User:Mliu92/sandbox/Century Theatre Domes (San Jose)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Century Theatre Domes are a set of three domed movie theatres in San Jose, each originally built as single-screen auditoriums on land controlled by the Winchester Mystery House. They were designed by architect Vincent Raney; the first dome, Century 21, opened in 1964 as the first Century-branded theatre of the Century Theatres chain. The dome design of Century 21 was repeated throughout the Bay Area (including two neighboring sister domes, Century 22 and 23 in 1966 and 1967, respectively) and northern California in other Century-branded theatres. The dome design and name were part of a deliberate marketing tactic meant to evoke the future.
The Domes | |
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![]() Century 21 is the oldest theatre of the three and retains its original single-screen design. | |
Full name | The Winchester Theaters |
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Address |
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Coordinates | 37°19′09″N 121°57′09″W |
Public transit |
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Owner | Syufy Enterprises (1964-2014) (as Century Theaters 1964-2006) |
Operator | Syufy Enterprises |
Type | Theatre |
Genre(s) | motion pictures |
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Construction | |
Opened |
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Renovated | Century 23: 17 June 1973 (screen divided) |
Expanded | Century 22: 197x (satellite domes) |
Closed | 30 March 2014 (2014-03-30) |
Architect | Vincent G. Raney |
Main contractors | |
Century 21 Theater | |
NRHP reference No. | DO_14000306 |
The three Century domes were not included as part of the 2006 sale of the Century chain to Cinemark Theatres, and they were operated by the original owners of Century Theatres, Syufy Enterprises, under the new moniker Winchester Theaters until the original 50-year property lease expired in 2014. The current owners of the land, Federal Realty, filed for a special use permit in 2013 to demolish all three domes, possibly to free land to expand the neighboring Santana Row shopping and residential development.
Since Century 21 has retained its original single-screen design, it was declared eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in June 2014, following the recommendation of xyz org. A grassroots organization, Save the Domes, has been organized to preserve the iconic dome theaters.