The large theater across the street from the Presido theater with the large screen and THX sound was the Cinema 21. Both were operated by Century theatres. Titanic showed at both these theaters for long runs. Both theaters are still there, but have since been split into smaller auditoriums. Cinema 21 is now known as the Marina.
balconyclosed, yes, they took the two cinemas and split them into five. The screen set up you are talking about was called shadowbox and many General Cinemas had this shadowbox design.
Recently went and there is a new gold curtain in the main auditorium. It looks terrible. :–( What happened to the other (red) curtain?
Eric
commented about
Century 22on
Jan 19, 2010 at 12:14 am
The digital projector disappeared a few years ago. Which is too bad because this would have been a great venue for Avatar in 3D.
Eric
commented about
Retro Domeon
Oct 24, 2009 at 1:00 am
I’m hooked on the Retro-Dome. They’ve done a great job upgrading the place! Saw Ghostbusters tonight. They’ve reconstructed the screen so that it’s more centered. And they’ve fixed all the squeaky seats! New carpet, new paint. The place looks great! They are showing DVD’s, but that’s ok, the sound and picture is very good. It’s really a retro blast! Go and support them!
Eric
commented about
Retro Domeon
Sep 27, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I’m still waiting for them to show movies…
Eric
commented about
Retro Domeon
Jul 10, 2009 at 9:53 pm
I drove by the theatre today and saw the sign posted on the window announcing the new plans for the theatre. I came here to post about it and see that the Guggenheim’s have beat me to it!
How EXCITING!! I am truly excited about this and I think this is going to be a huge hit! Dinner theatres such as the Parkway in Oakland and the Cerrito in El Cerrito have been enormously popular. You are taking it one step beyond those even, and will be tapping into this market that is not served here in San Jose.
The new paint on the building looks great! I am eagerly awaiting the re-opening of the theatre. Good luck and much success!!
Strangely, they are showing “W.” this weekend. Of course, the patrons will see it here only to mock it and heckle the movie. Should be interestin'..
Eric
commented about
Retro Domeon
Oct 2, 2008 at 1:23 pm
They were showing Bollywood movies for the last couple of months (which I thought was a great idea), but it seems starting 10/02 they’re back to mainstream 2nd run fare, with “My Best Friend’s Girl” and “Tropic Thunder”.
I think it had more character than some of the new megaplexes we see on the peninsula now a days. It was your typical GCC plex theatre (one screen split into four), with the gray metallic walls and metal reclining seats. The look was identical to the GCC Southland theatre in Hayward, but the Hillsdale theatre never got the remodel (new blue high back seats, red paint on the metallic walls) that the Southland Cinema got in the early ‘90’s. Wow, it’s been 10 years since this closed as a theatre. Building still stands though…
The large theater across the street from the Presido theater with the large screen and THX sound was the Cinema 21. Both were operated by Century theatres. Titanic showed at both these theaters for long runs. Both theaters are still there, but have since been split into smaller auditoriums. Cinema 21 is now known as the Marina.
New photo of the theater in the photos section…
I was actually here and saw The Money Pit in the large #1 main auditorium…
Theater has re-opened!!!
What an absolute disgrace and such disrespect for a beautiful old theatre…..
balconyclosed, yes, they took the two cinemas and split them into five. The screen set up you are talking about was called shadowbox and many General Cinemas had this shadowbox design.
View link
Another article published today:
View link
^^ Good News.
Here is another recent article about the theatre:
View link
That is a great article. Thanks for posting.
Recently went and there is a new gold curtain in the main auditorium. It looks terrible. :–( What happened to the other (red) curtain?
The digital projector disappeared a few years ago. Which is too bad because this would have been a great venue for Avatar in 3D.
I’m hooked on the Retro-Dome. They’ve done a great job upgrading the place! Saw Ghostbusters tonight. They’ve reconstructed the screen so that it’s more centered. And they’ve fixed all the squeaky seats! New carpet, new paint. The place looks great! They are showing DVD’s, but that’s ok, the sound and picture is very good. It’s really a retro blast! Go and support them!
I’m still waiting for them to show movies…
I drove by the theatre today and saw the sign posted on the window announcing the new plans for the theatre. I came here to post about it and see that the Guggenheim’s have beat me to it!
How EXCITING!! I am truly excited about this and I think this is going to be a huge hit! Dinner theatres such as the Parkway in Oakland and the Cerrito in El Cerrito have been enormously popular. You are taking it one step beyond those even, and will be tapping into this market that is not served here in San Jose.
The new paint on the building looks great! I am eagerly awaiting the re-opening of the theatre. Good luck and much success!!
Does anyone have any photos, interior and exterior, of the theatre?
Does anyone have any photos of the theatre to post?
Excellent photo. That’s how I remember her!! Thank you for posting.
These photos are great! Keep them coming.
The Grand Lake is in a very democratic part of town. A Republican probably wouldn’t be caught dead walking in the ‘hood. LOL.
Think about it. All this time it’s just been sitting there, they could have been showing movies…
Strangely, they are showing “W.” this weekend. Of course, the patrons will see it here only to mock it and heckle the movie. Should be interestin'..
They were showing Bollywood movies for the last couple of months (which I thought was a great idea), but it seems starting 10/02 they’re back to mainstream 2nd run fare, with “My Best Friend’s Girl” and “Tropic Thunder”.
I think it had more character than some of the new megaplexes we see on the peninsula now a days. It was your typical GCC plex theatre (one screen split into four), with the gray metallic walls and metal reclining seats. The look was identical to the GCC Southland theatre in Hayward, but the Hillsdale theatre never got the remodel (new blue high back seats, red paint on the metallic walls) that the Southland Cinema got in the early ‘90’s. Wow, it’s been 10 years since this closed as a theatre. Building still stands though…
It’s for sale????