Syufy Theatre
2985 S. Virginia Street,
Reno,
NV
899502
2985 S. Virginia Street,
Reno,
NV
899502
1 person
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Scott Neff: Thank you for the information. In my 70mm Presentations in Reno article I cite a figure of 968 seats in the original “21” (later “7”) auditorium.
This theater closed as the Century 11 Theatres on August 13, 1998 just a few days shy of its 32nd anniversary.
I found something listing the final seating capacities and opening dates for each screen. It doesn’t seem likely that the original dome wound up seating only 122 people but, having never been inside, I can only assume it was cut up a bunch of times over the years. Either that, or there is some confusion in the document I found.
1=153 (07/17/87)
2=156 (07/17/87)
3=368 (04/07/76)
4=208 (04/07/76)
5=248 (08/03/79)
6=250 (08/03/79)
7=122 (4/19/66)
8=115 (3/25/70)
9=95 (12/20/91)
10=560 (12/20/91)
11=561 (12/20/91)
Names as it expanded were as follows: Century 21 Century 21 & Century 22 Century 21-22-23-24, then later Century 4 Century 6 Century 8 Century 11
A chronology of 70mm presentations at Reno’s Century 21 / Century Dome complex has recently been published for those interested in that aspect of this venue and city’s history.
There were NOT originally 8 theatres…just the one dome and then it was divided in half, and additional theaters were added later…I don’t recall there ever being 8, maybe 6….on that I could be wrong
It was so sad when Ray Syufy cut the big C21 theatre down the middle to make more money. You could hear all the bass sound from the other side of the wall plus the screen was way smaller and the seats not placed well. It’s all dust now.
March 20th, 1970 grand opening ad as Century 21 22 in photo section.
April 19th, 1966 grand opening ad in photo section.
bugnuts…………
I as well worked at the very same theater, although I worked there from 86-88. Was Bud the manager at the time you were there he and his wife Sadie I believe. Along with a few of the assistant managers like Paul Gray and John cole? I started work there before they updated it by adding the extra screens and relocated the snackbar as well as the gameroom.
The architect was Vincent G. Raney, who designed all the theaters built by the Syufy brothers' Century Theatres chain from 1964 into the early 1990s. Their Reno theatre opened in 1966. The original name (as brucec noted above) was Century 21 Theatre, which was the standard name with which most of the Syufy domed theatres of that era opened.
The style, though, was not Atmospheric. All the Century 21 domed houses looked pretty much the same inside as the prototype in San Jose.
I used to work at Century Theater back in the early 80’s. Saw lots of free films. I actually shot a Super 8 film in the lobby one time. I also knew someone who would spike the soda syrup tanks with booze and sell it to customers, unbeknownst to them.
I remember when the dome was just one huge theater, then they split it in two, and I saw stuff like Papillon and Blazing Saddles. Then they added two smaller screens in 76, two more in 79, and more and more as time went on.
Ten years ago this month, I saw Boogie Nights for the first time at this theater.
Last film I saw there was Wild Things.
This was, indeed, the Century Theater and home to some of my favorite movie experiences. I saw: “Star Wars” in a tiny screen, “Happy Birthday to Me”, “Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3-D”, “Jaws 3-D”, “Twilight Zone the Movie”, “Halloween 2”…just about all the first run favorites played here. The last film I saw here was “Titanic”.
It was only good to see films in the two big theaters. The side theaters were too small and had mostly mono sound. It was never a pretty place, but it served its purpose and isn’t really missed other than it felt more like a real theater than the multiplexes that have replaced it.
This theatre was called Century Theatres and was located on South Virginia St next to the Peppermill. The Midway Drive IN was located next to the Century Theatres. The ever expanding Peppermill deomolished the Drive In and The Century Theatres as part of there expansion. The complex started off as an single Screen Dome theatre called the Century 21 like the one in San Jose. The original Dome was split in two and additional theatres were added over the years.These theatres were the most popular in Reno for decades.brucec