Century 21
3161 Olsen Drive,
San Jose,
CA
95117
3161 Olsen Drive,
San Jose,
CA
95117
18 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 55 comments
A chronology of San Jose’s 70mm presentations history has recently been published/updated. The Century Domes, of course, get several mentions in the piece.
Preliminary plans submitted for renovation of Century 21. From the Hoodline aticle linked below:
“At this point, it’s unclear what the old theater will be reused as, but there are several options on the table. Despite not yet having a specific use, the developer and owner, Federal Realty Investment Trust, plans to renovate the building in a flexible way so that it can cater to several different types of businesses. According to a preliminary proposal obtained by the Mercury News, “the design team will include provisions to accommodate the ability to support office, kitchen, cafeteria, gym, and small data center.” It could also become a restaurant or a performing arts center.”
Hoodline
Does anybody know who had the photo albums at the last screenings at the Century 21 back in 2014? I remember there were was a set of photos with a race car and a friend’s dad dressed as one of the drivers.
Passing along the link to a 12-page 40th anniversary RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK retrospective which features a historian Q&A and 70mm playdate chronology. The Century Domes get mentioned several times.
Here’s a new 4-page 50th anniversary FIDDLER ON THE ROOF retrospective featuring a roadshow playdate chronology and historian Q&A. Century 21’s year-plus run is mentioned in the piece.
I’m really happy with the fact that this theater’s become a landmark, but I really, really want it to remain a theater in some way.
Opened with “It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad World”.
Fifty years ago today Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” opened its exclusive Silicon Valley roadshow run at Century 21. It ended up running 87 weeks, making it the longest, continuous run of the film in the United States (and second longest in the world just behind Toronto’s 127-weeker).
I saw so many films here over the course of literally five decades (from the early 1970s, through 2011)…probably the most “significant” would be the time in 1983, when my dad took me to see Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” during its 15th anniversary re-screening.
Happy 50th! The Century 21 opened this day in 1964.
To celebrate, here’s a list of the Century 21’s bookings during its first decade as researched from their original newspaper promotion.
1964-11-24 … IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (19 weeks)
1965-04-06 … MY FAIR LADY (33)
1965-11-24 … THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES (15)
1966-03-09 … THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (14)
1966-06-15 … BATTLE OF THE BULGE (9)
1966-08-17 … DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (58)
1967-09-26 … GRAND PRIX (43)
1968-07-23 … 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (87)
There is a large preservation movement… The City of San Jose has just granted the Century 21 City Landmark status— it doesn’t remove the threat of demolition, but it makes it tougher to do. The National Register of Historic Places is determining whether or not it will be added to the register… the state can also do this.
We hope the developers of the property will see the value in a restored movie house, possibly with Stargazer’s from CO or a similar company.
PLEASE help us save the Century 21! Sign the petition, pass it along to all of your friends— there’s strength in numbers! If anyone has any Hollywood connections— please put them in contact with us! http://www.change.org/petitions/save-the-winchester-domes
or on Facebook :https://www.facebook.com/savedome
It breaks my heart to see these theatres go. I was born in the early 1960’s in Santa Cruz, but grew up in San Jose. This is what my mother recently wrote about Century 21: “When Century 21 was new it was like going to a live theater. The big screen, the large, comfortable seats, it was comfortable to be there. Things changed over the years, but I think they set the bar.”
In the early 1980’s, I would work for Syufy as an Assistant Manager at Century Almaden (five-house theatre at Blossom Hill Rd and Almaden Expressway) for first Ron Giffen and later Kevin Payton. One of my duties was to set-up the marquee sign, a dangerous job to reach the top sections from a ladder up on the platform that was fifteen feet off the ground — sometimes in the rain. But I loved threading the projectors on the big platters to the five old Cinemeccanica reel-to-reel projectors between showings throughout the day, or turn up the sound in the projection booth to listen and watch my favorite parts of some movies.
I would help out occasionally on the Big Block, mostly for Ron Giffen at Century 23 or Bill Tannehill at Century 21. I met Ray Syufy Sr. once when he came to Century Almaden to decide whether to split the center big house in two, but he never did. Sometime later while working the door at Century 23 a younger man walked up and said he was Ray Syufy and he wanted to see the manager. I chuckled, since I had already met Ray Syufy. I went to the office and told Ron Giffen some guy said he was Ray Syufy and wanted to see him. Ron exclaimed, “That could be Ray Syufy, Jr.!” I was mortified.
Just this weekend, on 30 May 2014, I took my two daughters (8 and 6 years old) to a special Retro Dome showing of Walt Disney’s “Finding Nemo” at Century 21, where they enjoyed the huge screen instead of a television monitor on DVD — they loved it!
It is like saying goodbye to an old friend.
The farewell screening at the Century 21 will be RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK on Sunday, March 30 at 7:20 pm. Appropriate given that RAIDERS opened at the Century 21 and 23 on June 12, 1981.
Sad to say, but the remaining domes—Century 21, 22, 23—will close after March 31. It is too bad, such great memories. I will really miss these wonderful theaters.
boxcop… At the time of the “Superman” engagement, the Dome Complex and the Town & Country were in competition with each other. The Domes were run by Syufy and the Town & Country was run by Mann. Syufy’s (aka Century) ownership of the Town & Country came years later. See my Still Believing A Man Can Fly article for a reference to Town & Country being a Mann operation in 1978/79 (and for a list of where else “Superman” played when it was new).
On the issue of these theaters closing – With some serious funding from some serious supporters, the Century 21 could become a class act entertainment destination in the heart of the Silicon Valley once again. With some minor changes to the exterior, lobby and auditorium and a few major changes to the projection booth and screen, this theatre has the potential to be a first-run, 3D digital movie theatre, a one-of-a-kind single-screen IMAX venue and even a Cinerama-capable auditorium (as it was originally constructed to be) all in one. Just see what Paul Allen did for Seattle’s Cinerama Theatre and what the Pacific Theatre chain did for the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. The developers even built around that one and both sides won. The issue here is that we have wealthy corporate executives and we have dedicated, film-lovers who appreciate what these screens were in the past, what they are today and what they could be in the future. The problem that we face is that we do not have both qualities in the same person who is willing to swoop down and save the day, like Superman did for me in 1978 (another classic film I watched at these domes – technically across the street at Town & Country, which was still considered to be a part of the old “Block” Century Theatres complex).
According to retrodome: Century 21, 22 and 23 – There is no new information about the status of the redevelopment of the property at Winchester and Stevens Creek. As of now, we just know the land owner is accepting proposals and that programming at the theatre will continue as planned into the new year. The Land Owner has not made themselves available to explore any options. The owners of the theatres (Syufy Enterprises) have graciously offered the opportunity for us to continue screening movies at Century 21 (more on that below) until the conclusion of their lease.
I did see 2001 shown in 35 mm, hopefully the domes will stick around a while.
The retrodome guggenheim group is showing “2001” on Nov 22-23 at Century 21. They are still hopeful to perserve part of this complex and locate there.
Does this theater have digital projectors? If not, they will probably close down at year end when the digital media takes over.
I remember when the Clash of the Titans sign was “defaced;” I think the guys who did that also got to the sign when Pennies From Heaven was showing there!
I hope when this theater shuts down it will show 2001 and plays that trailer we used to clap along with.
Ray Harryhousen passed away recently, was the producer of Clash of the Titans (1982). Century 21 sign was defaced so that the letters spelled clash of the T*s, as happened around the country.
A few 2012 photos of the Winchester Dome Theaters can be seen here, here, here and here.
Though the signs still say Century 21, the name on this page should probably reflect Winchester 21.