Seattle's Cinerama to close for months

Cinerama's proposal on 4th Avenue and Lenora Street, 1962. Cinerama's proposal on 4th Avenue and Lenora Street, 1962. Photo: P-I File Photo: P-I File Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Seattle's Cinerama to close for months 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

Seattle's beloved, old-school Cinerama is scheduled to close until fall, in order to undergo renovations and "state-of-the-art upgrades," Paul Allen's real estate company announced Thursday.

A city icon, the space-age-themed theater opened in 1963, a year after Seattle hosted the World's Fair. Over the decades, it's become a favorite movie house for film fans, who've camped out overnight for "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" movies.

The Cinerama fell into disrepair in the '90s and was in danger of closing, until Allen bought it in 1997. He invested millions of dollars to build a new screen and sound and projector systems. Allen's company, Vulcan Real Estate, now owns the theater.

Vulcan offered no details on the theater's next phase in upgrades. The Cinerama will close Monday, Aug. 4, which means the last movie that film fans can see there until fall is "Lucy," with Scarlett Johansson.

Check out the slideshow above for a look back at the Cinerama's history.

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