Cinerama Dome

6360 W Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90028

Opening on November 7th 1963, the Cinerama Dome is a terrific piece of Hollywood history. A 2002 restoration allowed this theater to play three projector "Cinerama" features, making it one of the last theaters to do so. But beyond all of the technical aspects of the place, it just looks so dang cool! Motion picture enthusiasts fought long and hard for the preservation of this example of recent history. Like all great architecture from the 60's, developers wanted to possibly tear it down. Today it is part of a Pacific Theater Multiplex, but the main theater is mostly unchanged.


A small detour had me on Sunset boulevard sitting in traffic. I was able to get these two pictures. I love the design of this building. The first of the concrete panels was laid on August 29th, 1963. So today is an anniversary of sorts.

Visit Pacific Theaters website here.

Tags: Architecture Signage Cinerama 1960's

Movieland- A Fistful of Dollars

Clint Eastwood stands in a scene from A Fistful of Dollars. This is the same set that Alan Ladd stands on, and that once housed the typical western Scene with WM. S. Hart, Tom Mix, and Ken Maynard.


Clint portrays Joe, a drifter of sorts who plays two rival families against each other in order to cash in. Released in 1964, this film is not considered to be the best of the "spaghetti" westerns that Clint filmed, but still earned itself a spot in the Movieland Wax Museum because of the star power of Clint Eastwood. Basically, any of his westerns could have been chosen because the focus is more on the actor than on the movie.


Here is a close up Clint, with his menacing face and stern look. I wouldn't mess with him.


Here is a close up of the clapboard sign. Notice how it says "A Fist full" instead of "A Fistful". It also shows the original Italian title. The wax figure was not auctioned, but was instead sent to the Coex Wax exhibit in Korea. The World Wax Museum is supposed to open a permanent exhibit in Pusan, but I have no information on it yet. The set Clint stands on Sold for $1500.

Many of the figures moved to a sister wax museum at fisherman's wharf in San Francisco. Find out which figures moved by visiting the Wax Museum's website here.

Visit Clint Eastwood's Filmography here.

Tags: Movieland Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Clint Eastwood

Old Towne Mall

Without a doubt, my favorite place to go(Apart from Disneyland) as a kid was the Old Towne Mall. Similar to Old Chicago, Old Towne (The mall part came later) was designed to recreate a time long past. Built in the early 1970's (I don't know the actual date) it began as a place that shunned chain stores and focused on small family businesses. But when I started going there as a kid, in the 1980's, it had changed a bit. I remember a Federated electronics store, Movie theater, Waldenbooks (or maybe it was a B. Dalton), and arcade.

There were still plenty of small unique places though. I really liked a shop that sold plastic cartoon figurines, among other things. I spent so much time looking at the smurf figures there. I remember so many small details of the place, like seeing my first Rubik's cube keychain hanging in a store window, riding the double decker carousel, and going on the Fantasia dark ride. How many malls have a dark ride?! There was a model shop, paint your own ceramics shop, a juice place that had a large display of animatronic type figures milking cows and turning wheels and such, and many other places.

Old Towne, Torrance, California

By the time Old Towne was remodeled into a large strip mall in the early 90's, the place was basically dead. Many of the shops were gone and had temporary walls around them. They renamed the mall Torrance Promenade and the carousel was moved to the south side and stayed there in a new food court next to the now $3.00 second run theater. Eventually, that last part of the mall became a Linens N' Things. Recently they opened a Sam Ash music store and a radio spot announced their grand opening at the Old Towne Mall!

View all my Old Towne Mall posts here.

Tags: Old Towne Mall Signage Torrance California Mall

Green Brier Resort

I found these photos among my grandmother's old stuff and thought that they were pretty interesting. The Green Brier Resort seems to be a modest little place. It would have to be if my family was there. I could not find much information on this place other than it is in Grove Oklahoma, and that it is not the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. The Green Brier is a Mobil Home community near Grand Lake, and I found many pictures of my Great Grandmother at a mobil home, so it may be the same place.


I am thinking that this photo was taken at a different time than the previous one because of the different landscaping (That, or they have two beautifully similar signs). Unlike the first photo, the subjects here decided to stand directly in front of the sign. How would the younger generations know where they stayed at?

Tags: Green Brier Signage Oklahoma Grand Lake