Arts & Entertainment

Share Your Ideas For a 'Dome' Memorial Event

Save the Pleasant Hill Dome is planning an event to pay tribute to the 46-year-old theater that was demolished last week. How do you think it should be remembered?

The group who tried unsuccessfully to keep Pleasant Hill's "dome" theater from being demolished is now planning a memorial event and asking for public input.

Save the Pleasant Hill Dome is suggesting a "Dome Memorial March" and candlelight vigil for May 20, the date of the next Pleasant Hill City Council meeting. The purpose would be to give the community an "opportunity to gather, share memories, and gain a sense of closure," according to the group. Save the Pleasant Hill Dome has also made "dome" merchandise available through CafePress.com.

The "dome" was demolished May 8, just two days after an appeal at the Pleasant Hill City Council meeting was denied. Save the Pleasant Hill Dome had been receiving donations as a non-profit organization and will have to transfer the money over to another 501(c)(3) if the group is dissolved. Save the Pleasant Hill Dome says donors will be involved in the decision.

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The group emailed the following letter to supporters and published it on the SaveTheDome.org website:

Dear Supporters, 

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We write this as we are still grieving over the loss of our wonderful treasure and friend, the Dome movie theater. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do but grieve and find a sense of closure from the tragic turn of events. 

We would like to hold some kind of memorial event to bring together all the people who want to pay tribute to the Dome; to share memories and to even share ideas on how to help the spirit of the Dome live on. We welcome your ideas on what would be a fitting memorial.

One idea we had was a "Dome Memorial March" and candlelight vigil, perhaps to coincide with the next City Council Meeting on May 20. We had the idea of starting at City Hall and addressing our elected officials in the time given at the beginning of the meeting for public comment, to remind them how disappointed we are with their actions. Then we would march to the Dome site and have a candlelight vigil. There the public would have the opportunity to gather, share memories, and gain a sense of closure.

Let us know if this is something that you would like us to coordinate for you.

We have also received some questions about where the money raised this week will be going. As a nonprofit corporation, we are constrained to use the funds in accordance with our charitable purposes. If we choose to dissolve the corporation, our founding documents specify that all remaining funds must be given to another nonprofit. In the coming weeks, we will have a final bill from the lawyer who helped us prepare the appeal, and then we'll be able to do a final accounting of all expenses. At that point, we will be contacting our donors and involving them in the decision as to where any remaining funds should go. Since they are the ones who funded our fight, their input will be invaluable.

Some have also expressed the desire to buy articles that memorialize the Dome in some way. We gathered together some of the moving images that were taken in the last days of the Dome's operation and put them on various articles in a web store where you can buy these items as memorabilia. We hope you enjoy what's there: www.cafepress.com/savethedometheater

Either way, we are grateful we had this opportunity to come together as a grassroots organization and help give a unified voice to the members in our community who felt strongly about this issue. The whole experience, culminating In the May 6th hearing, was inspirational for all of us and has filled us with civic pride. 

How do you think the "dome" should be remembered? Share your ideas in the comments below.


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