Visiting friends over the weekend of March 19, 2010 and overheard them making plans for “dropping the teenagers off at CineArts.” Went by the theatre later on and they appear to be doing just fine. Long may it be so! In architecturally nondescript Concord, even this relatively later (though I must say very nice) theatre building provides the community landscape with some interest!

Under Century, all the CineArts were @ somewhere. The original CineArts were:

CineArts @ Evanston (Evanston, IL)
CineArts @ Sequoia (Mill Valley, CA)
CineArts @ Palo Alto Square (Palo Alto, CA)
CineArts @ Empire (San Francisco, CA)
CineArts @ Pleasant Hill (Pleasant Hill, CA)
CineArts @ Santana Row (San Jose, CA)
CineArts @ Marin (Sausalito, CA)

Eventually they started calling whatever art film was playing at any theatre the “CineArts @ [Theatre Name]” much like AMC has AMC Select and Regal has Regal Arts.

Could be just internet shorthand. Do they use @ in the building’s signs and in advertising?

Is “@” really part of the name, or was someone just too lazy to write “at?”

I was an auditor for Century Theatres and was always intrigued by the dome theatres. I had a bit of projection background so was also interested in the technical side of the older buildings. I don’t know if the lense is still on site, I would assume that it is not. I know that the D-150 automation panel is still mounted on the wall at this location, as well as some of the other older dome locations.

Though the domed theatre in the Cine Arts complex superficially resembles the earlier Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, they are very different structurally, and they were not designed by the same architect. Pacific’s Cinerama Dome was designed by Welton Beckett & Associates and was intended to be the prototype for a chain of concrete, geodesic dome theatres in which to show Cinerama movies. The building proved more costly to erect that was expected, and the demand for Cinerama movies proved less than the company had hoped, and thus the Hollywood dome remains the sole example of its kind.

The CineArts dome, on the other hand, was one of several non-geodesic domed theatres designed for Syufy’s Century Theatres by San Francisco architect Vincent G. Raney. Through the 1960s the Syufy brothers erected domed theatres in many western cities, and at least as far east as Utah, where their seventh Century 21 dome was opened in 1967. From the description of South Salt Lake’s Century 21 on this page, it was typical of Century’s Raney-designed domed theatres. Click on the “Photos” link in the left panel of that page to see how Raney’s domes were put together.

Thought I’d cross post the comment I made on part of the Newsreel post for today about this theatre.

This complex was built as the Century 21 Pleasant Hill and opened with Doctor Zhivago. In 1974 four screens were added behind the building and it began it’s run as Century 21-25 and then the Century Complex. Century rebranded this theatre as one of its CineArts Theatres, which Cinemark still operates the theatre as under their control. To this day, the employees still refer to the auditoriums as #21-#25. Photos can be seen at http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=2718 included a once proposed addition of two domes into the parking lot (assumedly before the 4-plex was added behind the dome).

21 (The Dome), #23 & #25 are equipped with Century JJ’s capable of 70mm. I believe there are 70mm rollers in cabinets back there that could allow them to switch to 70mm if needed. (Many older Century Theatres are still equipped for 70mm). As for them carrying the reels through, when I was familiar with the location, most of the film build-up and break-down was done in the back booth and films for the dome were transported either with clamps, or on 6000 foot reels to be built up on the Dome’s Christie AW-3. (Builds up slower than the Potts platters in back.)

The theater is thriving quite nicely since it began showing mostly independent films, but it is my understanding that some sort of remodel or relocation is on the way. The shopping center is partially demolished on one end where Montgomery Wards was located. An early proposal I viewed, had them moving the entire complex closer to the freeway, and making the theater two story vs the dome and series of other theaters in the back of the building.

This was a Dimension-150 Theatre installation, not a Cinerama. They look very close.

I have lived in Danville for thirty years and still continue at least three times a month to drive to the Monument Theatre to see their movies. The best thing about the theatre is it has movies you never find in my neck of the woods. Most of the new movies made today in the “regular theaters” in my view, are garbage, trash and a waste of time and money. They should nver “close” this theatre. Another great beauty of this location is that there is PLENTY OF PARKING!. As for the newer theatre build downtown, they can have it! It is a pain in the a—– to park and they show the regular junk there as well…..You can never replace the beauty of grandeur of the large dome theatre. It is the best……

I say, leave this theatre alone and Pleasant Hill City Council, “get your act together and keep this theatre alive”!

Nadina Riggsbee
Danville Resident

Why would they have such little regard for this theatre by building a new one so close to it? They have been doing this in several locations recently and tearing down the old ones. Most of their new theatres only have common-width screens! The domes used to be their trademarks, they need to preserve the ones that are left, I don’t know how their current theatres will be regarded 30 years from now! If I lived closer to Pleasant Hill I would go to this theatre regularly regardless of what was showing. I pray that this theatre remains for decades to come. In the meantime they have TWO of these domes in Sacramento but both were split in half more than 25 years ago, they need to restore those back to the way they were. If they did I would go there regularly.

STOP THE DEMO!