6360 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028 | map |
The news: Pacific Theatres announced in April 2021 that they wouldn't be reopening any of their Pacific or ArcLight locations. See links to many stories about this on the Cinerama Dome page. Yes, this one will reopen eventually but there's been no announcement.
Other L.A. area ArcLight locations: Culver City - now Amazon's Culver Theatre | Santa Monica - vacant | Pasadena - now the Regal Paseo | Beach Cities - now a CinemaWest operation | Sherman Oaks - now the Regal Sherman Oaks Galleria |
It's a 14 screen complex that opened March 22, 2002. Along with a 24 Hour Fitness, a
couple of restaurants and various other tenants, it wraps around the
backside of the 1963 vintage Cinerama Dome. Here we're looking east toward the ArcLight lobby with the Dome at the left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2013
Phone: 323-464-1478 Online: The old arclightcinemas.com site now is just a landing page. See the new site: www.cinerama.com
The complex is on three levels with the main lobby at street level. Theatres 1 to 7 are down a floor from that, 8 through 14 are up a level. The Dome was designated as #15.
The ArcLight offered reserved seating with a mix of blockbusters, art fare and revivals.
There was a nice restaurant in the lobby as well as a bookstore/coffee bar. Discounted parking was available in the adjacent garage. The ArcLight brand was an offshoot of the Pacific Theatres chain. Decurion is the parent company.
Seating: As of 2020 it was 3,292 plus 856 in the Dome, for a total of 4,148. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor NothingButCinema for these numbers, which include wheelchair spaces.
#1 - 120, #2 -186, #3 - 420, #4 - 200, #5 - 200, #6 - 260, #7 - 260, #8 - 120, #9 - 186, #10 - 420, #11 - 200, #12 - 200, #13 - 260, #14 - 260.
Film equipment: At the time of the 2020 closing theatres #7, 10 and 13 had 35mm capability. Theatre #6 was 35/70 equipped. All 14 were THX certified. Thanks to Scott Weinfeld for the research.
A pre-opening ad spotted by Scott Weinfeld.
The header for the Pacific Theatres ad in the L.A. Times on opening day, March 22, 2002.
Thanks to Scott Weinfeld for locating this.
A plan showing the lobby areas and the arrangement of auditoria 1 through 7 on the lower level. That's the projection booth layout we see in the area at the booth end of the theatres. The Cinerama Dome is in the upper left, Vine St. runs along the right side of the image. Click on it for a larger view. It's from a 2023 Gruen Associates set submitted
to the City that detailed proposed exterior renovations and mechanical system
upgrades. Thanks to Ben Steinberg for sharing a link to the
38 page 2023 set on Dropbox. Also see a
2022 plan set. Ben curates the
Save the Cinerama Dome Facebook page.
Status: Closed, with all the other theatres in town, in March 2020. Decurion hasn't announced a reopening date for the complex.
Interior views:
The boxoffice. The stairs beyond go to the upstairs auditoria. Photo: Bill Counter - 2013
Signage at the bottom of the stairs. Photo: Scott Weinfeld - 2016
The gift shop on the north side of the lobby. Photo: Bill Counter - 2007
The south side of the lobby. The cafe is in the raised area beyond. Up above center is the entrance to auditorium 8. There's a bar area on the upper level to the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2013
In the cafe in 2002. Thanks to David Stambaugh for his photo, one of six of his appearing on
Cinema Tour.
The cashier's desk in the cafe. Photo: David Stambaugh -
Cinema Tour - 2002
The stairs to the upper auditoria. Thanks to Richard DuVal for his 2018 photo, one of five ArcLight views in a post on the Movie Palaces, Theatres & Cinemas Facebook page.
The lobby from above. Photo: Bill Counter - 2013
A look into the dead lobby during a short period when the boards covering the doors had been removed. Photo: Bill Counter - July 30, 2021
The inner lobby area downstairs, serving screens 1-7. There's a similar one upstairs, also with a snackbar. Photo: Bill Counter - 2013
In closer to the bar. Photo: Scott Weinfeld - 2016
The lower level men's room. Thanks to David Stambaugh for his 2002 photo, appearing on
Cinema Tour.
One of the ArcLight auditoria. The screen in the largest house is 62'. The photo appeared with a now-vanished Modern Home Theatre article about the complex.
In one of the smaller auditoria. Photo: Scott Weinfeld - 2016
The rear of the house Scott was in. Thanks for sharing your photos!
A view of a speaker system installation showing the components installed in a THX-style baffle wall in one of the ArcLight theatres. It's a photo from Modern Home Theatre.
Exterior views:
c.2001 - The courtyard as seen from the parking garage. The photo appeared on the now-vanished site Public Art in LA.
c.2001 - A closer look at the light standards. It's another shot from the dead Public Art in L.A. site.
2003 - A
November photo taken by Linda Mayberry. She notes that she was there to
see "The Commission" in one of the smaller theatres as part of the AFI
Fest.
2010 - The ArcLight complex from south of Sunset on Vine St. Photo: Bill Counter
2013 - Looking toward the lobby. Photo: Bill Counter
2016 - Signage to the left of the entrance doors. Thanks to Scott Weinfeld for the photo.
c.2018 - Gregg Young and the 2nd St. Band playing in the courtyard. Thanks to Gregg for sharing the photo. He comments:
"I
was Music Director / 'House Band' leader at the Dome for 17 years.
Music in the Courtyard was me and one of my lineups. We were the secret
sauce. 70 performances a year or so... Longest steady gig I ever had!"
c.2018 - A look toward the parking garage during a concert. Photo: Gregg Young
c.2018 - Another
courtyard concert shot. Thanks to Gregg Young for the photo. See a 2019
story about Gregg and the 2nd Street Band's Arclight shows on the site
Voyage LA. His site:
greggyoung.com.
2021 - The
entrance in July, shortly after some of the boards covering the
doors had been removed. A few days later the boards were back up. Photo:
Bill Counter
2022 - "Welcome to the Dome." Well, it wasn't much of a welcome in late July with plywood over the doors. Photo: Bill Counter
2025 - A crane arrives to hoist new HVAC units onto the ArcLight roof. Thanks to Garan Grey for sharing his June 21 photo.
The ArcLight in the Movies:
With the big clock in the lobby, was this the inspiration for the ArcLight? "Do
you really like movies? When's the last time you went to see a movie in
a theatre?... A movie that really meant something to you?" asks Lindsay
Lohan in Paul Schrader's "The Canyons" (IFC Films, 2013).
This wide-angle shot of the abandoned Grand 12-plex in New Orleans is in the opening credits for the film, which begins and ends with desaturated views of abandoned movie theatres. Written by Bret Easton Ellis, it's a thriller about some sad people on the fringes of the film business. See the Theatres In Movies post for more shots from "Canyons."
More information: Visit the Cinema Tour page for 25 photos of the complex. You'll also find some nice exterior views on From Script to DVD. Cinema Treasures has a combined page for the ArcLight and the Dome.
See the pages here on this site about the Cinerama Dome. There are links to stories about the chain's April 2021 decision to not reopen and a discussion about what's happened to the other ArcLight and Pacific Theatres locations.
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