Синерама в Сиэтле: История спасения и возрождения легендарного кинотеатра.

Movie Theatre in Seattle, Washington

The turnaround began in 1997 when developers revealed plans to turn the Cinerama into a dinner theater or a rock climbing club. This sparked a grassroots effort to save the historic venue, with local film buffs circulating petitions and issuing an urgent cry for help, which was answered by multi billionaire Paul Allen, himself a movie fan and patron of the theater during its 1960s heyday. Allen purchased the theater and initiated a comprehensive, multimillion dollar restoration. The grand re opening occurred in 1999. Since then, the theater has played both classic movies and select new productions. The renovation restored the look of a great mid 20th century movie house, and installed of state of the art technology and accessibility features. The theater had 808 seats and two screens. The first was a deep curved 90 foot long, 30 foot high screen, constructed of 2,000 louvered strips. It is used for presenting rare three strip films such as How the West Was Won and 70 mm classics like Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The deep curved screen is stored in sections behind a smaller screen used for regular screenings of modern 70 mm/35 mm first run movies. A professional crew is required to dismantle the smaller screen and assemble the larger one for Cinerama and special event presentations.

The theater closed at the end of August 2010 for renovations. During the closure, a new digital projection and sound system was added, including support for the screening of 3 D films. A new screen was also installed, the concessions area updated, new carpeting and paint, and a new marquee and signage outside. It reopened on November 20, for a screening of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. This third renovation of Cinerama included many changes. The theater's capacity was reduced from 798 to 560 seats (a stated 390 on the Main Level and 170 in the Balcony, however only 546 tickets are generally available for purchase), allowing for more leg room and wider seats. The number of speakers was increased to 110 from the original 65, with some accompanying acoustical changes. A Dolby Atmos sound system and a Christie 6P dual laser projector were installed (the latter being the world's first commercial installation).

The theater closed for a fourth renovation in February 2020, and all but two of its staff were laid off. Planned updates included new carpeting and kitchen equipment. A reopening date was expected to be within the 2020 calendar year. In May 2020, the Seattle Cinerama, citing the economic effects of the COVID 19 pandemic, announced that it would remain closed for the foreseeable future. A petition to save and reopen the theater was launched in October 2021, ultimately garnering over 12,000 signatures.

The Allen estate sold the theater to the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) in May 2023 for $4.5 million. The fee was paid through a loan from Far Star Ventures, who had previously helped SIFF acquire the Uptown Theater in 2014; proceeds from the future sale of air rights over the property are planned to be split between SIFF and the Allen estate. SIFF plans to reopen the theater in time for the festival's 50th anniversary in 2024; the reopened cinema will no longer carry the Cinerama name due to licensing issues. The Seattle City Council approved a $950,000 grant to SIFF to fund the reopening of the Cinerama. The Metropolitan King County Council approved their own $1 million grant a week later that would draw from unused state and federal pandemic relief funds. The first screening at the reopened theater was the private premiere of The Boys in the Boat on December 7, 2023. The theater fully reopened on December 14 under the name SIFF Cinema Downtown with a screening of Wonka.

2001: A Space Odyssey had an exclusive run locally at Seattle Cinerama for nearly 2 1/2 years following its original release in the fall of 1968. In 2001, Warner Brothers chose the Seattle Cinerama as the theater in which to premiere the newly restored 70mm print of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The film opened on October 5, 2001, and eventually opened in other cities around North America the following month. In 2012, Paul Allen paid for a new 70mm print of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey to be produced for the first annual Cinerama Science Fiction Film Festival. Due to rights issues, the studios own the new print. It has, however, been placed on "permanent loan" to the Seattle Cinerama. Beginning with The Great Gatsby on June 5, 2013, the theater began "2D Tuesdays", a showing of 2D versions of all 3D films every Tuesday. During the final weekend of September that year, the Cinerama concluded the "Big Screen 70mm Festival" with a rare screening of original 3 strip Cinerama films, using the three projection booths. How the West Was Won played daily Friday thru Sunday, with a screening of This Is Cinerama on Saturday evening. In March 2016, the Cinerama was one of only ten theaters in the nation to show Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 70mm for its first week. The following month, Quentin Tarantino's extended "70mm Roadshow" version of The Hateful Eight was shown in Ultra Panavision 70. The theater held a two week screening in early November of Mad Max: Fury Road Black and Chrome Edition, followed by a week long run of the debut of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in 70mm, one of ten theaters in the country to do so.

In addition to the Seattle Cinerama, the two theaters in the world still capable of showing three panel Cinerama films are the Cinerama Dome at ArcLight Cinemas in Los Angeles, and the Pictureville Cinema at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.