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6360 SUNSET BLVD.


AN ICONIC PLACE FOR MOVIES, AND A HOME FOR KINDRED SPIRITS

Right here in the heart of a hundred-year-old industry, one theater towered over
all the rest for decades.


 
 


EVEN TO THE CASUAL OBSERVER, CINERAMA’S PROMINENCE WAS CLEAR.

 

Here was the world’s only concrete geodesic dome. Here was the graceful curve of
a massive contoured screen, advanced acoustics, and an early example of stadium
seating. Here was a truly immersive theatrical experience, free from
distractions. Focused on film.

That’s what distinguished Cinerama. That sense of dedication. Enthusiasm.
Reverence. True movie lovers came here to drink it all in, to talk it all out,
to build it all up. If famous faces appeared in the lobby, it wasn’t some
publicity stunt. They flocked to a theater that valued respect and sat next to
people who shared their passion. No star outshone the movies at the Cinerama
Dome. It was, and remains, a temple to an art form — a place where we could sit
in the dark, together, and worship.

 


AS TIME WENT BY…


A UNIQUE ARCHITECTURAL ACHIEVEMENT

At a height of more than 70 feet, the Cinerama Dome is an unmissable landmark
designed by Welton Becket & Associates, the legendary LA firm. The Dome was
constructed from 316 concrete polygons, weighing in at 7,500 pounds apiece, and
the entire building was completed over a remarkable 16 weeks of round-the-clock
work in 1963.






BUILT WITH INNOVATION IN MIND

The theater was created to show Cinerama movies, a novel shooting and projecting
process that involved three cameras and a huge, curved screen. The idea was to
engulf an audience’s field of vision so thoroughly that TV was driven from their
minds. The process didn’t last, but the 86-foot screen remained, leaving
moviegoers awestruck for more than 50 years.






THE PERFECT PLACE FOR A PREMIERE

Since the worldwide debut of Stanley Kramer’s It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, a
black tie gala attended by Hollywood royalty, the Dome has played host to dozens
of auspicious openings, including Apocalypse Now, Close Encounters of the Third
Kind, and E.T. The premiere of Yentl, which included a sit-down dinner outside
the theater, cost over $500,000.






A MAGNET FOR LA MOVIE LOVERS

Over time, the Cinerama Dome and the City of Angels developed a sort of
symbiosis. Here, Hollywood’s finest could take in a movie alongside serious
cinephiles, and the building could bask in the glow of their devotion. COVID-19
forced the theater to shutter, but the Dome still stands, missed dearly by its
denizens, and ready to add to its remarkable history.





Legal   |  Photo Credits   |  CINERAMA® is a registered trademark of Cinerama,
Inc.  The CINERAMA® theater in Seattle is under separate ownership and is a
licensee of the CINERAMA® mark.