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This topic comprises 7 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Author
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Topic: Century 21-22-23 (San Jose, CA) lease ending in 2012???
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William Kucharski
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 244
From: Louisville, Colorado, United States of America
Registered: Oct 2012
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posted 05-02-2013 07:10 AM
But that's just it; movie going used to be a special experience of some type.
Now I readily admit tonight I'll be stuffed into an AMC watching Iron Man 3 with a bunch of people who, though they've been anxiously waiting for the film to come out, still feel they need to talk through the entire film and keep track of what's going on on Facebook throughout the film. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
But seeing films at a theatre like the Century 21 is an experience - I can still remember every film I've seen there, and am truly grateful for being able to do so.
For that matter, I still remember the privilege of being able to see Die Hard across the street at the Town & Country; an amazing theater as well.
Compare to the AMC I saw Pain & Gain at last week that not only had uneven illumination, but a streaked screen that had, I'm not kidding, a visible hole in it about ⅓ of the way down from the top and just left of the center; a Sony 4K projector doesn't make a difference if the screen is crap, but I digress.
With even the best multis we're now looking at the movie like yet another screen in our lives; when you see a film at the Century 21, the Arclight Cinerama Dome, or a real IMAX theatre, you're in the movie.
There's just spmething like that "the image is so large it fills my peripheral vision" experience that can't be otherwise matched, and is one that anyone who has not experienced cannot understand.
Heck, even a film like Knowing was made better by way of being viewed at the Century 21. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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Sean Weitzel
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 619
From: Vacaville, CA (1790 miles west of Rockwall)
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 05-08-2013 10:38 PM
Welp, the Pleasant Hill city council voted 3-2 to allow the demolition of the Pleasant Hill dome after hours of public speeches ending past 2am on Tuesday. This morning the Dome was a nice pile of rubble. Attention has increasingly turned to the Winchester Trio: http://www.mercurynews.com/scott-herhold/ci_23201097/herhold-should-one-winchester-domes-be-saved
Herhold: Should one of the Winchester domes be saved?
By Scott Herhold
sherhold@mercurynews.com
Posted: 05/08/2013 03:29:23 PM PDT
Updated: 05/08/2013 04:15:23 PM PDT
1960's-era domed theaters appear doomed, like these Century theaters in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
When San Jose's Century 21 theater opened nearly a half-century ago, the first movie it showed was the comedy "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.'' Last week, the 950-seat theater on Winchester Boulevard was running the Tom Cruise fantasy, "Oblivion.''
The metaphorical distance between those two titles gives you the thumbnail version of what's happening with the modernistic theaters on Winchester Boulevard, which are looking more doomed than domed these days.
A plan for developing offices and shops on the turf across from Santana Row would mean all but certain demolition of the Century 21, 22 and 23 cinemas, now officially renamed the Winchester theaters.
Arguing that these are iconic buildings,
preservationists are now waging a campaign to save at least one of the theaters, which have not quite reached the 50-year-mark for official landmark consideration.
"I'm very concerned that we in San Jose are erasing a very significant period of our history as we demolish so much of the postwar architecture, '' said cultural historian Heather David. "It's part of our cultural identity.''
I may as well tell you that modernistic '50s and '60s architecture is not my passion. The preservationists, however, have a right to make an argument for saving a dome, and the rest of us should listen. I'm going to present this issue as impartially as I can.
The first of the three cinemas, Century 21, opened in late 1963, making use of the
"laminated beam'' construction technique widely used in churches. It even had a special wraparound projection room for Cinerama movies -- though Cinerama movies were not shown there.
Era of optimism
"It was one of the last hurrahs for the stand-alone movie theater,'' said theater historian Gary Parks. —It was part of that Tomorrow-Land sort of optimism before the counterculture changed things at the end of the decade. People gobbled it up.''
The cinemas were run by the litigious Syufy chain, which had theaters throughout the Bay Area. The domes specialized in big blockbusters like the Star Wars movies or "2001.'' For a long time, they had the most comfortable seats in town.
The ownership of the land underneath the theaters, meanwhile, has roots that go back to Sarah Winchester, the heiress who built the nearby Winchester Mystery House.
County records show that two families, the Raneys and Farrises, descendants of the husband and wife who took over the Winchester Mystery House after Sarah's death in 1922, continued to have an interest in the land underneath the theaters. Vincent Raney, the modernistic architect who designed the theaters, was a member of
A Century dome in San Jose, Calif. May 6, 2013. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
the Raney clan.
Ray K. Farris II, a businessman from Monte Sereno who is listed as the agent for service for Winchester Investments LLC, the owner of record, did not return my call. So it's hard to know the exact structure of ownership for the 11.6 acre site now.
50-year lease
Preservationists say the Syufy chain, which continues to operate the cinemas despite selling the bulk of the Century theaters to Cinemark USA in 2006, had a 50-year lease on the property. With that lease expiring, the landowners are exploring new options.
"You could build a large shopping center or have one or more office towers at the location,'' Greg Davies, a partner with Cassidy Turley told a reporter recently.
That fits in with the city's plan, which calls for an urban village consisting of shops, offices and possibly apartments. (Such a development would worsen already-clotted traffic, a story for another time).
Even preservationists acknowledge that the land is underutilized now. From a capitalistic point of view, you can't blame the property owners for wanting to increase their return. In Pleasant Hill, demolition began Wednesday on the CineArts Theater, called the Dome.
Saving a dome?
Could a sensitive plan in San Jose incorporate one dome and maybe even use it as a marketing device? The most logical choice would probably be Century 23 -- behind the Winchester Mystery House -- though Century 21 is the most historic cinema.
Adding weight to the preservationists' cause is the search by the people who ran the entertainment-oriented Retro Dome -- the former Century 25 at Westgate -- for a new home. With some changes, they believe one of the domes would do nicely. But they don't pay the rent that a corporate tenant might.
San Jose Planning Director Joe Horwedel says that one of the tensions in this debate is what he calls the "Noah's Ark'' phenomenon -- the belief that every city should have its own example of a particular architectural style or icon.
I ran that past Brian Grayson, the head of the Preservationist Action Council, who was, not surprisingly, skeptical.
"Part of our city's history is the fabric of the buildings and what came before,'' he said. "Just because a city 100 miles away has an example of the building doesn't tell the story of this city.''
For once, I don't have a passionate answer here. You may: If you go to www.mercurynews.com/scott-herhold, you can vote on whether to save a dome.
Contact Scott Herhold at 408-275-0917 or sherhold@mercurynews.com. Twitter.com/scottherhold.
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Sean Weitzel
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 619
From: Vacaville, CA (1790 miles west of Rockwall)
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 08-19-2013 04:49 PM
Update from the organizers of the "Save the Winchester Domes" petition:
quote: Save the Winchester Domes Petition posted
Hello,
Thank you for signing the petition to Save The Winchester Domes. We are pleased to write with an update:
We had a very positive meeting with Joseph Horwedel, Director of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement for the City of San Jose, and some staff from City Councilmember Sam Liccardo's office. Mr. Horwedel shared with us the plans underway for the areas surrounding the Winchester Domes and what they are requiring of any developer considering development.
We were told officially that all the property owners for Century 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 have all put in requests to demolish the Domes sitting on their properties. The City has stopped the removal of the Century 24 and 25 domes until a decision has been made as to what is happening with all of five Domes as it is their hope that at least one Dome will be saved. For those of you who have asked, and for our staff's and fans' understanding, this is why we were rushed out of Century 25 (The Retro Dome) and later mystified when the demolition didn't commence as expected.
Mr. Horwedel also shared with us that to his knowledge Federal Realty (owners of Santana Row and Westgate where 25 is slated to come down) and the Sobrato Organization (a true supporter of both non-profit and arts organizations in Silicon Valley and beyond) are planning to submit proposals to develop the land where Century 21, 22, and 23 currently stand. He also mentioned that all potential developers will be urged to be creative in the attempt to preserve one of these buildings in their prospective designs.
Mr. Horwedel mentioned how exciting it is to attempt to save a building with the ability for a perfect tenant to make their home and drive the programming for said property. In the past, many of the preservation projects have been for buildings that although they should be preserved did not necessarily have a use once it was preserved.
We urge you to stay involved. He has asked us to reach out to the potential developers and be prepared to show how we would program and keep alive the preserved buildings. We plan to send out a survey to you and our fans in the coming weeks to assess the best uses for the venue. Besides filling out the survey, we ask if you know any folks working for these developers that you make an introduction for us to begin a positive dialogue of preservation and partnership within their plans of urban village development.
Thank you for your continued support and interest. Please let us know if you have any questions.
The Retro Dome
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Eric Hooper
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 532
From: Fort Worth, TX, USA
Registered: May 2003
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posted 10-09-2013 04:34 PM
According to a newsletter email from the Retro Dome gang, they are moving into the CENTURY 21 on November 1st....
Here is their upcoming schedule:
The Little Mermaid presented by The Academy
The Retro Dome at Century 21
San Jose, CA
Friday Nov 1, 2013 - Sunday Nov 3, 2013
Cinderella
The Retro Dome at Century 21
San Jose, CA
Thursday Nov 7, 2013 - Friday Nov 8, 2013
The Matrix
The Retro Dome at Century 21
San Jose, CA
Friday Nov 8, 2013 - Saturday Nov 9, 2013
It's not just a movie, it's an experience!
Alice In Wonderland
The Retro Dome at Century 21
San Jose, CA
Saturday Nov 9, 2013 - Sunday Nov 10, 2013
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
The Retro Dome at Century 21
San Jose, CA
Friday Nov 15, 2013 - Saturday Nov 16, 2013
Peter Pan
The Retro Dome at Century 21
San Jose, CA
Saturday Nov 16, 2013 - Sunday Nov 17, 2013
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Retro Dome at Century 21
San Jose, CA
Friday Nov 22, 2013 - Saturday Nov 23, 2013
It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
The Retro Dome at Century 21
San Jose, CA
Saturday Nov 23, 2013 - Sunday Nov 24, 2013
Toy Story
The Retro Dome at Century 21
San Jose, CA
Friday Nov 29, 2013 - Sunday Dec 1, 2013
The Godfather
The Retro Dome at Century 21
San Jose, CA
Friday Dec 6, 2013 - Saturday Dec 7, 2013
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Sean Weitzel
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 619
From: Vacaville, CA (1790 miles west of Rockwall)
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 03-04-2014 04:30 PM
Hello!
There's no easy way to say this, so we'll just say it:
THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO SEE A MOVIE AT THE CENTURY THEATRES ON WINCHESTER IN SAN JOSE.
It was announced on February 28, 2014 that Syufy's first-run movie programming will cease at Century 21, 22, and 23 as of March 31st. Therefore, since our presenting agreement is with Syufy, The Retro Dome programming at Century 21 will also end at the end of the month.
We know your first question might be, "are the buildings being demolished?" We do not know yet. The announcement only has to do with programming in that Syufy's lease is up and not being renewed. Once a new land lease is signed, conversations can begin with the developer. We are continuing our efforts to attempt to preserve one or more of the Domes; we are in almost daily contact with the Preservation Action Council, City Leaders, and the land owner. But for now, operations at those theatres will cease March 31.
Your second question is probably, "what happens to The Retro Dome?" We are continually exploring options to find a permanent home and will, in the meantime, produce events. Obviously, we still have a month of great movies planned for March and hope you will join us. Our line-up for April through December will be put on hold with the hope that we'll be operational again no later than May for our annual "Mamma Mia! Sing-along" for Mother's Day.
We'd like to give special thanks to Syufy Enterprises and a personal round of applause the dedicated staff at Century 21 who've made our time there so pleasant. This was a shock to them, as well, so we hope you'll come out in droves to support their final month.
The Retro Dome
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