Cinedome Theatres
3001 W. Chapman Avenue,
Orange,
CA
92868
3001 W. Chapman Avenue,
Orange,
CA
92868
9 people
favorited this theater
One of Orange County’s premiere theatres, particularly for 70mm presentations, during the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s. It was originally owned and operated by Syufy Enterprises, which later changed its name to Century Theaters, Inc.
I recall seeing <em>Close Encounters of the Third Kind</em>, <em>Hot Stuff</em>, <em>The Black Hole</em>, <em>TRON</em>, <em>Back to the Future</em>, <em>Total Recall</em>, and other films there.
A terrific theatre that never should have been closed or demolished, but it was, in favor of a modern multiplex built not far on the site of the former Stadium Drive-In. The link has a ton of info on the Cinedome.
Contributed by
papibear
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Recent comments (view all 29 comments)
My first ever job was at the Cinedomes. I was a Junior at Garden Grove High School back in 1997 when I started there. Seriously, it was one of the most fun jobs I’ve ever had.
There were so many awesome memories in the 1.5 years I worked there. I got my hands on so much movie memorabilia, such as rare posters for American History X, soundtracks, buttons, movie trailers, you name it.
Most would be surprised to know that there was a hole drilled in the usher’s closet going into the women’s bathroom! LOL, when I worked there, the closet was so packed that you could not even get close to it, I’m thinking it was made WAY back in the early years of the theater.
The ushers would play hot dog baseball while cleaning theaters. We’d wad up the foil hotdog wrappers and pitch them to each other and we’d try to smack them with our brooms into the projection window. I recall I made it once! Then there were the “haunting” stories. In big dome #2, a girl had died by falling over the balcony and breaking her neck. Whenever I’d clean the theater alone, I could hear strange noises. I’d get freaked sometimes. Also, an employee died while changing the front marquee when his harness broke. That’s why they removed the marquee in the later years while I was there.
When the 25 opened, half the employees transferred there. I chose to stay at the domes, since I liked the atmosphere and it was just cooler overall. When we became second run, lots of weirdos started showing up, but the job was even more fun. One of the head managers had actual old film prints that he had collected, and Halloween of 98 we did old horror film screenings for films like Alien, The Omen, and a few others. I got promoted to assistant manager, then a week later the theater was kaput and we were all transferred to the Stadium 25. I worked the Stadium for about 6 months, but it was just horrible compared to the Dome experience. I ended up quitting. I still have my vest, name badge, and usher cleaning schedules as mementos of my time at the Cinedomes. John who was the assistant manager there took 2 rows of seats and parts of the screen for his garage theater, and with the stuff Captain Blood has, parts of the Dome will at least live on in a way.
Century truly was stupid to demolish the theater. What I heard was that the 25 doesn’t even do close to the business the Domes used to pull in. When we were second run and on the verge of closing, countless customers would tell us how much the theater meant to them and how they wished it would stay open. The theater was a landmark in a way, and I’m sure if it were still around it would be giving the AMC 30 at the Block a run for the money, especially with the new widened underpass they built which would have allowed even easier access to the Cinedomes from the freeways.
RIP Cinedome 11, there will always be a place in my heart for you!
Here is a story about the demise of the Cinedome from the LA Times, dated 2/14/99:
Once upon a time, when Orange County was more about orange groves and less about urban sprawl, there was an oasis of culture and futuristic architecture out near “the Big A” (that reference alone to the former Anaheim Stadium should date me). Housed in twin, light-festooned domes were the coolest movie theaters anywhere outside Hollywood.
The Century Cinedome, adjacent to another forgotten landmark—the Orange Drive-In—was a creature from the ‘60s. When first built and opened, people traveled from all corners of the county to sit in big, comfortable seats, stare at huge projection screens and listen to the most advanced stereophonic sound system of the time.
Now it’s going the way of the wrecking ball.
Back in the ‘80s, before I became a county expatriate, I used to drive up the Santa Ana Freeway and wonder how long it would be before they’d tear the old place down. Now that they’ve boarded it up, I find myself mourning a bit for a place that was more than just a movie theater. It was a place where images—on the screens and on the theater grounds—were forever seared into my brain, leaving memories that will stay long after the buildings are demolished.
I think, in many ways, the life of the theater complex mirrored the growth and changes that have taken place in Orange County during the last three decades—more so than Anaheim Stadium/Edison International Field, Disneyland or any other man-made landmark in the area.
When the complex first opened in the ‘60s, Orange County was booming. While the region has never stopped, that decade was a heady time to be living in a semirural county. The aerospace industry was king. John F. Kennedy’s promise of man landing on the moon before the end of the decade was still fresh in our minds, and we all knew it was only a matter of time before space travel was going to be commonplace.
The domes, unlike the prefabricated boxes popping up across the plains and hills of Orange County, had a wild, “way-out,” spacey look to them. When you drove by, northbound on the freeway, the outrageous designs of “The Jetsons” didn’t seem so outrageous. For me, there could have been no other theater in which to first experience “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
During the ‘70s, the theater took on a new look. The county, with its ever-expanding population, was more than just a series of bedroom communities serving masters in Los Angeles. Orange County was becoming a place to be reckoned with in every sense, in particular economically. With all that came the malls, the entertainment centers and the many ways denizens could spend their leisure-time dollars. In an effort to capture some portion of the windfall, the folks who owned the Cinedome expanded their theaters. It was like the burgeoning city of Irvine: There was a limited amount of land, but by God they’d pack as many people into it as humanly possible.
As the ‘70s ended and the '80s rolled in, the Cinedome remained a cultural and societal landmark in Orange County. Everyone knew where the then-California Angels played baseball. Everyone knew where South Coast Plaza and the Orange Mall were located. And everyone, even if they hadn’t seen a movie there, at least knew where the domes were. Places like the Santa Ana Clubhouse and Skate Ranch, longtime havens for teenagers looking to meet others of the opposite sex or enjoy a cheap date, were already dead or dying.
The Cinedome, which seemed to offer an endless number of theaters under one roof, was also a great place to head to with friends. On any given (dateless) Friday or Saturday night, groups of friends would look for every which way to sneak in. For as many theaters as there were in the complex, there were twice as many backdoors. And if all else failed and you actually paid for a ticket, you were sure to catch at least two more movies (for free) showing elsewhere at what many came to call “Sneak-a-Dome.”
Now, 30 years after it opened its doors, the Cinedome is the victim of change. Its owners, the Century Theatre chain, built another complex nearby that has all the bells and whistles movie audiences expect these days. The Cinedome, which really began showing its age 20 years ago, is now in its death spiral. It’s going the way the orange groves have, the way the Orange County International Raceway did and the way the Tustin and El Toro Marine bases will.
I suspect when the company charged with demolishing the Cinedome finally trucks away the rubble, there won’t be a lot of wailing from most people—even those who have a special place in their heart for the once ultramodern-looking marvel. Like the Cinedome, the flame of Orange County’s existence has been fueled by change.
The Orange Cinedome was another of the many Syufy theatres designed by the San Francisco architect Vincent G. Raney.
I notice that the link in the introductory section of this page no longer works, nor does the link added by papibear in his comment of October 13, 2003. Here’s a link to the “From Script to DVD” website page about the Cinedome, where a few photos are displayed.
Fond memories of this place. I saw “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” there in the summer of 1970. While traveling to visit relatives in Laguna Beach in the early 70’s I’d take the Santa Ana freeway and the Cinedome was one of the landmarks I’d pass that told me I was getting closer to the Laguna freeway/Laguna Canyon Road turn off.
Cinematour has some more photos.
http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=2678
Scott Neff, I’d love to get an actual blow-up print of that 1993 exterior shot. Do you still have negatives or know who does? Also, do you have any pictures by chance that show the entire front—with both of the original 1969 domes, the ‘77 domes, and the three newest domes that were added in '92 (which is when I worked there). All of the pictures that I’ve seen online omit those additions or only show this once great 11-plex in varying stages of decline and demolition.
Sadly these have been the only pictures I could scare up of this place. I don’t have any of the negatives of any of the photos online jut the original prints we scanned for Cinematour.
Having worked at Century’s corporate office I’ve always been fascinated with the evolution of all the dome theatres, especially those that started as singles and were added onto with additional domes throughout the years (Century Oakland, Century Reno, Cinedome Orange, Century Complex Sacramento, Century Salt Lake). Sadly there really isn’t much documentation or photos available on these locations.
More photos of the domes can be found here:
View link
Sad photos of the demo.Nice theatre.
Always loved the Cinedome. Saw some great shows there as a kid: Airport ‘77 and Raiders of the Lost Ark to name a few. Returned in my twenties for Wild at Heart, Wyatt Earp and Independence Day.