fumanstan

I don't have any attachment to this whole ordeal, but I don't see how he's an ass for that comment. Seems like an opinion a lot of people would have about something like old movie theaters.

mrhan

Yeah, sure people should say what's on their mind but since he is in office it comes off sounding like he has an agenda. Obviously, the people spoke and he should abide by that and keep his negative opinion to himself. After all is said and done he works for those that voted for him and saving this building is what they want.

My Other Self

Nothing against those that want to preserve these theaters, but maybe I'm missing the historic value of them. Are we interchanging historic with nostalgia, now?

I was certainly sad when the theater I went to nearly every weekend as a kid and teenager was bulldozed in the mid-2000s but I sure don't think it deserved preservation status.

riley_dude

They sure don't make theaters with domes anymore and the theater was beautiful inside. I would count that as Historic seeing the way theaters today just look like boxes. I saw a Titanic there and it was an amazing experience.

Alan Smithee

I'll admit I can't give too good a reason for this being a "historic" theater any more than other theaters, though its size and design certainly make it special. The Century 22, after having 2 smaller domes added onto it in 1971, was the first multi-screen theater I ever went to. The 21 was designed for Cinerama, having the extra two projection port windows installed but never actually used. It could now finally be outfitted to show Cinerama (despite the landowners' argument that "only a few movies were actually produced in Cinerama, and many of those are travelogues".)

Video of the city council meeting is now up: http://sanjose.granicus.com/MediaPla...1&clip_id=7435

Click on item 11.3 on the list under the video to skip to the discussion on the theaters (starting around 7 hours 47 minutes- the first few hours are just an onscreen message with music as it was on the local cable channel). You can see my testimony at 7 hours 59 minutes, though the interface is so frustrating that it's likely easier to just let it play to that point after the 'chapter mark' rather than trying to skip to that time spot.

Alan Smithee

Bumping this because while the San Jose theaters are still sitting empty after more than a year, the Century 21 dome in Sacramento was quietly gutted a few days ago and is slated to be torn down tomorrow. While I'd honestly rather see these ones get torn down than continue to operate as half-dome theaters, it's sad they had that done to them in the first place. I'll try to go see it happen tomorrow, but hopefully someone will at least get it on video if I don't.

Mabuse

Sorry I missed this thread last year. It is sad to see these unique, purpose built theaters demolished. It's a shame that the landlords and preservation groups can't get on the same page and restore the buildings to their purpose. In LA and Seattle there have been groups that organized to preserve the unique capabilities of their Cinerama theaters. In Seattle I think Steve Allen got involved. In San Jose I can't believe there are no tech millionaires who want to help preserve the theater.

mrhan

What they should do with the San Jose Century is make it a memorial for Vincent Raney. He is the architect of the domes and was a Bay Area local. When I drive by it I like the way it stands out from it's surroundings. It doesn't fit at all with the fake wanna-be rich look of Santana Row across the street or the Winchester mystery house next to it.

Alan Smithee

I watched the dome go down on Tuesday morning and got pictures. Have crap to do right now but will try to post them here soon.

Alan Smithee

Here it is- theater destructo-porn:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/61INjYBpDOs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

My stupid camera's memory ran out RIGHT before the money shot, but I was able to borrow someone else's footage to make this complete. Surprisingly hardly anyone came to watch, and there were no TV stations or other news people there.

Alan Smithee

Although they have a new theater planned for the site, it's an absolute insult to what these theaters were! I started a petition to try and change that- the remaining domes are honestly in too bad shape to save at this point (the ones in San Jose were far better) but they need to give us something worthy of replacing them and not another small cramped cracker-box theater. If that ends up being built, I won't patronize it.

https://www.change.org/p/sywest-deve...ntury-theatres

bluetoast

Man. I wish I could have gone to this place.

mrhan

It was the best theatre to watch Star Wars in '77. In '97 when the SE was released the dome was packed. Awesome seeing it again on the big screen even with the revised effects.

brayzie

Where can you see the proposed new theater design?



Wasn't there a Century 25 on Saratoga?

brayzie

I only remember Santa Clara street but older members of my family told me what El Camino was like back in the day.

Alan Smithee

I had mixed feelings about this one being demolished because since 1978, it had been split into 2 half-dome theaters with a wall down the middle. I did not go to any movies at all in that complex because 4 out of the 14 total screens were half-domes, and I didn't want to even take the chance of getting stuck in one of those. I promised the company that I would go to EVERY movie there if they restored the big domes however! They said they were just too far gone at this point though. Right now I'm just trying to get a more worthy theater built in its place than the generic thing they have planned right now.

Alan Smithee

There was a big PDF brochure from the real estate company but it seems to have been taken off-line now. This is still up but it doesn't seem to fully load:

https://tribfox40.files.wordpress.co...-site-plan.pdf

The older PDF had the outlines of the old theaters still on it, making it easy to see how much smaller the new one is planned to be! That's why I started the petition, I realize the old theaters may be too deteriorated to save at this point, but what they build in their place should equal their grandeur! There was another domed complex in the area built in the 80s, wasn't as big and grand as these but still pretty cool. After 20 years they tore it down and replaced it with a square theater, with ALL common-width top-masked screens and many theaters the size of a broom closet!

Chrisedge

Alan will always be ok in my book because of this thread. Grew up miles from Orange County's Cinedome. Saw many movies there, including sitting in the big dome for Tommy (70mm? Quad?) ALL DAY LONG OPEN TO CLOSE. 4 or 5 showings. I was 11? or so and was with sister. Way too many other great shows to mention.

mrhan

Yeah there was; can't tell it was even there because there's a new building right over the same spot. I had free tickets to a sneak peak of Karate Kid there in '84.

brayzie

That was by El Paseo Saratoga right? I saw T2 there.

So I'm assuming it was the giant AMC theater by the freeway that took all of Century Theaters business?

mrhan

I suppose. Back in the late 70's and early 80's there were only a few theatres in the area. There was the Centurys, Cinema 150 and the two AMCs in Sunnyvale (Town Center) and Mountain View (Old Mill). The AMCs were a lot smaller back then. I don't remember any other first run theatres in the South Bay. Century was always the first choice to go and watch movies.

dek

Century 25 has been razed for some time now, I used to live right down the street. Worked at 23 and 22 as well as Saratoga Six in El Paseo. Saw so many good movies at 21-25 as well as Saratoga Six, Meridian Quad (2 dollar Tuesdays), as well as The Oaks, Camera 1-3, Pruneyard, the dollar theaters on Winchester, Town and Country, Towne Theater, hell basically anything that played a movie in San Jose. The only movies I saw at the one on the El Camino that I can remember are Earthquake and Cocoon. Such a rich film history at 21 and 22 and its being shit on for some office space the douche owner wants to throw up. My dad would take us to Bob's Big Boy after the movies on Saturdays as they had bring in your ticket stub and receive half off your meal. Such good times.

mrhan

Damn...you have a good memory. Thanks for listing those. I totally forgot most of those theaters; especially the Town and Country theatre which was right across the street from the domes.

Alan Smithee

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacrament...f.html?ana=twt

My petition got some coverage here, plus I talked to someone from the local paper today. Again, I realize that the theaters here may be beyond repair, but they can do far better than the generic theater they have planned to build there. I'd like to see a tribute to all of our fallen theaters- a new theater built in the style of them, including two NEW big domes!

The Bob's Big Boy in San Jose is now The Flames Coffee Shop and still open, though that's on the chopping block as well. People are trying to save that too as it's a rare surviving building in that particular style.

Navinabob

I'm still sad they tore down Bullwinkles