Cinerama Dome takes a likely step toward reopening 'in the near future'

A metropolis proceeding concerning on-site intoxicant income provided the nationalist a accidental to aerial their opinions connected the imaginable reopening of the Cinerama Dome and ArcLight Hollywood connected Tuesday morning.

Though a last missive of determination is inactive to beryllium issued, Tim Fargo, the subordinate zoning head successful complaint of Tuesday’s meeting, said helium was “inclined to approve” the conditional-use licence nether consideration. The licence would screen the Cinerama Dome, 14 adjacent auditoriums and a edifice café with 2 outdoor spaces.

The Dome closed successful March 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and successful April 2021 it was announced that the venue would not beryllium reopening. Film lovers successful Los Angeles and astir the satellite person since been hopeful the venue, seen by galore arsenic a awesome for Hollywood itself, could reopen.

During the meeting, Elizabeth Peterson-Gower, a onshore usage advisor representing the proprietor and applicant Dome Center LLC, was asked if determination was a timeline for reopening the theaters. She responded, “I excessively don’t person a docket yet, but erstwhile I do, I’ll convey it to you.”

In a abstracted telephone interrogation pursuing the gathering Tuesday, Peterson-Gower referred to the support of the conditional-use licence arsenic a “milestone” successful the process of reopening the theaters and added that ownership has noted the aggravated nationalist involvement astir the Dome and the ArcLight and that “it volition animate a clip framework successful the adjacent future.”

Throughout the meeting, Peterson-Gower referred to the occurrence of the Blue Note jazz nine that opened connected a country of the spot successful August 2025.

“What it proves to maine is that the ownership cares greatly,” Peterson-Gower said aft the meeting. “That’s a large undertaking and a large connection successful favour of the information that ownership attraction what’s there.”

Numerous different voices were heard passim the proceeding arsenic well. Ted Walker, readying lawman for Council District 13, wherever the theatre is located, said, “Too often we spot [historic-cultural monuments] astir our metropolis sitting vacant. So we’re precise supportive of thing to bring immoderate beingness backmost into this. We cognize there’s a batch of emotion for the Cinerama Dome and we privation to admit the enactment of each the assemblage members who are advocating for it. We judge resuming these operations volition further heighten the vibrancy of Hollywood.”

Burbank City Council subordinate Konstantine Anthony noted that helium was a erstwhile usher astatine the Dome and besides voiced enactment for the reopening.

More than 30 radical provided nationalist comment. Among those were Kat Kramer, girl of filmmaker Stanley Kramer, manager of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” the precise archetypal movie to play successful the Dome successful 1963, movie professional Wade Major and Ben Steinberg, who has led a grassroots run to get the venue reopened.

The Blue Note Jazz Club undergoes operation adjacent the Cinerama Dome connected Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, successful Los Angeles.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

One commenter said, “Why person they kept it closed? Is this conscionable a strategy to fto it rot truthful that they tin get gathering violations and conscionable teardrop it down and physique condos? There’s a batch of fearfulness astir what’s going to hap with this happening that radical consciousness attached to. And to not reply questions implicit each this clip has frankly been offensive.”

Another commenter said that the delays successful reopening consciousness similar ownership “keeping a spot of our practice hostage from us.”

Even those who were asking for wide specifics from ownership were astir each successful favour of granting the conditional-use permit, which was the ostensible intent of the meeting. As section preservation advocator Kim Cooper said, “I cognize that this has been hard and it has seemed similar the citizens versus the ownership — that’s not what it is. People privation to travel unneurotic and assistance and bring this spot back.”

Speaking aft the meeting, Peterson-Gower noted her ain past with the Dome, having been progressive with galore events determination successful the precocious ’80s and aboriginal ’90s erstwhile she was vice president of the Hollywood Athletic Club, located conscionable a fewer blocks distant connected Sunset Boulevard.

“Everyone has a communicative astir the Dome that’s lived here, adjacent me,” she added. “I didn’t privation to bring my idiosyncratic beingness into the hearing, but I attraction passionately arsenic good astir it opening.”

While the last result of the proceeding is inactive to beryllium afloat determined, each signs constituent to the licence being granted and the task being escaped to determination forward.

“I was overwhelmingly pleased with the comments,” said Peterson-Gower. “I deliberation that it shows that there’s a large historical usage successful a historical spot and I deliberation that radical attraction passionately astir it operating and are very, precise arrogant of the spot being present successful Hollywood.”