San Francisco Theatres

Greetings!

Welcome to our exploration of San Francisco Theatres. You'll find pages on venues large and small, vintage and recent.

Are you on a phone or tablet and missing the list on the right? Scroll down to the bottom of this or any other post and click on "view web version" to see the right column list of theatres.

If you can't find what you're looking for in the right hand column, perhaps head to the listings of theatres by address or check out the alternate name list.

Thanks for visiting!

- Bill

The Castro Theatre: 2024-2025 interior restoration

429 Castro St. | map |

More Castro Theatre pages: history + exterior views | earlier interior views |

Looking in from the back of the main floor as restoration work began. They're anticipating a mid-2025 reopening. It's a shot from "Restoration work at SF Castro Theatre starts..," a March 8, 2024 KTVU story and video from Amber Lee. The restoration work is being headed by Jeff Greene of EverGreene Architectural Arts.

Steven Bracco has a fine shot looking in from the back of the main floor that he included in a April 6, 2024 Facebook post of thirteen photos. Also see "The century old Castro Theatre in SF undergoes a $15 million renovation," a March 25 story and video from ABC 7.

A look to house right. Image: KTVU - March 2024

The murals house right. Image: KTVU - March 2024

A mural detail after cleaning. Thanks to Jeff Greene, the head of EverGreene Architectural Arts, for sharing this photo, as well as six others that appear on the page, in a March 8, 2024 Facebook post.

A sidewall mural detail. These panels were executed using a technique called sgraffito, a process whereby scratching through a top layer of stucco or plaster reveals a contrasting color layer underneath. Photo: Jeff Greene - March 2024

Another mural feature. Photo: Jeff Greene - March 2024

A drapery detail. Image: KTVU - March 2024

The front exit house right. Image: KTVU - March 2024

A nice look at the ante-proscenium area. Thanks to Steven Bracco for sharing his photo. It's one of 13 he included in an April 6 Facebook post.

A vista from the balcony. Image: KTVU - March 2024

Looking back toward the booth. Thanks to Steven Bracco for sharing his photo. It's one of 13 he included in an April 6 Facebook post.

A fine shot taken in the balcony by Astrid Kane for her misleadingly-titled April 4, 2024 story for the San Francisco Standard: "Castro Theatre reveal: $15 million renovation finds 100-year-old arch no one knew existed." The arch in question was the original proscenium, hardly a secret. The Standard also has a short video taken during their visit that's on Facebook.

A view up just a bit higher taken by John Ferrannini that appears with his April 5, 2024 Bay Area Reporter story "Public will be able to purchase much-debated SF Castro Theatre seats." The proceeds from sale of the old main floor seats will be donated to Oasis Arts and the Castro Organ Devotees Association.

Up on the "dance floor" as cleaning was beginning. Mary Conde, project manager for Another Planet Entertainment is with Amber Lee of KTVU and Jeff Greene, head of Evergreene Architectural Arts. Image: KTVU - March 2024

A wider ceiling view. Image: KTVU - March 2024

The panoramic shot. Photo: Jeff Greene - March 2024

Jeff inspecting an area at the edge of the "tented" ceiling. Image: KTVU - March 2024

Finding Asian motifs, including dragons, on the ceiling. Image: KTVU - March 2024

A worker from EverGreene cleaning part of the ceiling. Photo: Jeff Greene - March 2024

A look at another section of the ceiling. Photo: Jeff Greene - March 2024

One of many areas needing restoration. This shot, as well as the two below, are from a short March 4, 2024 video from APE appearing on the Castro Theatre Facebook page.

A typical area of painted ceiling detail requiring repair. Image: Castro Theatre Facebook page video - March 4, 2024

A lady in distress. Image: Castro Theatre Facebook page video - March 4, 2024

A ceiling detail by John Ferrannini appearing with his April 5, 2024 Bay Area Reporter story "Public will be able to purchase much-debated SF Castro Theatre seats." The article comments on the ceiling work:

"Atop the scaffolding, Conde [Mary Conde, the APE senior VP in charge of the project] pointed to the work that architect Timothy Pflueger had painted on the ceiling, featuring figures drawn from various Asian cultures. He may have been making a political statement, she said. While Orientalism gripped American popular culture, it was also a time of heavy restrictions on immigration, including a complete ban on Chinese immigration via the Chinese Exclusion Act. 'In 1922, the movie theaters were trying to create a place to escape,' Conde said. 'They wanted to create a fantasy land. We're not 100% sure; he may have been trying to make a political statement that these were beautiful cultures.'

"A previous effort to save the art, however, has helped facilitate its demise. 'When things shifted after the [Loma Prieta] earthquake in 1989, they were trying to help it stay in place,' Conde said, leading to polyurethane being added to the ceiling. The paintings — as well as fixtures such as gold leaf-flaked cherubs suspended on the wall — had already long been caked with soot from cigarette smoke and run-of-the-mill dust. That polyurethane is visibly peeling. 'It was too heavy,' Conde said, then pointing to the ceiling, 'It was the wrong product — so that's the plaster falling apart.'

"To restore the paintings, 'they are going to have to do tracings of the detail and replicate the parts that have been damaged,' Conde said. 'All of this artwork is hand painted. They [the restorers] are going with a microscope and really analyzing what the colors in the 1920s were.' The restoration work is being done by EverGreene Architectural Arts, Conde said, which has worked in 48 of America's 50 state capitol buildings."

Another strange creature on the ceiling. Thanks to Astrid Kane for the photo, one appearing with her April 4, 2024 story for the San Francisco Standard.

Along the house right wall. The gladiator panel has the look of something done during a "moderne" renovation project. Image: KTVU - March 2024

Jeff talking with KTVU's Amber Lee about all the dirt and stains on some of the plasterwork. Image: KTVU - March 2024

Another angle on the ornament adjacent to one of the gladiator panels. Photo: Jeff Greene - March 2024. Thanks, Jeff!

The center of the ceiling, with chandelier removed. Image: KTVU - March 2024

The proscenium plasterwork, on the left, protected with plywood. Image: KTVU - March 2024

A lovely look down onto the original proscenium. The hole in the back wall was created to accommodate the speaker systems when the theatre went to talkies c.1928. Note the chains at the front of the ante-proscenium that had supported the larger screen that had been installed farther forward. Thanks to Astrid Kane for the photo, one appearing with her April 4, 2024 story for the San Francisco Standard. Also see a short video taken during the Standard's visit that's on Facebook.

A centerline view to the stage taken by Steven Bracco. That floor pattern is original. See Steven's April 6, 2024 Facebook post for a dozen more photos he took during his visit.

The Castro Theatre pages: back to top - interior restoration | earlier interior views | history + exterior views |

Theatres at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition

A plan of the Exposition from Southern Pacific's brochure "High Points on Four Great High Ways to the California Expositions." The image appears with the Wikipedia article on the PPIE. More images from the brochure are on Flickr.

Dates: The event ran from February 20 until December 4, 1915

American Telephone and Telegraph Co. Building:

A view of the theatre in the AT&T Building from the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library collection. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for locating it for his thread about theatres at the Exposition on the BAHT Facebook page.

California Building -- Mission Theatre:

The Mission Theatre was located in the Southern California exhibit area of the building. Thanks to Kevin Walsh for sharing this in a post on the BAHT Facebook page. He comments:

"Another motion picture theatre at the 1915 PPIE was the Mission theatre incorporated in the Southern California exhibits in the California Building. Unfortunately, I have only this image of the exhibits entrance, with motion picture showtimes listed on the left pillar. The image is from a large souvenir picture book."

Palace of Education - Massachussets Theatre:

The Massachusets theatre space in the Palace of Education building. Thanks to Kevin Walsh for sharing this on the BAHT Facebook page.

The full page from the souvenir book in Kevin's collection. Their comments about the picture of the theatre space:

"No. 2 is the motion picture theater, where the work of many of the State's humane institutions is exemplified and the methods of shoe making are revealed through a remarkable set of films owned by the United Shoe Machinery Company, which have been loaned, as has its great collection of ancient and modern footwear, to the Board of Managers for Massachusetts..."

Palace of Education - New York State Theatre:

"Free - Moving Pictures - Free." It's an image that appeared on page 159 of the souvenir booklet in Kevin Walsh's collection that he shared in another post on the BAHT Facebook page.

The full page about the "New York State Departmental Exhibits." They had this to say about the theatre in the Palace of Education building:

"Above are four of the booths showing activities of the New York State Departments. The first shows the lecture and motion picture booth in the Palace of Education and Social Economy. In this booth are displayed motion pictures of scenes in every city and county of the State as well as of the social service work being done by various departments of the State government..."

Pennsylvania Building:

Glenn Koch notes that there was also a theater in the Pennsylvania Building. Kevin Walsh says it's mentioned in the description of the building in the souvenir book he has but the photography is focused on the display of the Liberty Bell.

Southern Pacific Building -- The Sunset Theatre:

The building's facade. Thanks to Jean-Guy Dube for sharing the image as a comment to a post on the BAHT Facebook page. He notes that it was designed for the railroad in a Renaissance style with Corinthian columns and classical moldings and detailing.

A plan of the building. Thanks to Jean-Guy Dube for locating it and indicating the theatre location in red.

An interior view from the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library collection. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for locating it for his thread on the BAHT Facebook page.

Another view from the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library collection. Thanks to Jean-Guy Dube for locating this one. He comments:

"According to Southern Pacific pamphlets and contemporary accounts, the theater sat 350 and had a Kimball pipe organ. Note the radiators in the corners for heating. The SP designed the theater after The Little Theater in New York which opened in 1912, and still exists today, the smallest theater on Broadway.

"I am a Southern Pacific historian that is working on a history of the Southern Pacific's involvement with the Panama Pacific Exposition. I am also working on drafting a blueprint of the building, including the theatre and the Road of a Thousand Wonders exhibit that was in the building."

The Little Theatre, at 240 W. 44th St. in New York, is now called the Helen Hayes. There seem to be no surviving photos that show the original 1912 auditorium decor that might have inspired the Sunset. This view from the Shubert archives was taken after a 1920s remodel that also added a balcony. It appears with several other shots on the theatre's Internet Broadway Database page. See a 1913 exterior view that appeared in the book "Our Theatres Today and Yesterday." It's on Internet Archive. Also see the Wikipedia article about the theatre.

More information: See the Wikipedia article on the PPIE

Shell Theatre

1761 Fillmore St. | map |

Opening: It was running by March 1909. The theatre was on the west side of the street just south of Sutter St.

The Shell is listed with the 1761 address in a March 31, 1909 article about theatres meeting certain city regulations that appeared in the Italian language paper Italia. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating it via the California Digital Newspaper Collection.

A May 1906 view north on Fillmore toward Sutter -- after the earthquake but before the arrival of the Shell. On the far left it's King Solomon's Hall, 1745 Fillmore, built in late 1905. It would later be the home of the Class A / Temple Theatre. The Art Nouveau facade next door was, at the time, the home of the Haussler Photo Studio. Later it would be the Haussler Theatre on the 1st floor and the photo studio above. The three story building on the corner beyond Haussler's studio would later house the Shell Theatre in its south storefront.

Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this image in the Open SF History Project collection. It's by Underwood & Underwood and comes from the Martin Behrman Negative Collection of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

A September 11, 1909 view north from the Jack Tillmany collection. On the far left it's the facade of the Haussler photo studio, not yet a theatre. Just beyond at 1761 is the clamshell-style entrance of the Shell Theatre. The photo, taken by John Henry Mentz for United Railroads, makes an appearance on the Open SF History Project website. It can also be seen on the SFMTA website.

Thanks to Jack Tillmany for this detail from the 1909 photo. The Shell's entrance is directly above the driver's head.

The Shell and its neighbor Haussler's Theatre both appear on a list of nickelodeons in a May 4, 1911 Chronicle story that was located by Art Siegel.

Closing: Sometime around 1911.

The Shell was long gone from 1761 by the time the 1913 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map was compiled. Thanks to Art Siegel for this detail from the map that's in the Library of Congress collection. Fillmore is up the right side of the image, Post St. runs along the bottom.

The theatrical neighbors to the south are the Haussler Theatre at 1757 Fillmore and the Temple Theatre at 1745 Fillmore, in the King Solomon's Temple.

More information: Jack Tillmany's Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres of San Francisco" can be previewed on Google Books. It's available from Amazon or your local bookseller.

The Wharf Theater

107 Jefferson St. | map |

Opened: October 19, 1966. It's a Tom Gray photo from the Jack Tillmany collection. Jack shared it on the BAHT Facebook page and comments:

"It opened with what I thought was a clever and welcome concept - silent movies with a live piano accompaniment. But my enthusiasm was not shared by either locals or tourists, and after the opening attraction, Clara Bow in 'Free to Love,' failed to attract more than a handful of customers, the site segued into live productions. As usual, Tom Gray took what's probably the only photo of this forgotten venue."

This Fisherman's Wharf area venue was on the south side of the street between Mason and Taylor streets.

Closing: 1970. Jack has the story:

"It folded 3 October 1970 with 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.'"

Status: It's been demolished. The gargantuan new building on the site includes a McDonalds, a Madame Tussaud's and various other merchants.

More information: Jack Tillmany's Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres of San Francisco" can be previewed on Google Books. It's available from Amazon or your local bookseller.

The Old Venetian Bakery Theatre

2200 Powell St. | map |

Opened: September 1980 according to research by Jack Tillmany. He notes: "The Old Venetian Bakery Theatre operated for 2 unsuccessful (critically and financially) years. This photo by Tom Gray may be the only one in existence."

Thanks to Jack for sharing the photo as well as his research as a post on the Bay Area Historic Theatres Facebook page. The building was on the east side of the street between Francisco St. and Bay St. It was just south of the Northpoint Theatre.

Closing: September 1982.

Status: The building has been demolished. There's now a post office on the site.

More information: Jack notes: "Further details about the operation can be found on Pages 75-76 of 'San Francisco Stages' by Dean Goodman."

Jack's Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres of San Francisco" can be previewed on Google Books. It's available from Amazon or your local bookseller.