What made "2001" a "great" SF film?

On Mon, 2 Dec 1996 19:33:23 eastern, in a place far, far away,
(Thomas J. Frieling) made the
phosphor on my monitor glow in such a way as to indicate that:


But do any Cinerama theatres still survive anywhere? Is it
possible to see 2001 in Cinerama as it was intended to be seen?

It was shown at the Cineramadome in Hollywood about a year or so ago,
but I am not aware of any venue in which it can be seen in that medium
on a regular basis.