Recently someone asked whatever became of the Cinerama Dome controversy
after I had posted a request to mail letters to the L.A. Cultural
Heritage Commission. I have now received a fax from Doug Haines of  "The
Friends of Cinerama." He writes:
 
"I believe that we have a good chance at succeeding in listing the
Cinerama Dome as an LA landmark, but only if people continue to write to
the Cultural Heritage Commission, which may decide on the application on
August 5.
 
An inspection tour of the Cinerama Dome was held on Wednesday, July 15,
at which director Joe Dante expressed strong support for preserving this
Hollywood icon. Also, a number of articles have been written about the
nomination..."
 
According to one article, while the owner, Pacific Theaters, claims to
have addressed many of the concerns of preservationists, several issues
are still open. Their proposal would:
 
* Eliminate any street level entrance and move the entrance to the 2nd
floor
* Replace the Dome's lobby with a restaurant and demolish the box
offices
* Make the Dome a part of the 13 screen multiplex
* Surround the Diome with a shopping mall
* Gut the auditorium and convert to staium type seating
* Replace curved screen  with a small flat screen
 
The Cinerama Dome was the most popular theater in L.A. last year and the
4th most popular screen in America, contradicting Pacific's claims that
the Dome is a financial failure.
 
Keep letters and faxes coming to:
 
Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg
3525 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA. 90026
Fax: 213 913 4474
 
Honorable Mary George
Cultural Heritage Commission
433 S. Spring St. 10th Floor
Los Angeles, CA. 90013
Fax: 213 485 6835
 
Honorable Richard Riordan
Mayor
200 N. Main Street Suite 800
Los Angeles, CA. 90012
Fax: 213 485 1286
 
 
 
Chris Horak
 
Jan-Christopher Horak
Director
Archives & Collections
Universal Studios
100 Universal City Plaza, 503-LL
Universal City, C.A. 91608
Fax: 818 866 5120
Fon: 818 777 7571
email: [log in to unmask]
 
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Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
http://www.tcf.ua.edu/screensite