Pictorium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Pictorium is an IMAX theatre at Six Flags Great America theme park in Gurnee, IL. It opened in 1979 and claimed to have the world's then-largest movie screen. The screen is 64.5 feet tall and 88.25 feet wide (19.6 x 26.9 meters) and is all one piece.
[edit] Movies Shown
- 79-80 To Fly!
- 81-83 American Adventure/To Fly
- 1984 Behold Hawaii
- 85-86 Speed
- 87-88 The Dream is Alive/On the Wing
- 1989 Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets
- 1990 Circus World
- 1991 The Last Buffalo 3D
- 1992 Speed
- 1993 Niagara: Miracles, Myths and Magic
- 1994 Blue Planet
- 1995 Flyers/At the Max
- 1996 Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets
- 1997 Special Effects
- 1998 Super Speedway
- 1999 To the Limit
- 2000 Alien Adventure/Michael Jordan to the Max
- 2001 Olympic Glory/Michael Jordan to the Max
- 2002 To Fly
- 2003 Adrenaline Rush: The Science of Risk
- 2004 Top Speed
- 2005 NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience (However, the version shown was the 2:D version)
- 2006 through early 2008 MARVIN THE MARTIAN In The Third Dimension
- 2008 Planet Earth - Shallow Seas
A few halloween themed movies have been shown during the park's annual Fright Fest event. One of these movies includes Haunted Castle 3D, which was shown in 2005 and will be shown again during 2007's Fright Fest.
In 2006, a rumor claimed that Six Flags has ceased rental of IMAX equipment. The Marvin the Martian 3D movie was shown on only half the screen, while the others were shown on the entire screen. The Planet Earth film for 2008 is also using only three-fourths of the screen.
The Pictorium is 72 feet tall by 96 feet wide. And is made of one continuous sheet of material.
[edit] Santa Clara, CA Pictorium
At Paramount's Great America in Santa Clara, California, a second Pictorium opened in 1978 and showed the same shows as the Gurnee park until Marriott sold the parks. Today, the Santa Clara Pictorium sits empty and has not shown a film in several years. A rumor is that it has been gutted and/or is used for storage.