In the early 1960s, Ray Syufy, owner of a chain of Bay Area movie theaters, hired architect Vincent G. Raney for the design of a futuristic dome theater in suburban San Jose. Syufy introduced Raney to the folks at Cinerama in New York who, in turn, shared with him the plans for a Cinerama dome theater. Loosely based on the Cinerama plans, Raney designed the first Century dome. San Jose's Century 21 Theatre opened in 1964, the mothership in a series of Vincent Raney-designed dome theaters that would grace the Bay Area roadside in the 1960s. Although the Century 21 was originally designed for presenting films using the 3-strip Cinerama process, movies were actually shown using 70mm film. The theater was built to operate, and continues to function, as a one-screen venue, with accommodations for approximately 950 patrons. (Adapted from Docomomo/NOCA)