Endangered MCM Domed Theater Saved!

[rp2813]

This past Tuesday night the City Council voted to provide the local 1964 Century 21 Cinerama dome historic landmark status. It was threatened by demolition in favor of yet another mixed use development in an already congested area. It's not as extravagant as the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, but still an interesting architectural genre for MCM movie houses.

The developers have stated that they already were prepared with a "Plan B" if the theater garnered landmark status, so all's well that ends well, or so it seems at the moment.

This wouldn't have happened without a big push from the preservation sector and activism by the community at large. We lost a similar dome up in Walnut Creek a while back. Now that property is home to a big box sporting goods store. There's no question about which building would provide more architectural interest.

Here are some pix (the lobby has been redone and looks pretty boring so no pix of that):

 

[hydralique]

Wonderful News . . .

That's a beautiful building! Now can someone move those modern transpo-mobiles and park a turquoise Princess Grace Thunderbird in front where it belongs?

 

[twintubdexter]

How well I remember when those Century Theatres were built. With their huge curved Cinerama screens and their stereophonic sound they were "the" place to see a feature film. I saw "2001 A Space Odyssey" there. You didn't go to the Century Theatres dressed like a slob. I haven't been back to hometown San Jose for about 4 years but I remember how congested that area is, especially with Valley Fair so close. I understand that Santana Row is expanding to the other side of Winchester Boulevard and that's the primary reason they wanted to tear down all the Centurys. If you're an old man like me you can remember how nice Town & Country Village shopping center used to be...now Santana Row. Granted Santana Row is popular and glitzy, but maybe it's big enough. I'm surprised they don't want the Winchester Mystery House torn down for more room. Fortunately it's a California State Historical Monument.

When I was a teenager, Bob's Big Boy on Winchester...now the closed "Flames Restaurant" and scheduled to be torn down for more Santana Row room...was the place all the cool people would hang out. You can see one of the Century Theatres in the background.

 

[rp2813]

Well Joe, I'll have to check on the Flames Coffee Shop. We were just there recently. I wish the groups who fought for the theater would have done likewise for the old Bob's. It's all there, just with horrible terra cotta paint slathered onto all of the flagsone columns.

I remember Space Odyssey well. You could feel the whole place vibrating as the theme music ramped up.

The sister theaters 22 and 23 will come down, but that's no great loss. They were plexed years ago. I've heard that 24 down the street is already gone, and 25 out at Westgate mall will be soon if it isn't already.

Century 21 is the granddaddy of them all, and even Syufy seemed to realize that, so it has survived as a full size wide screen venue for all these years.

Centuries 21 through 23 showed their last films this past March. Their lease was up and the property owners of course were just waiting to sell out to developers.

I hope this victory is just the beginning for saving MCM gems around town. There aren't many left.

 

[mikael3]

I am stunned at how beautiful that building is on the inside. When I started reading this post, I thought maybe the building was in a state of decay. How could anyone even begin to think of tearing that down?

 

[classiccaprice]

Not as an exciting of a design, but if I won the billion dollar jackpot, I would have to buy a block of 79th street in Newport News, VA. It's like a small stretch of unmolested 1965 era shopping center with a bowling alley and a classic movie theater! I'd so fix it up and have a mid century playground. One of the stores would have to be a vintage appliance shop.

 

[neptunebob]

I am glad at least that dome was saved. One of the largest domes of all here in Pittsburgh was wrecked about 2 years ago, the Civic Arena, despite people wanting it preserved. It was hoped a new neighborhood would go in there, but so far it is just a blank space.

Oh, you know, with your dome, I wonder if some people didn't know it was a theatre and thought it was a real estate office? The logo looks almost the same.

 

[tolivac]

The preservation of these theaters is discussed in the Film Tech movie theater forums.Some of the forum members used to work there.It is a neat,wonderful place.Too bad more theaters aren't like these "dome" theaters instead of the bland concrete boxes they are now.The film Tech folks say the equipment has been stripped from the theater and sent to others or even scrapped because its for film.Would be neat to preserve the Cinerama system and put a new digital system alongside the Cinerama one so the theater still could be used full time and enjoyed.I just hope the equipment from the dome theater wasn't really scrapped.That would be bad-the "soul" of that site would be gone!!Never been to that theater-but would like too-esp after it can be restored!Would be a neat place to watch movies!

 

[rp2813]

Beautiful Interior

Well John, I don't know when those interior shots were taken. The one of the screen is definitely older, with the pukey sort of rose/beige paint on the framework. It's hard to see in the picture, but the ceiling surface is turquoise tile.

My first impression of Century 21 in the mid '60s was that it was put together very cheaply. Except for the carpeted aisles, the floors in the auditorium were plywood. The only luxurious aspect was that all the seats were rockers.

Keep in mind that when Century 21 opened, there were quite a few opulent movie palaces from the 1920s & 30s that were still thriving downtown, and back then (I was 9) I already had an appreciation for their architecture. Century 21 wasn't in the same league, but it certainly wasn't trying to be, either.

Still, the Cinerama domes provided an experience you couldn't get on any screen downtown. It didn't take long for the majority of downtown theaters to close their doors for good, as much due to Century 21 (and the domes that followed) as to the whole retail flight to suburban malls that was already well underway.

There are only three downtown venues left, two restored (link below to what was known as the Fox theater when I was a kid -- imagine if you can, all corners being overrun with a mostly 12-and under crowd for summer matinees, am I right Joe?) and one gutted into a dance club. The Centuries got all of the best, first run, 70mm blockbusters and left the rest of the operators in the dust. Fortunately, Century 21 has been saved from becoming a pile of dust itself.

San Jose's California Theatre - photos and building information

Photos and architecture notes of San Jose's restored 1927 California Theatre, home of Opera San Jose and Symphony Silicon Valley.

www.shomler.com

 

[tolivac]

Did the California San Jose theater have an organ-and in the projection room shot we see a Norelco AA1 projector used for 35/70MM projection-on Film Tech the folks there say the Norelcos were the best!AA1-DP70.The real Cinerama presentations were made with matched "trios" of Century projectors built just for that purpose.

 

[twintubdexter]

The only theatre I remember going to for summer matinees was The Garden in downtown Willow Glen, a short bike ride from home. I remember seeing "The Abominable Snowman" there and even though I covered my eyes when he finally appeared at the end I had nightmares for weeks afterwards. The Garden was beautiful with a sort of deco lobby and murals on the inside walls I never really could understand. When I think about it I saw "Goldfinger" there too. When I got home my mom was not happy that I had gone to see a movie with naked ladies in it! How times change huh? The Garden's beautiful sign is still there and adds a lot to trendy downtown Willow Glen (a part of San Jose I miss the most even though there's no Bergman's department store anymore) but the theatre is now gutted and sort of a mini-mall.

Downtown proper had it's share of those old movie houses that you mentioned. The UA/United Artists, The Studio (is that the dance club now?) and the saved Fox. San Francisco had one of the most spectacular Fox Theatres in the Country but it was torn down and replaced with the very ugly Fox Plaza apartments. I don't think that would happen today.

There was another theatre downtown, the "Jose" on Second Street. Lacking the prestigious First Street address the other theatres shared, the Jose was already run down when I was born. I remember people saying there were rats on the stage.

Many factors contributed to Downtown's decline and the exodus of paying customers. An interesting fact you may not be aware of happened in the mid 1950's. Do you remember Goldeen's Furniture on First Street? Macy's and The Emporium were eager to build suburban stores in rapidly growing San Jose. They were very aware of the success Hale's, Hart's and Penney's department stores had with their downtown locations so they decided to explore building there. Don Goldeen was head of the powerful Downtown Businessman's Association and he put a stop to it. The result was the now huge Valley Fair Shopping Center. It was the death knell for downtown retail business.

pic #2 is SF Fox...now that was a lobby!
[this post was last edited: 6/13/2014-13:55]

 

[rp2813]

Organs? Yes -- Two!

I can't speak for the projectors at the California, but when I toured it prior to restoration there was still old equipment in the projector room. I also saw empty film reels littering the dressing rooms below/behind the stage. I can't say about the 70mm equipment, but the screen was definitely not wide enough for it and still isn't.

On that same tour, the "Fireproof Asbestos Curtain" was still there -- the type that would be raised up and down -- very vaudeville. It depicted a majestic volcano, perhaps Mt. Shasta or Lassen, which are California peaks, but the scene looked more to me like Popocateptl outside of Mexico City. When I asked after restoration what had happened to it, nobody knew what I was talking about.

Originally the California had two organs; one in the auditorium and a second one in the lobby. In the lobby pictures you may be able to see the louvered grate for that one. I'm pretty sure both organs had to be found again and may not be the exact same as the originals.

When I was a kid and it was still the Fox, it had already received a MCM re-do in the lobby that covered up the 1927 interior (but at least didn't destroy it) and the snack bar was at the front, obliterating any evidence of the organ pipes behind it.

Joe, I remember the Garden but didn't go there much because the Park Avenue and Linda Vista bus lines that ran through my neighborhood didn't pass through Willow Glen.

 

[tolivac]

Some theaters that used Norelco AA1 and DP70 projectors never used the 70MM functions.When the projector was shipped and installed at the theater-the conversion parts were in a wood box-the parts were matched to that projector by its SN.So its possible the 70MM conversion parts were never used at that theater.That is neat about two organs-one for the lobby and the other for the auditorium!NOW THAT is a MOVIE THEATER!!!Would be so neat to watch a movie there-esp with the organ.Asbestos curtains-often these had to be removed and replaced with like non asbestos Kevlar curtains because of the safety issues with asbestos-esp if the curtain is very old and coming apart.Yes-thats another thing missing at modern theaters-no curtains over the screen!Its was so thrilling to see the curtain opening as the films opening credits projected onto it!And it served as a signal for patrons to be quiet and watch the movie!

 

[nanook]

Cinerama - In Name Only

First off - it's great to hear the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Century 21</span> will be preserved. Although, as pointed out in the commentary, certainly wasn't as "luxurious" as the movie palaces of the 1920's & 30's.  In 1964 upon its opening, the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Century 21</span> was described by a neighboring San Francisco theatre owner as: "...reserved seats in a cow pasture...", it certainly deserves a permanent place in the theatrical exhibition firmament. (The preceding remark better described the San Jose surroundings than the theatre itself; and that particular theatre owner would live to see the demise of the 'downtown theatre' he so proudly defended with his snarky comment).

Originally equipped with some of the best projection & sound equipment, but as with all Syufy Theatres, the upkeep was anything but perfect. Most of my memories of seeing films in ANY Syufy Theatre were of deplorable projection and sound - a far cry from what greeted theatre-goers in 1964.

As for REAL Cinerama, by the time the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Century 21</span> opened on November 24, 1964, the 3-camera/3-projector system that had been around since 1952 was retired for a single-lensed, 70mm, ultra-wide image, still referred to as "Cinerama", but if the truth be told, was actually Ultra Panavision 70, having been around since 1957 - and - was orginally referred to as M-G-M Camera 65. In spite of the reduced negative size of Ultra-Panavision (70mm, 5-perfs vs. 3, 35mm strips and 6-perfs tall), in actuality had a slightly wider picture than Cinerama.  (Well, the M-G-M publicity machine did refer to it as The Window of the World). 

The Cinerama name was often used to introduce 70mm films from the mid-1960's and beyond, even when the picture was less than that of Cinerama. To wit - 2001 - A Space Odyssey was advertised as "A Cinerama Production..." when in fact it was shot in "mere" Super Panavision 70. Hmmm - sounds awfully similar to what has happened to the IMAX franchise - now available in multiplexes-!, but containing decidedly-downsized screens.  But that's a story for another day.

Thanks for sharing this piece of news.