Pleasant Hill, California Landmarks

Pleasant Hill is a city of the San Francisco Bay Area in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 33,152. It was merged in 1961. Pleasant Hill is the home of College Park High School, Diablo Valley College, John F Kennedy University, the Pleasant Hill Library and administration offices for the Contra Costa County Library system, and the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District.

History and Architecture

The area began to develop in the 1920s with the subdivision of formerly agricultural land for housing. Monument Boulevard, which was erected on December 11, 1927, was named after the Soldiers Memorial Monument to honor World War I soldiers. The monument depicts one soldier in black and three in white. Built of molded concrete, it is 45 feet (14 meters) tall and weighs 150 tons. The monument was moved to its current site at Boyd Road and Contra Costa Boulevard in 1954 to make way for the upcoming construction of a highway.

Developed largely in the post-WWII years, the area did not have a post office until 1948. In 1961 the city became incorporated. Century 21 Theaters opened an 895-seat dome theater between Monument Boulevard and Hookston Road on 21 February 1967 (I-680 was later constructed passing west of here). The futuristic dome-topped cinema, which was visible from the freeway after it was completed, has become an iconic landmark for the newly incorporated city.

The theater was designed by architect Vincent G. Raney, of the prominent Bay Area. It had a distinctive 50-foot-high domed ceiling and curved, oversized frame. The theater was originally constructed to showcase the widescreen process developed in the 1950s by Cinerama. The computer was later upgraded to a flat-panel standard. In 1973 there were added four additional single-screen auditoriums to the front of the building. It was renamed Century 5 Theatres and continued to be known as the Dome.

Pleasant Hill city hall, built in the late 20th century, has received many architectural design awards.

Pleasant Hill wasn't having a true downtown or Main Street for most of its history. In 1991, the town began preparing the regeneration of the area around the intersection of boulevards Monument and Contra Costa. Downtown Pleasant Hill finally opened in July 2000. The outdoor shopping center, privately owned and run, was built to imitate a traditional local Main Street.

CinéArts began running the former Century 5 Theatres in 2003, showing mainly independent and international films. When many people watched movies at home, the company began to decline owing to changes in viewing habits. On 21 April 2013, the property owner of the theater, SyWest Company, closed the Dome. CinéArts screened Stanley Kubrick 's classic 2001: A Space Odyssey on its last night of service.

Sywest won the Pleasant Hill City Council 's approval for its proposal to demolish the theater and redevelop the property as a two-story, 73,000 + square-foot building to house a Dick's Sporting Goods. Theater supporters submitted two separate appeals to reverse demolition approval: one by a Pleasant Hill resident, and one by an organization named Save the Pleasant Hill Dome (SPHD). A majority of the city council voted against both appeals; Mayor Michael G. Harris and council member Ken Carlson voted in favor. On 8 May 2013, SyWest had the Dome demolished, avoiding further legal action.