

One of the earliest appearances of the Cinerama Dome was in the 1968

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

crime drama ''

Girl in Gold Boots ''Girl in Gold Boots'' is a 1968 crime/drama film about the seedy underworld of go-go dancing, directed by Ted V. Mikels, who also directed ''The Astro-Zombies''. It was Mikels' first movie for his own company, Gemini. Plot Michele is a youn ...

'' during a montage of the main characters arriving in Los Angeles. (The movie was later shown as a feature presentation in a 1999 episode of the comedy series ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1 ...

''.) The Cinerama Dome appears in the 1977 film Hollywood High. It is screening Logan's Run. The Cinerama Dome is shown being destroyed by the

Cylons The Cylons are the main antagonists of the human race in the ''Battlestar Galactica'' science fiction franchise, making appearances in the original Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), 1978 series, the Galactica 1980, 1980 series, the Batt ...

in the TV series ''

Galactica 1980 ''Galactica 1980'' is an American science fiction television series and a spin-off from the original ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series. It was first broadcast on ABC in the United States from January 27 to May 4, 1980, lasting for 10 ep ...

''. The Cinerama Dome was featured in the 2008 film '' Frost/Nixon'' directed by

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of '' The Twilight Zone''. ...

in the scene recreating the Hollywood premiere of the

Sherman Brothers The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard M. Sherman (born June 12, 1928). Together they received various accolades i ...

' 1976 musical film, ''

The Slipper and the Rose ''The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella'' is a 1976 British musical film retelling the classic fairy tale of Cinderella. The film was chosen as the Royal Command Performance motion picture selection for 1976. Directed by Bryan Forb ...

''. The Cinerama Dome appeared in Season 1 Episode 4 of ''Entourage'' as the premier theater for "Head On", Vincent Chase's first feature film. It was also shown in ''Melrose Place'''s fourth episode, "Vine", as the location for the premiere of the fictional movie "Kensington Squared." The theater also appears briefly in the 2016 film '' Keanu'', starring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele. The Cinerama Dome appears in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

's 2019 film ''

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, and Visiona Romantica and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is ...

'', shown screening ''

Krakatoa, East of Java ''Krakatoa, East of Java'' is a 1968 American disaster film starring Maximilian Schell and Brian Keith. During the 1970s, the film was re-released under the title ''Volcano''. The story is loosely based on events surrounding the 1883 eruption o ...

'' in 1969. The ''Krakatoa'' posters used during filming remained on the theater for the film's 70mm engagement there.

References

External links