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 Interactive map of Cinerama Dome | |
| Location | 6360Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°05′51″N118°19′41″W / 34.097581°N 118.328088°W /34.097581; -118.328088 |
| Owner | The Decurion Corporation |
| Type | Indoor movie theater |
| Construction | |
| Opened | November 7, 1963 |
| Closed | April 12, 2021 |
| Architect | Pierre Cabrol Welton Becket & Associates |
| General contractor | AECOM Hunt |
| Designated | December 18, 1998 |
| Reference no. | 659 |
TheCinerama Dome is a movie theater onSunset Boulevard inHollywood,California that closed in 2020. Designed to exhibit widescreenCinerama films, it opened November 7, 1963.[1][2][3] The original developer was William R. Forman,[4][5][6][7][8][9] founder ofPacific Theatres. The Cinerama Dome continued as a leadingfirst-run theater, most recently as part of theArcLight Hollywood complex, until it closed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in California. The ArcLight chain closed permanently in April 2021, with the theater never having reopened. In June 2022, it was announced that there were plans to reopen under a new name, Cinerama Hollywood, but the plans were cancelled in 2024.[10]
In February 1963,Cinerama Inc. unveiled a radically new design for theaters that would show its movies. They would be based on thegeodesic dome developed byR. 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 theconstruction site. Located on Sunset nearVine Street, 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 ofIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. The design was proposed by French architect Pierre Cabrol, lead designer in the noted architectural firm ofWelton Becket and Associates. Pierre Cabrol worked with R. Buckminster Fuller during his studies atMIT.
Pacific Theatres founder, William R. Forman, announced the construction of the Cinerama Dome in July 1963 at a star-studded, ground-breaking ceremony whereSpencer Tracy,Buddy Hackett,Mickey Rooney,Dick Shawn,Edie Adams, andDorothy Provine 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 new70mm, single-strip Cinerama process,Stanley Kramer'sIt'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 12 feet (3.7 metres) across and weighs around 7,500 pounds (3,400 kilograms). 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 32 ft (9.8 m) high and 86 ft (26 m) wide, with a maximumaspect ratio of 2.69:1.[11]
The premiere ofIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, filmed inUltra Panavision 70, 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 6433Hollywood Boulevard 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.
In 2002, after a two-year closure, the Cinerama Dome was reopened as a part ofPacific 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 four known Cinerama theaters left[12] in the world, the others include:Pictureville Cinema,Seattle Cinerama, The New Neon Cinema,[13] and Cinerama restorationist and former Canadian broadcast engineer, Tom H. March's Calgary basement.[14][citation needed]
The Cinerama Dome made itsdigital projection debut in May 2005 withStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. In 2009,James Cameron'sAvatar was the first3D film to be shown in the Cinerama Dome, using technology fromXpanD 3D.
In December 2015, the Cinerama Dome upgraded to a laser-projection system, using twoChristie 6P projectors andDolby 3D.[17] The venue is still capable of both 35mm and 70mm-film projection.
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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 theimpact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] Later in the year, it was reported that a permit had been filed with provisions for a bar and restaurant.[19]
In June 2022, it was reported that Decurion Corp. had plans to reopen the theater under the name Cinerama Hollywood along with the adjoining fourteen-screen multiplex. There were also plans to include two bars and a restaurant at the location.[10] Three months later, it was reported that the theater would not be reopening until at least the latter part of 2023;[20] in May 2023, it was reported that it was delayed once again to the latter part of 2024.[21] In November 2023, the reopening was again delayed until the second quarter of 2025 due mostly in part to the redesign happening in the space including the addition of restaurants and event space.[22] In April 2025, it was reported the reopening of the Cinerama Dome was uncertain due to the property manager saying it would not reopen that year and that Decurion was unwilling to either sell or reopen the complex.[23] A petition to reopen the complex had reached more than 30,000 signatures at the time of the report.[24] When asked about the future of the Cinerama Dome and Arclight Hollywood during a June 2025 public hearing held by the Los Angeles l Office of Zoning Administration, land use consultant Elizabeth Peterson of the Elizabeth Peterson Group said:
The property owner is again Dome Center for LLC Robertson Properties Group. They have reached out to me and have recently started discussing moving forward with the Cinerama Dome. We don’t have any plans yet, but I think that they wanted to make sure that they did this in a timely manner. The ownership is very committed to moving forward to continue redeveloping the site. Obviously, the theater would be next. And all I can tell you is that they have reached out to me to discuss that. Their goal is to restore the entire property.[25]
In August 2025, a report fromThe Hollywood Reporter stated that the reopening of the Cinerama Dome and ArcLight Hollywood remained in limbo.[26]
With its 86 feet (26 m)wide screen, advanced acoustics and70mm 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 theIndian Hills Theater inOmaha, Nebraska, a round Cinerama theater boasting a 110-foot screen that was razed in 2001 to make room for aparking lot.
The Cinerama Dome was declared aLos Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1998.[27]
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